Adolescence In The Trojan Sofa, And Greasy Lake

Adolescence is a major turning point in every young man’s life. Not only is it physical, but it is also very psychological. In this transitional period of a boy’s life, there is much identity confusion as he is preparing for adulthood. However, the changes during adolescence varies in each boy. Through an analysis of three short stories it is apparent that the young men featured in each come to age differently. Michael Cunningham’s “White Angel,” Bernard Maclaverty’s “The Trojan Sofa,” and T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” all have a major theme in common, to expose the truths behind human relationships and decision making, and each author uses symbols and the settings to represent dangerous relationships as well as love and death. In

In the story, it symbolizes love because that’s where Carlton makes love to his girlfriend for the first time and where Carlton and Frisco smoke marijuana and drink whiskey to form their close bond. One evening Frisco’s Mother questions him: “is your brother taking drugs?’ relaxing Frisco replies ‘no’”. This shows the love between Frisco and Carlton is fraternal however, Carlton acts as a mentor toward his little brother. Although what Carlton teaches his brother is far from what any parent would teach their child, Frisco idolizes his brother as a God-like figure. The angel is also symbolic of death because after being spooked by something Carlton frantically runs from the cemetery and the angel statue directly into the glass door and dies from the injuries that he sustains. Moreover, death is a recurring theme in Cunningham’s story. Carlton’s death is revealed in the third paragraph before he actually meets his demise at the end. Before his death he is in the cemetery alone with the angel. The brothers’ mother, Isabel also experienced death when she lost her first husband during World War II and has also suffered through the loss of several miscarriages. The brothers’ father constructs a grandfather clock to pass on to future generations when he

Boyle uses a dark setting to represent suspense and idolization that the boys act badly. As the main character hides himself in the “Greasy Lake” his hidden identity appears: “I was nineteen, a mere child, an infant, and here in the space of five minutes I’d struck down one greasy character…” Boyle significance of using a dark setting uncovers the main characters childish behavior and shows the readers that the character is not a bad ass. Similarity to “White Angel” and “Trojan Sofa”, Boyle uses darkness in his story to expose his characters. This resemblance is seen when Cunningham uses Frisco in “White Angel” to discover the truth about Carlton, when Maclaverty reveals Niall from the sofa in the story to the British General, and when Boyle has the main character in the “Greasy Lake” expose his true