Narrator and point of view

The limited narrator

The novel Holes by Louis Sachar uses different points of view. The novel is mainly told by a personal narrator, and the events are described from the point of view of the main character, Stanley Yelnats.

The personal narrator is part of the world described in the plot and is therefore a limited narrator, slipping into a character and narrating from only one perspective. However, unlike the first-person narrator, the events are told in the 3rd person ("he", "she"). The narrator has insight into the inner world of the character, but can only tell the thoughts, the feelings and the action from the point of view of that character, like here for example: "As Stanley read the sign he couldn’t help but think, Well, duh!" (Part 1, 7%)

The events are, therefore, portrayed from the subjective point of view of one character. As a result, the reader normally knows only what Stanley himself knows. and does not have an insight into other characters’ thoughts and feelings or future events . Although this allows the reader to identify and feel closer to the main character, their relationship is not quite as close as that between a first-person narrator and the reader. The third person narrator still maintains a certain distance from the reader.

Stanley as the main actor

All events that take place in the novel's present are reported from the point of view of the main character, Stanley Yelnats. The narrative is continuously filtered through his subjective perception. Every other character is subject to his description and point of view. It is impossible to figure out their thoughts and feelings independently of Stanley's assessment. The same is true of the novel's plot. In the present narrative thread, it is mainly driven by Stanley and his knowledge of the secrets of Green Lake.

Right from the beginning, it is made clear that in the personal narrative style, no insight is given into the thoughts and feelings of other campmates. The reader is kept on the same level of knowledge as Stanley regarding their desires and ideas: "As he watched the boy [Armpit] turn and walk away, he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why anyone would want to be call...