History Characters / Holes

* CassandraTruth: When he's on trial for stealing the shoes, his defense is that they actually fell out of the sky. This is completely true, at least as far as he knows (in reality, they fell off a highway overpass), but it sounds so blatantly impossible that it completely fails to convince anybody. Stanley later wonders if saying he found them in the street would've gone over better.

* CharacterDevelopment: Goes from something of an awkward doormat to a much more self-confident young man.

* MiscarriageOfJustice: Is arrested for a crime he didn't commit.

* NotSoAboveItAll: Whilst he's a NiceGuy and one of the more sensible campers, he's not above blaming his "no-good dirty rotten pig-stealing great-great-grandfather" for why he's at the camp, which [[ActuallyPrettyFunny gets a laugh out of the other campers.]]

* WideEyedIdealist: Can be a bit of one, which sometimes gets him in trouble. He mistakenly assumed Camp Green Lake would be a nice place (it wasn't), that Livingston's shoes would solve his family's poverty (they got him arrested), and that he and Zero meeting was destiny (perhaps it might be).

* WideEyedIdealist: She insists there's no curse on the family (at least on the men). There is.
** While her son is on trial, she insists all he needs to do is tell the truth. That did not work out.

* YouWillBeSpared: Was quite likely the only person Kate spared.

* ButtMonkey: Became one after forgetting to bring Madame Zeroni up the mountain. He's also blamed to the present day for causing the family curse, being thought of as nothing but a dirty rotten thief by his descendants.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In-universe. While his own descendants believe the family curse started with him stealing a pig, in reality, he was cursed because he forgot a promise he made to a close friend until it was too late for him to fulfill it.

* PhraseCatcher: His descendants sure have a habit of referring to him as a "no good, dirty, rotten, pig stealing great-great-grandfather".

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Zero has the most important plot and development after Stanley with many backstory links. Not only is it revealed that he was the one who stole Clyde Livingston's shoes, he's also a descendant of Madame Zeroni.

* TheDogBitesBack: After Mr. Pendanski taunts him one time too many, Zero swings his shovel into Pendanski's face, knocking him out.
* DeusExMachina: Stanley carrying Zero up the "God's Thumb" mountain and singing the "Pig Lullaby" song to him as he drinks from a stream is what causes the Yelnats' family curse to end -- because a descendant of Elya Yelnats fulfilled the promise of Madame Zeroni by carrying one of ''her'' descendants up the mountain and saving his life.

* UnPerson: After he runs into the desert and is assumed to be dead, the Warden orders Mr. Sir and Pendanski to destroy all records of Zero being a prisoner and prevent an investigation in cruelty to teens because they let one die on their watch. The investigation happens anyway for different reasons and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the lack of Zero's file bits them in the ass hard]].

* {{Foil}}: Funnily enough, to Trout Walker. Both considered themselves to be above the people around them because of an irrelevant factor - Trout's money and X-Ray's status as the longest-serving camper - and treated them extremely badly. Both also used their race to their advantage: Trout by preying on people's bigotry and X-Ray by calling on the old racist stereotype of white people taking advantage of black people. And, at the end of their stories, they get nothing (Trout doesn't find the treasure and X-Ray doesn't get out of Camp Green Lake) while the people they mistreated get what they want, one way or another (Kate sees Sam again and Stanley and Zero escape Camp Green Lake).

* NotWhatItLooksLike: X-Ray was arrested for selling what everyone thought was cocaine and marijuana, but it turned out to be chopped up aspirin and parsley. However, selling aspirin without a pharmaceutical license was still illegal.
* TheOldConvict: A form of it. He's been around the longest and adjusted the best to Camp Green Lake (too well in Stanley's opinion) and thus, is the best at coercing the others to agree with him.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Subverted in that it's doom for the Warden and the camp staff rather than the heroes. Because Stanley gives up the lipstick tube that belonged to Kate Barlow to X-Ray, X-Ray plants the tube in the hole he was digging in. Thinking the treasure is in that area, the Warden directs the boys' attention (and a heavy amount of manpower) to X-Ray's hole and not the location where Stanley had originally found it, leading to a massive wild goose chase and nothing to show for it.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He has frizzy hair and a long neck, reads an old TV guide like he's reading it for the first time every time, watches the broken TV in the Wreck Room, and always knows what the time and date is.

* WildHair: Named for his stand-up, frizzy hair.

->'''Portrayed By:''' Zane Holtz

* GenderBlenderName: His first name (film only) is Marion. This might be a reference to Creator/JohnWayne, who also had that first name and changed it to a more manly-sounding one.

* RetiredOutlaw: Implied to be one when the police arrest him at the end of the film for carrying a firearm, a violation of his parole. According to the Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide, Mr. Sir was actually an outlaw who works at Camp Green Lake to hide from the authorities.

* NiceToTheWaiter: What makes him FauxAffablyEvil is the fact that he has absolutely no problems with bullying or insulting Zero, because he thinks Zero can't fight back.
* OneBadMother: A rare male example. He takes on the nickname "Mom" and pretends to be the nice counselor, but he's just as sadistic as the other staffers beneath his avuncular mask. The "Camp Green Lake Survival Guide" even points out that his nice guy act makes him ''worse'' than Mr. Sir who doesn't try to hide who he is behind a facade.

* PrefersProperNames: Pendanski insists on referring to the campers by their proper names in an attempt to [[FauxAffablyEvil maintain an illusion of respectability]] (such as Stanley, Theodore or Lewis as opposed to "Caveman", "Armpit" or "Barf Bag"), save for Zero, whose actual name, Hector, he doesn't bother to remember.

* AintTooProudToBeg: After the camp staff has been arrested and Stanley and Zero starts to leave, she begs Stanley to let her see what's in the treasure chest. Chances are she wanted to know what else she lost and what she was digging up in the first place.
* AlasPoorVillain: Despite all the bad things she has done throughout the book, it's hard not to feel any sympathy for her when Stanley takes his great-grandfather's treasure chest for good without even letting her see what's inside.

* TheDreaded: ''Everyone's'' afraid of her. Even people that have never met her.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Her politeness and casual manner doesn't fool anyone. As soon as she faces you, it's clear who definitely is the one in charge.
* FreudianExcuse: Her grandfather (Trout Walker) was not a pleasant person, and forced her to dig for Kate Barlow's money in the desert everyday, even on Christmas.

* HumiliationConga: Goes through this, especially at the end of the movie. First, her authority breaks down, then Stanley finds the chest, and it has his name on it. She's not allowed to have it ''because'' it has his name on it, Stanley refuses to let her look inside, and she and the other camp staff are arrested.

* MeaningfulAppearance: One of the first things Stanley notices about her is her black cowboy boots with turquoise stones. Kissin' Kate's final scene in the book reveals that they were ''her'' boots first -- or at least, she had a very similar pair. Given the Warden's cabin was Kate's cabin originally, it's not too unlikely that the boots were Kate's, too.
* PragmaticVillainy: In her first appearance she rewards X-Ray with a day off and a double shower for finding Kate Barlow's lipstick tube, then tells Mr. Pendanski to refill everyone's canteen, even though they just had their hourly refill five minutes ago. Although she acts as though it's a PetTheDog moment from her, it's really just to motivate them into digging harder in hopes of finding more treasure.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The way she runs Camp Green Lake and treats the campers (and lets her counselors treat them, for that matter) is inexcusable, but when you learn that her grandfather was an abusive asshole that forced her to dig ''every day'' of her childhood, not even taking a day off on Christmas or her birthday, and consider the fact that in the end, she never even gets to ''see'' the treasure she's dedicated her life to finding, it's hard not to feel a little sorry for her.

* AbusiveParents: Was this towards his children and his grandchildren. His granddaughter, the Warden mentions he forced them to dig for Kate's stash every day and never allowing them to take a single break, even for their birthdays or Christmas.
* AllForNothing: Killing Sam caused Green Lake to face a drought and he lost his wealth. He was in his 30s when he lost his wealth. He wasted most of his years looking for Kissin' Kate's treasure. He hopes his grandchildren will one day find it. However, the treasure was found by Stanley Yelnats IV. His granddaughter got arrested and left with nothing. Trout died for nothing.

* NiceGuy: The whole "no good, dirty, rotten, pig stealing" part about him is untrue. He was a nice kid who cared for Madame Zeroni, but forgot to fulfill his promise.
* TheOathBreaker: Elya set off the family curse by forgetting his promise to Madame Zeroni.

* TheOldConvict: A form of it. He's been around the longest and adjusted the best to Camp Green Lake (too well in Stanley's opinion) and thus, is the best at coercing the others to agree with him.

* FreudianExcuse: She snapped after having one ''really'' bad day where the whole community turned against her, torched her schoolhouse, and killed Sam.

* StarCrossedLovers: With Sam. She's a white woman, he's a black man... in the 1880s.

->'''Portrayed By''': Rick Fox\\

* AllForNothing: Killing Sam caused Green Lake to face a drought and he lost his wealth. He was in his 30s when he lost his wealth. He wasted most of his years looking for Kissin' Kate's treasure. He hopes his grandchildren will one day find it. However, the treasure was found by Standly Yldants IV. His granddaughter got arrested and left with nothing. Trout died for nothing.

* AllForNothing:

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He uses his gun only to defend himself from yellow-spotted lizards. He does threaten Stanley with it at one point, but never fires at him.

* PetTheDog: When Zigzag asks for an extra carton of juice because it is his birthday, Mr. Sir actually gives him one, surprising everyone.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: He stepped on a rattlesnake and got bitten. :Intentionally.

* RetiredOutlaw: Implied to be one when the police arrest him at the end of the film for carrying a firearm, a violation of his parole.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Her first act as Kissin' Kate was assassinating [[PoliceAreUseless the sheriff that refused to act]] on the night of Sam's murder and demanded a kiss from her as a trade-off to just run Sam out of town rather than lynch him. After shooting him, she then gave him that kiss he asked for.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He asks Stanley to call his mom...and tell her that ''Theodore'' is sorry.

!!Hector/Zero

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Combined with TheDogBitesBack, he finally stands up for himself after Mr. Pendanski insults him constantly. In the movie, he's seen clutching a pool ball in anticipation of defending Stanley from a bully.

* HiddenDepths: Was also a well-read man despite his station.

* NoodleIncident: How and why an Egyptian woman made her way to Latvia is never explained.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Cruelly denying a thirsty Stanley something to drink while joking how he'll be thristy for the next eighteen months is a perfect introduction to what kind of person he is.

* BrainlessBeauty: Madame Zeroni describes her as having a head as empty as a flower pot.

* MayDecemberRomance: Myra is 15. Igor is 57. Though, calling it a "romance" is a bit of a stretch.

* TheDogBitesBack: After Mr. Pendanski taunts him one time too many, Zero swings his shovel into Pendanski's face.

* HereditaryCurse: They suffer a family curse of bad luck due to Elya Yelnats forgetting to fulfill his end of a bargain. Stanley [[spoiler:lifts it by accidentally finally fulfilling said promise.]]

** TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Turns out "God's thumb" is [[spoiler:a mountain oasis several miles from Camp Green Lake shaped like a fist giving a thumbs-up.]]

* BarefootPoverty: While he lived on the streets, [[spoiler:hence why he stole Clyde Livingston's shoes]].

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Zero has the most important plot and development after Stanley with many backstory links. Not only is it revealed that [[spoiler:he was the one who stole Clyde Livingston's shoes]], he's also [[spoiler:a descendant of Madame Zeroni.]]

* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:After Mr. Pendanski taunts him one time too many, Zero swings his shovel into Pendanski's face.]]
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:Stanley carrying Zero up the "God's Thumb" mountain and singing the "Pig Lullaby" song to him as he drinks from a stream is what causes the Yelnats' family curse to end -- because a descendant of Elya Yelnats fulfilled the promise of Madame Zeroni by carrying one of ''her'' descendants up the mountain and saving his life]].

* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:After running away from Camp Green Lake, he refuses to return despite dying of thirst out in the desert.]]
* MissingMom: Downplayed. His mother was the only parent in his life, but due to their dire circumstances, she often had to leave him alone for long periods of time by ordering him to stay in one spot and not leave until she returned for him. One day, she never returned at all. [[spoiler:At the end of the book, he hires a team of investigators to find her, and is reunited with his mother again.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: It's revealed later in the story that [[spoiler:it's his fault that Stanley got sent to Camp Green Lake in the first place. He stole the shoes Clyde Livingston was auctioning off for charity and while trying to evade the police, he threw the shoes off the edge of a bridge, which then fell on Stanley's head]]. Stanley doesn't get angry with him or rat him out, though.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's descended from Madame Zeroni, and the real thief of Clyde Livingston's shoes.]]

* {{Telepathy}}: [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Possibly]]. Stanley sometimes feels like Zero can see into his head, and one of the first things he tells him is "you didn't steal those sneakers". While it's later revealed that [[spoiler:Zero's the one who stole the shoes Stanley was accused of stealing]], whether he knew those were the same sneakers at the time is unclear.

* BerserkButton: ''Do not'' touch his TV, or he will [[spoiler:crush your hand into the dial button so hard it will be cut open.]]

* AgonyOfTheFeet: He stepped on a rattlesnake and got bitten. [[spoiler:Intentionally.]]
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: [[spoiler:What his rattlesnake bite was. In the film, he even took his shoe off first to make sure it happened.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:He deliberately got bit because he wanted to get out of Camp Green Lake.]]
** [[spoiler: According to the ''Camp Green Lake Survival Guide'', just after he woke up from his snakebite induced coma, he escaped from the hospital he was in thinking he would be sent back to to Camp Green Lake, not knowing it had been closed down following the events of Stanley's stay there.]]

* AddictionDisplacement: He's constantly eating sunflower seeds in an effort to avoid smoking. [[spoiler:He lapses back at the end of the book.]]

* BerserkButton: Don't ask him about [[spoiler:the scars on his face after the Warden slashed him.]]

* GenderBlenderName: His first name (film only) is [[spoiler:Marion]]. This might be a reference to Creator/JohnWayne, who also had that first name and changed it to a more manly-sounding one.

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Midway through the book he gets three scars on the side of his face from [[spoiler:the Warden slashing him with her rattlesnake venom-painted nails]].

** He knows that the Warden doesn't really care about "building character" and is actually looking for [[spoiler:Kate Barlow's treasure.]] Despite this, he chooses to report Stanley's supposed theft of his sunflower seeds by telling the Warden that Stanley "found something." Naturally, she gets excited, only to learn the real purpose of their visit. Small wonder she ends up striking Mr. Sir across the face with rattlesnake venom.
** There's also a small scene in the film where Pendanski can be heard chewing out Mr. Sir over [[spoiler:Stanley's attempt to steal the water truck]]. Which might not have happened if Mr. Sir hadn't left the keys in the ignition. At a camp for juvenile delinquents. And this is ''after'' they accepted a new camper who got arrested for [[spoiler:''stealing a car.'']]

* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the film, his true name is revealed to be [[spoiler:Marion Sevillo]].

-->"Been a long time since El Paso, [[spoiler: Marion]]."

* RetiredOutlaw: [[spoiler:Implied to be one when the police arrest him at the end of the film for carrying a firearm, a violation of his parole.]]

** In the movie, he uses the name because [[spoiler: his real one is Marion.]]

* KickTheDog: While he's nice to almost all the campers, he's not above giving a jab or two to Zero. It's the first hint that he's not really as nice as he seems at first. Eventually, TheDogBitesBack when [[spoiler:Zero snaps and hits him in the face with a shovel]].

* PrefersProperNames: Pendanski insists on referring to the campers by their proper names in an attempt to [[FauxAffablyEvil maintain an illusion of respectability]] (such as Stanley, Theodore or Lewis as opposed to "Caveman", "Armpit" or "Barf Bag"), save for Zero, whose actual name, [[spoiler:Hector]], he doesn't bother to remember.

!!The Warden (Louise [[spoiler:Walker]])

* AintTooProudToBeg: [[spoiler:After the camp staff has been arrested and Stanley and Zero starts to leave, she begs Stanley to let her see what's in the treasure chest. Chances are she wanted to know what else she lost and what she was digging up in the first place.]]
* AlasPoorVillain: Despite all the bad things she has done throughout the book, it's hard not to feel any sympathy for her when [[spoiler:Stanley takes his great-grandfather's treasure chest for good without even letting her see what's inside]].

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Her grandfather (Trout Walker) was not a pleasant person, and forced her to dig for Kate Barlow's money in the desert everyday, even on Christmas]].

* IronicEcho: [[spoiler: When she begs Stanley to at least see what's in the treasure chest, he simply says "''excuse me?''" before shutting it away.]]
* MeaningfulAppearance: One of the first things Stanley notices about her is her black cowboy boots with turquoise stones. [[spoiler:Kissin' Kate's final scene in the book reveals that they were ''her'' boots first -- or at least, she had a very similar pair. Given the Warden's cabin was Kate's cabin originally, it's not too unlikely that the boots were Kate's, too.]]

* {{Sloth}}: Sits in her air-conditioned trailer watching TV all day while the boys do the back-breaking work [[spoiler: of finding Kissin' Kate's treasure.]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The way she runs Camp Green Lake and treats the campers (and lets her counselors treat them, for that matter) is inexcusable, but when you learn [[spoiler:that her grandfather was an abusive asshole that forced her to dig ''every day'' of her childhood, not even taking a day off on Christmas or her birthday, and consider the fact that in the end, she never even gets to ''see'' the treasure she's dedicated her life to finding]], it's hard not to feel a little sorry for her.

* DiedLaughing: After [[spoiler:being bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard, she just simply laughs at Trout and Linda Walker when they demand to know where she hid her treasures.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: In the film, she's waiting for death next to Sam's boat after her outlaw days are done and [[spoiler:makes a yellow-spotted lizard to bite her to die from its poison. In the book, it bit her on its own and she just [[FaceDeathWithDignity took it]]]].

* DyingCurse: She didn't expect to die right after, but before she [[spoiler:gets bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard]], she tells Trout Walker that he and his descendants could spend the next century digging in the dried-up lake-bed and never find the treasure she buried. Exactly 100 years later, the treasure is found by [[spoiler:Stanley, and he deliberately snubs Trout Walker's granddaughter (the Warden) from seeing it.]]

* EqualOpportunityEvil: In the movie, her gang of outlaws included Native Americans, another oppressed group in the 1800s. [[spoiler:As her descent into crime was caused by the murder of her black lover, it's clear that even as an outlaw she still retained her tolerant and open-minded views.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:In the book, she's bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard and calmly succumbs to its poison. In the film, she commits suicide by ''making'' it bite her]].

* SupremeChef: Her spiced peaches were loved by all the residents of Green Lake. [[spoiler:And they still taste good after being stored in a jar for ''a hundred years.'']]

* AbusiveParents: Was this towards his children and his grandchildren. [[spoiler:His granddaughter, the Warden mentions he forced them to dig for Kate's stash every day and never allowing them to take a single break, even for their birthdays or Christmas]].

* GruesomeGrandparent: Was this towards his granddaughter [[spoiler:Louise]], which is why she is such a bitter and cynical woman.
* HateSink: As a greedy, racist, and abusive sociopath, it's easy to tell that Trout is not meant to be liked. This serves to make Kissin' Kate [[spoiler:and the Warden]] much more sympathetic by comparison, as well as give you a reason to root for Kate despite the fact that she's a robber and a SerialKiller (it helps that Trout's the reason she became those things in the first place).

* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Plenty of his customers aren't really sure if his onion remedies really work, but buy them anyway because they don't like to take chances (plus many of [[WorstAid the actual medical practices of the time]], such as putting leeches on a sick person's body to "suck out the bad blood", left a lot to be desired). A century later, though, they're proven to actually work when the onions from his now-deserted garden [[spoiler:save Zero from death and discourage yellow-spotted lizards from biting Zero and Stanley.]]

* PlotTriggeringDeath: If the townspeople hadn't killed him, not only would there be no drought, but Kate never would've become an outlaw, stolen [[spoiler:Stanley's great-grandfather's]] money, and buried it somewhere in the desert. That means that without Sam's death, Camp Green Lake wouldn't even ''exist''.

* EvilRedhead: She had red hair, which was also passed down to [[spoiler:her granddaughter, Louise "The Warden" Walker]].

* TheDreaded: Everyone is scared of them, ''especially'' Mr. Sir. Kate was the only person to show complete calm in their presence... [[spoiler:and that's only because she had nothing left to live for]].

* WeaksauceWeakness: Downplayed in that it doesn't hurt or kill them, but these deadly animals are repulsed by the smell of onions, [[spoiler: which ends up saving Stanley and Hector.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: She mentions she has a son in America, who Elya constantly searches for in faint hope that he can break the curse. But Zeroni's descendants don't show up again [[spoiler:until Zero.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: She curses Elya’s entire family line because he, and only he, forgot to fulfill his end of a bargain they made. [[spoiler: [[PetTheDog Her spirit lifts the curse after Stanley, a descendant of Elya, inadvertently fulfills said promise.]]]]

* PetTheDog: Despite the DisproportionateRetribution involved with cursing Elya’s entire family for his mistake [[spoiler: she lifts the curse after Stanley, a descendent of him, accidentally fulfills Elya’s end of the bargain more than a century later by carrying Hector, a descendant of Zeroni, up a mountain so he can drink from a pond, which saves his life.]]

An all-star baseball player for the Texas Rangers, whom Stanley is a major fan of. [[spoiler: At the end of the film, he stars in a commercial for Stanley Yelnats III's foot odor product.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: During his testimony, he gives this to Stanley about him supposedly stealing the pair of shoes that would go to the orphanage, even telling Stanley that he wasn't a real fan of his. [[spoiler: Though he drops his grudge when he later finds out that Stanley was innocent and makes it up to the Yelnats when their foot odor cure helps cure his foot fungus problem]].

* VillainousRescue: Does this for Stanley at the end [[spoiler: when his testimony explains how he bullied Stanley by throwing his notebook in the toilet at the moment the shoes were stolen, so Stanley couldn't have stolen the shoes.]]

* UncannyValley: InUniverse. Her eyes are very large and her smile is too big for her face, which unnerves anybody that looks at her.

* HereditaryCurse: They suffer a family curse of bad luck due to their "no-good dirty rotten pig-stealing great-great-grandfather". [[spoiler: It was actually due to said great-great-grandfather, Elya, forgetting to fulfill his end of a bargain. Stanley lifts it by accidentally finally fulfilling said promise.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: He curses Elya’s entire family because he, and only he, forgot to fulfill his end of a bargain they made. [[spoiler: [[PetTheDog Her spirit lifts the curse after Stanley, a descendant of Elya, inadvertently fulfills said promise.]]]]

* PoisonousFriend: Is this to Armpit in ''Small Steps'', convincing him to invest most of his hard-earned money into a ticket scalping scheme.

* BaitTheDog: He appears to be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure when he offers a thirsty Stanley a Coke. Nope - it was for the security guard and Mr. Sir appears ''offended'' that Stanley night expect kindness from him.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Okay, madame, we know you wanted to drink from the mountain stream before you died, but did you really have to curse Elya's descendants who never did anything to you?

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He stupidity and inability to properly choose a suitor would drive Elya to unintentionally break his promise to Zeroni, starting the curse.

* TooCleverByHalf: He's definitely smart for his age group, but not smart enough to outwit adults or the legal system, which comes back to bite him in ''Holes'' and ''Small Steps''.