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[Coop and Dino singing]

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When we learned about Freytag's Pyramid, we mentioned that it could be applied to all [Freytag's pyramid]

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types of writing: tragedies, personal narratives,

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even cookbooks. Okay... Well, maybe not cookbooks.

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But it definitely does apply to Louis Sachar's novel Holes. Which is good, because otherwise [Holes book opens]

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there would be plot holes in Holes.

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As always, we start with the exposition, which is where we first encounter the setting and

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the characters before the story really gets going. [Coop teaching about exposition]

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In Holes, that's where we meet our protagonist, a boy named Stanley who comes from a family

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with very, very bad luck which has been brought upon them by a curse. [Stanley walking and poop lands on his head]

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Because that is where bad luck comes from. Which is why you never want to get on a witch's bad side.

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Next comes the inciting incident: the event that really gets the story going. [Dino discussing the inciting incident]

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Here, Stanley is wrongly accused of stealing some shoes and gets sent off to a detention

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center for boys: Camp Green Lake.

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Spoiler: it’s not as nice as it sounds. After the inciting incident, we have the rising action, where [Coop explaining the rising action]

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we see how the situation is changing for the main character.

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For us, that means learning all about how horrible life is for Stanley at Camp Green Lake. [Stanley digs a hole at Camp Green Lake]

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True to the book's title, it involves digging a lot of holes…

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…but Stanley also meets a kid named Zero, and they become friends. Everything is a little

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more bearable with a buddy. Next, the climax: where everything comes to [Top of Freytag's pyramid]

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a head. It’s the most intense and exciting part of the story.

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In Holes, that's when Stanley escapes from the camp to help Zero. Anybody’s who’s ever [Stanley runs away from the camp]

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played dodgeball knows there’s nothing like a good prison break to spice things up.

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Next, we have the falling action, where things start to get wrapped up. [Coop discussing falling action]

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Here, Stanley saves Zero by bringing him up the mountain, the curse is lifted, and the

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boys head back to camp, and later, freedom. [Stanley walking and smells trash]

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Ah freedom. It smells so much better than camp.

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And finally, we have the resolution: when all the loose ends get tied up.

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Now that the curse is lifted and Stanley is finally free from Camp Green Lake,

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his luck begins to improve. [Rose lands on Stanley's head]

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And he lives happily ever after – just like what always happens in real life. [Stanley sleeping in bed]

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