Oral presentation on

Stanley and Zero

BY: 2K Michael L au(15)

Clement Au(1)
Ken Lai (13)
Gary Lee(17)

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CONTENT PAGE
Cover page------------------------------------------ p.1
Content page---------------------------------------- p.2
Background of Stanley-------------------------------p.3
Poor Stanley------------------------------------------p.4
The time in Green Lake--------------------------p.5-p.6
The change of Stanley---------------------------p.7-p.8
Background of Zero----------------------------------p.9
Story of Zero------------------------------------p.10-11
End--------------------------------------------------p.12

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Background of Stanley
Stanley Yelnats is an overweight boy who does not have an
y friends from school and is often picked on by his classma
tes and the school bully Derrick. Stanley's family is cursed
with bad luck. Although they do not have much money, the
y always try to remain hopeful and look on the bright side o
f things. Nevertheless, mentions the “no good pig stealing g
reat great grandfather”

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Poor Stanley
 One day , Stanley has been wrongly accused of stealing a pair
of shoes donated by the baseball player Clyde Livingston to a c
harity auction to benefit a homeless shelter.
Ironically, S thinks it is destiny that the foul smelling shoes fell o
n him so his father will use them for his invention. What turns o
ut is he is convicted.
He is given a choice. He may go to jail or he may go to Camp
Green Lake. Stanley is from a poor family. He has never been t
o camp before. His parents think that CGL is a holiday camp. T
herefore, he is sent to the Camp.

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The time in Green Lake
Camp Green Lake is a juvenile detention center ,in a d
esert. At Camp Green Lake, Stanley and other camper
s are forced to dig holes to “build their character” by
spending all day, every day, digging holes which is five
feet wide and five feet deep. Later, Stanley knows the
Warden of Camp Green Lake is not interested in buildi
ng the boys' character, but instead is searching for a bu
ried treasure, which she has not found!
In the end, S realizes that learning is the only way to
character building, not digging holes.

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The difficult times of Stanley
Stanley has a difficult time at the camp. Although he does not have a lot
of self-confidence, he is not easily depressed. His resilience helps him
adjust to the horrendous conditions of the camp. Through his experi
ence Camp Green Lake, he slowly develops physical strength and per
sonal strength. He identifies the people who threaten him.
He becomes street smart and bribes X-ray with his golden “bullet”/lips
tick case.
He keeps quiet and does not want to get involved, by saying “I am tired.”

While he tries not to stay out of trouble, he still stands up for his own ri
ght and the rights of his friends.
He takes the blame for stealing Mr. Sir’s sunflower seeds.
 Stanley gradually develops the self-confidence necessary to disregard
the opinions of the majority of the boys.

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Change of Stanley(1)
At first, Stanley is a friendless, self-conscious, overweig
ht fifteen-year-old boy. Stanley bends to the cruelty around
him and developes an emotional hardness, He is given th
e nickname “Caveman” by the other inmates and for the firs
t time in his life feels somewhat accepted by his peers. Stanl
ey eases the pain of digging by imagining over and over agai
n that he has become good friends with the boys from Grou
p.
His hands and heart hardened. But eventually he is move
d by Z who ask him to teach him to read.

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Change of Stanley(2)
S asks himself, if Z can dig 2 holes and yet have the en
ergy to learn, he also should have a positive attitude t
o life.
Initially, he doesn’t want to teach Z but is moved by hi
s earnestness to learn.

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Change of Stanley(3)
When he befriends Zero . Stanley has completely changed. The power of h
is friendship with Zero helps Stanley to discover his own courage, happi
ness and self-confidence.
When Z admits he is the culprit for stealing the shoes, S does not show any r
esentment though he is falsely accused.
He learns compassion, comradeship and fraternity (his loving care for Z i
n the desert ordeal displays that)
When they are depressed, S thinks of ways to cheer one another, like orderi
ng the chocolate fudge and pizza.
By the time he is released, S becomes mature and finds his philosophy of lif
e. Stanley has a new sense of himself and feels he has found his destiny.
He becomes unselfish , though thirsty, he says he is not and saves water for
z. He shares half his“treasure”with Z,

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Background of Zero
He does not have a real name at the beginning. (Later on we find out
that his name is Hector Zeroni), He is a black , everyone thought th
ere was nothing in his head, actually he is the smallest, always the
first one finished digging. He said he likes to dig holes (an excuse for
not being able to come up with what he’s going to do in the future.)
He does not smile much. He cannot read or write, (everyone says he
was stupid). In fact he is a fast learner.
He’s also smart in maths and able to calculate fast, the moment the
figures are mentioned.
He will take action instead of talking, sticks up for Stanley, He is re
ally smart he will work hard to figure things out the things. E.g. in t
he climb in the desert (using the shovel)

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Story of Zero(1)
Zero is a quiet, dark-skinned boy with a wide-mouthed smi
le. He was homeless before being sent to Camp Green Lak
e. He’s “a nobody”so when he escapes, the authority at the
camp is not worried,
The counselors and other inmates there feel that Zero is stu
pid and worthless and treat him cruelly.
In reality, Zero is extremely smart, but uneducated and illit
erate. He and Stanley become friends when Stanley agrees t
o teach Zero how to read. As Zero describes the hard life he
had to his new friend, his amazing willpower and strengt
h of character are revealed.

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Story of Zero(2)
The ridicule Zero bears at Camp Green Lake eventually bec
omes too much (Mr. Pendanski ridicules Z)and he attacks
Mr. P Zero runs away. Stanley goes after him and they surv
ived the desert together, cementing their friendship. T
he reader learns that Zero is the great-great-great-grandson
of Madame Zeroni , the gypsy that cursed Stanley’s great-gr
eat-grandfather, and it is through the boys’friendship that
curse is undone. (drink, song, carrying Z)(At last ,Stanley f
ound out that Zero actually committed the crime for which
Stanley was convicted, not because he was dishonest, but b
ecause he needed shoes.)

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END
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