Holes

Yellow-spotted lizards represent how deadly being at Camp Green Lake really is. Although there are other creatures like scorpions and rattlesnakes, being bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard is “the worst thing that can happen to you” because “you will die a slow and painful death. Always” (4). The author even dedicates the entirety of Chapter 8 to discuss how deadly they are, stating that “if you’ve ever been close enough to see the yellow spots, you are probably dead” (41). After the lake dries up, the yellow-spotted lizards move into the area and become a threat to all the people, symbolizing the cruelty of Green Lake. If a person gets bitten, they have no hope to survive. Kissin’ Kate Barlow gets killed by the bite of a yellow-spotted lizard while being held hostage by Trout Walker. The yellow-spotted lizards are so deadly that they frighten even the most aggressive characters, like the Warden and Mr. Sir. When Stanley and Zero find Kate Barlow’s loot, they also find a nest of yellow-spotted lizards. They can survive because they ate onions that made the lizards not want to bite them. In Chapter 49, the author reveals that Sam, the man Kate Barlow loved, sold pure onion juice to hunters because yellow-spotted lizards don’t like the taste of onion in the blood they drink.