The nature of life reveals, through its dark accidents, the limitations on being bad in order to be viewed as hip or cool and that there always will be someone who is worse than you. This is the lesson that the narrator learns in T.C. Boyle's "Greasy Lake" through a series of accidents as a result of his recklessness. The narrator, in the beginning of the story, believed himself and his friends to be dangerous characters and that "it was good to be bad, when you cultivated decadence like a taste." However, painful lessons were learned that reveals to the narrator that there will be a price to pay in trying to appear bad. It also goes to show him that there are limits to how far he is willing to go and not care about the consequences. It was the third night of summer vacation and the narrator and his two friends, Digby and Jeff, wanted to show the world that they were misfits. That they were ready to cut loose and indulge in their hedonistic desires because it was hip to be reckless, uninhibited, and rotten. They were restless and bored, cruising around with the headlights pointed at the dawn and having all the time in the world and nothing to do with it. They were cruising around looking for action and excitement, "looking for something they never found", and looking for a way to scratch an itch that they couldn't scratch since the beginning of the summer. And in their minds, having fun was synonymous with being bad. It was good to be bad; it was something that made them hip and cool. They were bad characters indeed, except that their idea of what it is to be a bad person seems to be very much romanticized. It was as if they grew up watching "National Lampoon's Animal House&... ... middle of paper ... ...ut anything, he would have taken up the girls offer to party with them. However, after that night, he finds that there are some things he does care about, like his own well being. Instead of staying around to find out what will happen, he chooses to leave for home and quite possibly never allowed to drive his mother's car again. But at least he'll be able to go home alive, by choosing not to tempt fate further. The story carries a certain message behind the narrator's plight. The story shows the narrator to be suffering the consequences of his actions and that he could be far worse off for something less. When it came down to it, he finds that trying to prove himself as a bad ass resulted in getting him nowhere. He had his limits and that night he found them and nature has shown him that there will always be some greasy character willing to do worse.
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.
The narrator in “Greasy Lake” does not know what bad means until his own “badness” is put to the test in the real world. From his experience, Sammy learns that he will...
In order to better understand the premises of the story a short summary is needed to get to know the narrator better. The protagonist, although not named tries to enjoy his summer with two of his friends Jeff and Digby by being rebels. Initially looking for trouble, they ride around from place to place using the protagonist’s parents’ borrowed car. They go looking for trouble at a place called Greasy Lake where they mistake a car for their friend’s car and try interrupt him while getting busy with a lady. When they interrupt the couple in the car, they find out that their friend Tony wasn’t in there, but a stranger, a real “badass”, their foil, was interrupted who proceeds to beat down the protagonist and his two friends. Out of rash thinking he hits the “badass” in the head with a tire iron just enough to knock him out. Once he is down the protagonist and his friends try to ravage the “foxy” lady the re...
Often, when a story is told, it follows the events of the protagonist. It is told in a way that justifies the reasons and emotions behind the protagonist actions and reactions. While listening to the story being cited, one tends to forget about the other side of the story, about the antagonist motivations, about all the reasons that justify the antagonist actions.
The film, The Waterboy, revolves around the story Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler), a waterboy for the University of Louisiana Cougars. Due to his lack of social skills and frequent stuttering, Bobby is the victim of constant abuse by members of the team and there head coach, Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed) who eventually fires Bobby. Bobby eventually finds another waterboy job at South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs led by Coach Klein (Henry Winkler). After being mistreated by Mud Dog players, Coach Klein convinces Bobby to stand up for himself. Bobby sprints off the sideline and tackles the quarterback who was making fun of him, displaying an unexpected amount of physical prowess. Realizing his potential, Coach Klein offer Bobby
In the beginning of the story, the narrator feels very uncomfortable knowing that he will
“Love in L.A.” uses irony to teach its readers, showing us that unless we put in the time and effort, we will not reach our goals. Jake wanted better for his life but didn’t want to do what it took to get that better life. Instead of Jake is going for it, he spent all of his time daydreaming and lying instead of growing up and working for it. It is clear Jake has been stuck in this phase of his life for a long time. In fear of loosing his freedom in life, Jake made his life harder than what it needed to
The evil nature of this individual is made manifest, and thus evil enters the story in a significant way.
1. If the narrator is the protagonist in this story, who (or what) is the antagonist? With whom (or what), exactly, is she in conflict? What does the narrator seem to want, and what prevents her from getting it?
At this point of the story it is reflective of a teenager. A teenager is at a time in life where boundaries and knowledge is merely a challenging thing to test and in some instances hurdled. Where even though you may realize the responsibilities and resources you have, there is still a longing for the more sunny feelings of youth.
The story goes into explaining the difference between an organized and independent killer. Primarily, this story is of an independent killer whose contract with a customer determines his price for killing. The independent killer works for himself and trains and learns how to become a professional killer so that when a customer seeks a hitman, they know the perfect person that will perform the execution. Based off the contract for the hitman, it is beneficial that the hitman does not know the motive for killing; because, it may inhibit execution because of morally justified behavior. In the story of the hitman Pete, focused on what the money for killing might bring- (such as good reputation and a certain lifestyle), and ignored what the killing of one person might do and also the reaction of the victim during execution. When Pete encountered his first execution, the look on the victims face is what haunted him until his second killing. Based off the look from his first killing, is what ignited his suppressed feeling of deviance and wrongful killing, starting his professional hitman
The irony of the story is that her husband is alive, but she is dead when he reaches home. The tragic death of her husband help her to grasp the beauty of life and the fact that she does not have much more time to live it. In an hour of time she comes to peace with herself and wins her "battle".
10. The theme of the story is that people will do anything for their loved ones even though it means it will hurt other people that are innocent. The quote “How brave. How desperate. How insane. To keep her son from a manslaughter charge that might have turned into murder, she would scar herself and send another man to his death” (328) describes how Connie did everything she could to protect her son Neil, despite the fact that she would be hurting an innocent man. This theme is very true and applies in many situation where people are carelessly blamed from crimes that they didn’t commit.
... way of thinking is wrong and he admits that he is wrong and reconciles himself with his friends and family.
T.C. Boyle’s A friend of the Earth is a creative novel that explores the importance of life preservation, love, and family. The story is centered around the main character Tyrone Tierwater and his journey through life alternating from present to past events. Aside from Tierwaters radical activism he also played a role as a loving father to his daughter Sierra Tierwater who lost her life standing up for nature conservation. From an outsider 's perspective Ty and Sierras relationship could seem brittle and unstable, but in truth these two characters share a bond so strong that no matter what comes between them they can 't be broken. Sierra and Tys connection thrives after he marries his second wife Andrea Cotton who is the beautiful spokeswoman for the group Earth Forever! In such an astonishing