T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” is set in the 1960s, a time, as the narrator sees it, “when it was good to be bad” (125). As a result, he believes he is a “dangerous character” and strengthens his image by doing rebellious things in his town. However during his journey to and back from Greasy Lake, he is thrown into a different setting, where his experiences tint his understanding of humanity. The narrator transforms from someone who thinks he knows who he is, to losing his sense of self, then being shocked back into reality, and finally becoming aware. The narrator’s perception of nature and his surroundings parallel the regression and evolution of his understanding of self-awareness.
The story starts off in the town where the narrator
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He wades further away from the “disconsolate” screams of the girl until suddenly he encounters a corpse. The corpse shocks him and he, “(stumbles) back in horror and revulsion, (his) mind yanked in six different directions.” (129). It is a wake up call for the narrator, and for the first time, he stops to think about how “(he) struck down one greasy character” (129), and how he might have killed that man. Terrified, he runs out of the Greasy Lake and falls into muck. As the narrator lies still in the mud, he reaches an epiphany. He realizes that he does not want to be bad. He is scared of being bad. The sky starts turning blue and “the trees (begin) to separate themselves from the shadows,”(130). He pushes himself out of the mud and steps into the open. Like mankind’s earliest ancestors, he evolves, from a simple-minded creature to a complex and intelligent being, from a wild animal rolling around in filth to a upright walking human. He smells the air, “raw and sweet at the same time… of sun firing buds and opening blossoms”(130). He repeats again, “this is nature” (130). The arrival of dawn at Greasy Lake, a time at which he has never seen the place before, shows him that although nature has its primal and savage side, it also is growth and goodness. The light represents the return of civilization and humanity, and also allows the narrator to be self-aware. However this time, the light allows him to see himself more clearly than ever, without the façade of yearning to be bad, because he realises that he is good, and that is good, because that is
The narrator character went from being a rebel or bad guy to having a conscience. Each series of events in Greasy Lake reassured him that he wasn’t a bad ass after all. Thinking about crying, vomiting, and wanting to crawl into the bed when the girl asked to party ultimately showed he changed for the better.
Nature has a powerful way of portraying good vs. bad, which parallels to the same concept intertwined with human nature. In the story “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, the author portrays this through the use of a lake by demonstrating its significance and relationship to the characters. At one time, the Greasy Lake was something of beauty and cleanliness, but then came to be the exact opposite. Through his writing, Boyle demonstrates how the setting can be a direct reflection of the characters and the experiences they encounter.
In the essay “Once More to the Lake,” E.B. White, uses diction and syntax to reveal the main character’s attitude towards the lake in Maine. He has an uncertain attitude towards the lake throughout the essay because he is unsure of who he is between him and his son. On the ride there White, pondering, remembering old memories, keeps wondering if the lake is going to be the same warm place as it was when he was a kid. The lake is not just an ordinary lake to White, it’s a holy spot, a spot where he grew up every summer. “I wondered how time would have marred this unique, this holy spot-the coves and streams, the hills that the sun set behind, the camps and the paths behind the camps” (29). White’s diction and syntax
There are many writers that write poems and books with the same styles. This essay will compare the styles of Greasy Lake by T. Coraghessan Boyle and the fictional Pet Fly by Walter Mosley.
He changed what he thought about this rebellion he was a part of and decided he did not want to be involved with it anymore. Their personalities showed how they were frauds in their lives. In “Greasy Lake,” T. Coraghessan Boyle uses the lake, the keys, and the car as symbols to develop the theme of corruption in youth.
In the short story Greasy Lake, Boyle told of the changing of boys to men in one night. When it was cool to be bad. Senior year in high school, 19 years old and stupid. Not having any real clue as to the real world works, Driving mom's cars using dad's money. In Greasy Lake, T.C. Boyle used the theme of being bad by using the different characters to symbolize someone always trying to be more than they really are.
Sudden and Ironic events that happen to the narrator in T.C. Boyle’s short story “Greasy Lake” are the same type of events that in an instant will change a person forever. The ironic circumstances that the narrator in “Greasy Lake” finds himself in are the same circumstances that young people find themselves in when fighting war.
In 'Greasy Lake,' the dualism of the characters' nature is ever-present. They are self-proclaimed bad guys who 'cultivated decadence like a taste' (79). As the story progresses, however, it is revealed that just the opposite is true. While they are essentially caricatures of themselves, it is this dynamic that drives the story. Their tough exterior is just that, an exterior veneer that permeates their actions as 'dangerous characters.' The narrator is somewhat detached from the younger self of his story. It is an ironic detachment'a parody of his moral ignorance. He recalls the 'bad? antics of his youth: driving their 'parents' whining station wagons,' but doing so as bad as humanly possible, of course. He mocks both himself and his friends in his retrospection of their experience in Greasy Lake, the consummate locale of 'bad.' To the boys, the lake serves as a kind of haven for bad characters such as themselves. Truly, however, the lake is an extension of the dynamic between who the boys are and who they parade around as. It is here where the previous and false understanding about their world is shattered, and they are thrust into a moralistic reformation. Ultimately, the dichotomous nature of the protagonist is resolved by his visit to the lake, and perhaps, the lake itself.
Throughout T. C. Boyle’s work, “Greasy Lake”, a young man’s intrepid night leads him to discover how close death is to life. This realization causes a sombre awakening for the narrator as he falls in the midst of fatality and practically becomes a casualty himself. Following each traumatic event, the narrator’s innocence disappears and morality is called into question. When death fast approaches, and the grim reaper is breathing down his neck, the narrator subsequently realizes his mistake, but not before it’s almost too late. The first close-to-death experience the narrator and his posse have involves a case of mistaken identity.
T. Coraghessan Boyle is the author of Greasy Lake. Boyle was born in 1948 in Peekskill, New York, son of Irish immigrants. Mr. Boyle’s character, which is the narrator, corresponds to who he was during his young years. He was a privileged college kid as he recalls, “as a sort of pampered punk”. He later on became a high school teacher for quite some years, while he studied in the University of Iowa processing stories for his PH.D. He has recently published four novels and was quickly noticed due to the vast reflection of his idiosyncratic ideas. The unnamed character/narrator in Greasy Lake is Boyle himself looking back on his youth. Boyle and his two friends Digby and Jess play out to be bad characters, but only to miss their life in the suburbs
There are many themes highlighted in the short story Greasy Lake, by T. Coraghessan Boyle. Some of these themes include being adventurous, violence, and being young and restless. However, there is a main message that stands out more than the others and is the most centered theme of the story. This is the theme of coming of age through the narrator’s journey to finding out what it means to be “bad,” and whether or not he wanted to make bad choices.
“Goose Pond”, written by Thomas Williams seemingly is a novel about the tranquil rural life but intricately portrays the mind and state of a fifty-eight year old man who has just lost his wife. Having natural and peaceful aspects, the story itself is not about the simple rural life in the woods. It depicts how Robert Hurley began to deal and come to terms with his sudden loneliness and realization of his eventual death. Including both the realistic cruelty of life alone and the expectation readers would have from a novel—such like a Norman Rockwell painting; he keeps the readers indulged in the mind and heart of the lonesome Robert Hurley.
"A man wading lost fields breaks the pane of flood" which starts the second section gives the effect of pain and hurt. The man survives by going along with nature and resisting it, but it also gives the effect of danger at the same time. " Like a cut swaying" carries on the effect of being deliberate, sharp and precise and "it's red spots" and "his hands grub" continues with the theme of the animal sort of.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
In “Once More to the Lake,” E.B. White expresses a sense of wonder when he revisits a place that has significant memories. Upon revisiting the lake he once knew so well, White realizes that even though things in his life have changed, namely he is now the father returning with his son, the lake still remains the same. Physically being back at the lake, White faces an internal process of comparing his memory of the lake as a child, to his experience with his son. Throughout this reflection, White efficiently uses imagery, repetition, and tone to enhance his essay.