...In T. C. Boyle’s Greasy Lake, the author uses extensive imagery to present changes in settings. Blending in diction, metaphors, and other literary devices, the author details the narrator’s inevitable downfall and his eventual epiphany, which triggers a new outlook and deeper understanding of himself, society, nature, and thus the cultivation of a new character. Through gradual change of perspective, Boyle illustrates the narrator’s change from being rebellious and destructive to being appreciative of peace and convention. In the beginning of the story, the narrator depicts himself and his companions, Digby and Jeff, as rebellious teenagers who seek destruction in their lives just to look cool. “…gin in one hand and a roach clip in the other”, they took drugs and drank alcohol, listened to loud music, wrecked others’ properties, watched people make out by the lake, and “didn’t give a shit about anything” as they drove recklessly. The author portrays Greasy Lake as “fetid and murky” with its banks “glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires” . This image of destruction parallels with and supports the main characters’ violent behaviour, thus explaining why they to Greasy Lake. As the teenagers rebel, they allow their primal instincts to govern themselves. Dictions including “snuff”, “howl”, and “primeval susurrus” imitate their animalistic behaviour as they inch towards what they perceived as “nature” then, which is to rebel. The...
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...“Greasy Lake” – Story Analysis “Greasy Lake” was published in 1985 along with other stories from the author, T. Corahessan Boyle. The story is a gripping tale of three teen boys ‘living on the edge’, in which the author presents himself and his friends as a group of dangerous individuals. One would think that the narrator has truth in his words, but all events in the story point to the contrary. T. Corahessan Boyle, or T. C. Boyle for short, is an unreliable narrator. The truth of this story is not in the text, but in the underlying meanings and subliminal nuances. This hidden reality really helps the reader make a direct judgment of the characters. After reading between the lines, one quickly finds out who the characters are, but more importantly, who they are not. Every 19 year old boy wants to be tough. Reputation is everything to a teenager and toughness is the cornerstone of that reputation. Even though most boys at 19 are far from being truly tough, they sure do play the part. “Greasy Lake” outlines the adventure of three wanna’ be tough dudes. Throughout the story the author, also the narrator, leaves hints for the reader to help determine the characters background. He refers to them as ‘mistakes’ but after a while the reader realizes that the one sole mistake was the boys fronting to be tough in the first place. The second line of the story immediately triggers a judgment call for the reader. The narrator comes outright and says, “We were all dangerous characters...
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...When I began reading “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, I thought these boys were exhibiting typical behavior of young-adult men and their behavior led them to trouble. Boyle kept my interest by anticipation and disgust at the boys of the boy’s behavior in this story. The narrator, who is the main character of the story, often describes himself and his friends as “bad characters” and this becomes more convincing in the story. Boyle also used Greasy Lake at not only the setting for this story but also as a character. He described the lake as “fetid and murky, the mud banks glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires.” Greasy Lake is used as a symbol for the youth culture itself in the story and is littered by alcohol, sex and violence. When the boys first came across the greasy man at the lake, their attitudes change for a moment, all three of them are scared. When they began to fight with the man, the narrator grabbed the tire iron out of fear. Once the three of them beat him up and knock him unconscious, I think this only increased their already arrogant attitudes. When they attempt to rape the greasy man’s lady companion, I think that shows how truly pathetic each of them are, acting like “deranged brothers”. In a very disturbing way, the boys were asserting a primal physical dominance over the woman. I think Boyle’s was sending a message that there are consequences for our actions. Even though kids tend to think...
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...Greasy Lake: Perception of Morality in T.C Boyle. Thomas Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” is about rebelling and morality. Through the narrator’s perception and reality in life, he learns the distinction between what is right and wrong; these connections are crucial to one of the stories central themes. Ultimately, “Greasy Lake” teaches one the real nature of being rebellious is a mere perception conceived by each individual’s judgement of morality. The narrator’s lifestyle suggests an illusion of one’s perception of being rebellious. The narrator says, “We wore torn up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, wheeled our parents’ whining station wagons out onto the street” (144). The illusion one perceives “bad” is creating an image of a carefree attitude and staying out late with friends drinking while driving around late at night. Wearing rugged clothes with a hard demeanor portrays a rebellious attitude a teenager strives for in order to be “bad”. One associates drinking and staying out late to be a form of rebelling, a way of breaking rules and not obeying the laws. The narrator thinks he is living a rebellious lifestyle; however, it is an illusion of what he perceives to be “bad”. The fight the narrator experiences, demonstrates the reality of being rebellious. The narrator reflects back in life, “Never mind that I hadn’t been involved in a fight since sixth grade” (146). Fighting always gives an individual the perception one must be “bad”...
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...In enjoyed this week’s reading, but I decided to do my post on greasy lake. Greasy lake was written in a limited omniscience point of view with a participant Narrator. When I read the story on idea or behavior the it show is, we all wear a mask but we can never lie to ourselves. Many people have outward personas that we show the world. If it’s that were good people, courageous, fearless. The persona changes depending on the situation and with how we are interacting with it can be different if were at work, in front of family friends, our parents. This is not always a bad thing we wear these masks so that people see us as we want them to. However In greasy lake this was the mask of a “bad boy”. In the beginning of the story we get an internal monolog from the narrator setting the scene and telling us what kind of person he want us to think he is. “We were all dangerous characters then.” When the narrator says characters it really dive the point that they were acting. “We wore torn-leather jackets, slouched around with tooth picks in our...
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...In “Greasy Lake” by TC Boyle, the setting reflects the rebirth the main character undergoes. The main character observes the scenery around him before the lake and while he is still naive and attempting to be “bad.” He goes into the murky lake and emerges a new person. This becomes apparent because of the narrator's description of the scenery around him in a whole new way. Initially, the narrator explains how he wore a veil of toughness in an endeavour to appear cool. He discusses drinking and doing drugs and all the other dangerous activities he participated in. It is also revealed that he drives his mother’s car and it is implied that he isn’t as cool as he believes he is by the over the top way he describes all the tough things that he does...
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...The short story “Greasy Lake,” written by T.C. Boyle, is set during a time when “it was good to be bad,” and American teenagers were engulfed in the “greaser” culture of cars, rock and roll, and partying. The main characters in this short story go to an old, polluted lake in their small hometown looking for a good time, but find themselves in big trouble. Boyle uses items such as the conflict, the multiple stages of plot, and the use of foreshadowing, to develop the plot throughout the short story. The conflict in the story is between the protagonist and the “bad greasy character,” or the antagonist. In this case, the antagonist is the villain, acting against the protagonist, but not presenting a different viewpoint or course of action. The...
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...In the poem “Greasy Lake” written by T. Coraghessan Boyle the writer believes he is “bad”, bad in the sense of rebelling, smoking pot and doing things their parents wouldn’t exactly agree with. For example, the author says “courtesy and winning ways went out of style.” (425) which I take to mean, that being rude was consider cool. Along with that he also states “We wore torn up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue...” (425) Meaning that the author thought being bad meant putting on a demeanor that showed he was tuff and didn’t care. Throughout the story he faces quite a few events the beginning with the narrator being out on a summer night with his two best friends Digby and Jeff, they are bored and...
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...The story “Greasy Lake” is a coming of age story written by T. Coraghessan Boyle. It is a story about three nineteen-year-old men looking for adventure on a late summer night at Greasy Lake. Jeff, Digby, and the unnamed narrator are the main characters of the story. I will analyze the motives of the narrator. In my opinion, the narrator’s motives include doing anything he wants, acting bad because he thinks it is cool, and acting in self-defense. The narrator’s spends most of time with friends Jeff and Digby, but he is doing anything he wants. He is a nineteen-year-old man who wears a leather jacket for style. After school, he spends much of his time with his friends Jiff and Digby. They are violating rules and regulations because they are...
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...Hour 05/25/2014 The Greasiest In the short story “Greasy Lake,” T. Coraghessan Boyle the setting to reflects morality and corruption of the youth, creates an appropriate atmosphere, and better develops the characters of the story. Boyle does this by focusing the story at the Greasy Lake and making the Lake as both a setting and character. Greasy Lake is the story of three friends who are portray themselves to be bad characters. Until they run into a situation where they question, just how bad they are. It can easily be identify as the changing from boys to men, in the beginning of the story the narrator and his friends were compared to nature, which can relate to the many ironic events that happen to the narrator. Some of The circumstances that the narrator in "Greasy Lake" finds himself in are the same that many young people find themselves in when fighting war. One of the many things that took place was when the narrator sees himself as a tough guy or "bad character". He believes he is invincible, There is nobody as cool as he is, or as dangerous as him and his friends are. At the middle of the story the narrator and his friends got a harsh dose of reality as The mood of nature change when he ran into a tough guys which made him realized that he wasn't really tough at all, Making him run into the lake like a little bitch. At this point the narrator is not bothered about his mom’s car because he is now safe in the lake behind trees where no one could find him. Once the narrator...
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...In the story, Greasy Lake by Bruce Springsteen reflects how teenagers give into bad influences. Bad influences and decisions can cause bad consequences. Being around people like the girls in the story always doing drugs and partying means that the people around that environment all support bad behavior. Just like they found a “bad, greasy” stranger that physically beats them up. This shows that being around bad influences can lead to even worst consequences. It is interesting that the author decided to keep the protagonist’s' car tires intact, "It was true: the tires were intact. There was no windshield, the headlights were staved in, and the body looked as if it had been sledge-hammered for a quarter a shot at the country fair, but the tires...
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...5The story Greasy Lake is written by T.C. Boyle. The story contains three rebellious teenagers who seek trouble by traveling to the nearest lake. They intend to seek a good time being bad and adventures. The narrator and his friends Digby and Jeff are the main protagonists in the story as well. As they adventure into the lake, they encounter many troubles and conflicts along their journey. 5In the story, the primary setting is the lake, which is also referred to as Greasy Lake. The environment of the lake fits the story by creating a theme of rebellion and independence. This is support by the three teenage boys, the narrator, Digby, and Jeff. They all seek to journey to the lake to live their own lives. Furthermore, the lake can be best described...
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...In an interview on “Greasy Lake”, the author, T.C. Boyle, talks about how and why he wrote this particular type of story. Growing up in New York, there was a lake quite like the one mentioned in the tale that Boyle referenced tucked away in the woods of New York. For this lake to have such a lasting impression on the author, it must have been a pretty special place. The narrator is a character one could relate to as well; how strong he is, how terrified he was in that icy cold lake, the reader could easily relate to and connect to him. During the interview, Boyle makes many connections between the characters and situations in the story to real life experiences and emotions. From the time the narrator first introduced Greasy Lake to when the characters drove away after almost being killed, there was one point that was the pinnacle of the story....
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...T.C. Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” and J.C. Oates Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been?” both are stories about young people who want attention. They want to be cool and bad because other people are. Both stories have some similarities and differences between them. In “Greasy Lake” and Where Are You Going, the main characters are young people, the characters enjoy hanging out with friends and at the end of the stories everyone faces death; their mortality makes them change their mind about doing things. The author’s use of characterization, symbolism, and epiphanies gives the reader the clear understanding that the characters in each story pretend to be someone who they are really not. Firstly, the main characters in Greasy Lake are: Digby, Jeff, and the unnamed...
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...T. C. Boyle: A Writer of American Literature “Writing is a habit, an addiction, as powerful and overmastering an urge as putting a bottle to your lips or a spike in your arm” said T.C. Boyle on hub pages.com. One of America's most accomplished writers, T.C. Boyle also known as Tom Coraghessan Boyle is the author of 25 works of fiction and more than 100 short stories. According to an article T. Coraghessan Boyle written by Knudsen, James Boyle’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire and The New Yorker, and has been translated into more than 25 languages and won numerous awards. He is also a professor at the University of Southern California, where he found the creative writing undergraduate program. Boyle holds a Ph.D. in 19th-century British literature from Iowa State University. Currently he lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children. His latest publication is a second volume of short fiction, T.C. Boyle Stories II. Boyles has been recognized consistently for his work. This paper will cover his writing style, accomplishments, and critiques According to an article named, ‘ T Coraghessan Boyle’ written by Adams, Michael; Long, Douglas says many of Boyle's novels and short stories explore the baby boomer generation. His themes, such as the often-misguided efforts of the male hero and the smooth appeal of the anti-hero, appear alongside brutal satire, humor, and magical realism. His fiction also explores the pitiless and the unpredictability of nature and...
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