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Holes Essay Describe an important scene in ‘Holes’. You should briefly explain what happens in the scene and then say how the scene contributes to our understanding of a character or and idea (theme). A crucial and compelling scene in the film ‘Holes’ is the scene in which Zero, sick and tired of being treated so terribly for so long, decides to run away in quite a spectacular fashion. The scene starts out with Dr. Pedansky giving the boys their lunch. One of the campers, Zig-Zag, mischievously takes some extra graham crackers then sneaks off before Dr. Pedansky can spot him. He then moves over to Stanley’s hole where he mockingly offers him his extra graham crackers for Stanley’s help in digging his hole in return. In the film this gesture is shown through a particularly effective camera technique; a low angled point of view shot of Stanley looking up at Zig-Zag. This technique highlights the power that Zig-Zag has over Stanley and also how he has a slight crazy side to him. Stanley then tries to shrug Zig-Zag off, but Zig-Zag persists which eventually causes Stanley to become physical, hitting the graham cracker out of his hand. This quickly erupts into a full scale ‘punch up’. At the side, Dr. Pedansky starts pushing Stanley to fight harder. Zig-Zag, egged on by Dr. Pedansky, get’s on top of Stanley and clearly shows he is winning this battle. Then, out of nowhere, Zero comes rushing up to the two boys and leaps onto Zig-Zags’ back, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Instantly Zig-Zag starts desperately gulping for air but its no use. Dr. Pedansky finally breaks it up with a frustrated gun shot. The Warden of the camp is quickly called down to the campers. She asks Zig-Zag and his mates why he started the brawl. They all tell her it was because ‘being out in the hot sun all day can make your blood boil’. Soon after a quick discussion, the Warden quickly discovers Stanley and Zero’s deal to help dig holes in return for reading lessons. This deal is banned immediately as is the reading lessons. Stanley questions this but is profusely told that Zero ‘just can’t handle that mental stress of learning’. In the film, this line by Dr. Pedansky is shown through a very effective camera technique; a level, midshot of him, with a cruel look on his face. This shot is effective because it shows how mean and unfair Dr. Pedansky really is. After hearing this, Zero is extremely angry and so he wacks Dr. Pedansky over the head with a shovel and starts sprinting off into the desert. In the film this is shown through a level, long shot of Zero running into the vast desert with huge mountains looming over him. This scene easily contributes to our understanding of the theme ‘Determination’ because this is shown in many ways in this scene. Firstly it is shown when Stanley fights back against Zig-Zag instead of just running away. Stanley was determined to stand up for himslef, to stand up for what he believed in. This helps us understand that to be determined to do something you have to believe in what you are doing otherwise you will not be successful. Determination is also shown through how Stanley will not agree with the camp leaders that Zero is stupid. He knows that this is not true and he is determined to convince them so. At first they are unsure but later on in the film Stanley’s hard work pays off. This helps us understand that Determination is the most important tool in getting success. Lastly, Determination is shown when Zero wacks Dr. Pedansky with a shovel and flees the camp. This helps us understand that to be determined you have to take action and stand up for yourself, not just watch from the sidelines. So conclusion, the scene ‘Zero runs away’ is very important to the film. It has a lot of action and helps set up the next events in the movie. It has some very effective camera shots that help us get into the characters minds a bit more. It also contributes to our understanding of the theme ‘Determination’ by certain things that Stanley and Zero say and do in this scene. Overall this is a very important scene in the movie holes.