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The ''Greasy Lake" seems to be influence by Bruce Springsteen ''Spirit in the Night". It is like used an epigraph from his song even though its not about the characters of the story. The characters and actions are completely made up. The ''Greasy Lake'' seemed to just imitate the song and take on its a free spirit.…
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Through reading “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle it is easy to conclude that all three characters (Jeff, Digby, and the narrator) think they are bad, by what was mentioned in the beginning of the short story by the narrator saying “We were bad (Boyle 1).” Bad according to Webster dictionary can be define as having a wicked or evil character (Bad). With this definition in mind, it does not really describe any one character in “Greasy Lake.” Digby and his cohorts all think they are bad by the narrators description of the whole group by saying “We wore torn-up leather jackets… and drank gin and grape juice, Tango, Thunderbird, and Bali Hai (Boyle 1).” The scene…
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According to the dictionary, setting is defined as “the surroundings and environment of anything,” or “ the locale or period in which the action of a novel, play, film, and etc.”. When writers begin writing their story, they must think about where and when the story will take place. It is important because the setting creates the mood and the world of the story. Although the stories “A&P” by John Updike and “The Greasy Lake” by T.C. Boyle are completely different when it comes to the setting, both of their settings are almost as important as the actual story itself.…
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In “Greasy Lake” the story begins with “…when it was good to be bad…”pg. (189) lines (2-3) then the story goes on to describe what classifies them as “dangerous characters” line(4) the paragraph ends with “At night, we went up to “Greasy Lake” lines (13-14). Usually in stories night symbolizes something bad, sinister, or something generally accepted…
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Greasy Lake by T. Coraghesan Boyle’s is the story of a group of adolescents, searching for the one situation that will proclaim them as bad boys and how their minds change. The greasy lake is a short story which the narrator uses details, imagination and language to describe and represent the moral condition of each character. Also, during the story the narrator shows us how each character becomes closer to maturity after facing a crazy and unexpected night in a local lake, where we are all witness to and extreme change in their lives causes by immature action.…
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The short story “Greasy Lake" by Thomas Coraghessan Boyle reveals a moment of enlightened transformation in three young men as they go through a series of mistakes, consequences, and reaffirmation. Greasy Lake is a short story that traces the events leading up to the young men’s revelatory moments. This short story can easily be applied to similar stories of young men all over the world as a well-remembered turning point on the road to the maturity. For the characters of this story, one mistake follows another, revealing potential and actual consequences leading up to their revelatory moment. The young men in the story see themselves as tough characters: The narrator even explains how they wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with…
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Walker, Michael. "Boyle 's `Greasy Lake ' And The Moral Failure Of Postmodernism." Studies In Short Fiction 31.2 (1994): 247. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. This article talks about how Boyle is a somewhat a dark writer and how he is great at setting the mood by using certain words metaphors and similes. The writer talks about how in “Grease Lake” Boyle denies his characters the possibility of learning anything from the situations they are in.…
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The third night of summer the narrator and three boys take off looking for adventure in their “parents whining station wagon”(S1) (Boyle 77). The narrator characterizes himself as a “dangerous character” (Boyle 77) although driving his parent’s station wagon hardly counts as being dangerous. The narrator and two of his friends drive up to “Greasy Lake” looking for something to do. “The Indians had called it Wakan a reference to the clarity of its waters” (Boyle 77) (S2). The once clear waters refers to the current state of the boys and the lake described now as “fetid and murky” (Boyle 77) (S3) refers…
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The unnamed narrator and protagonist from the short story, “Greasy Lake,” by T.C. Boyle makes a shocking display of immaturity in youth. The protagonist is introduced as an upper-middle class male with lower class intentions. In pursuit of some late-night fun at the local hangout, he and his two comrades encounter a little more mischief than they were hoping for. Quickly, his rebellion against society leaves him in a dangerous and unforgiving position that causes him to rethink his outlook on life.…
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There comes a time in many kids life where they want to be bad. They don’t want to be bad to get in trouble and face consequences. They want to be bad because it appears cool. The cool kids sat in the back of class and talked while the teacher was teaching. The cool kids went to parties where there was underage drinking and drugs. The cool kids walked around wearing cool clothes and sunglasses as if they answered to no one and had no care in the world. The cool kids acted out in ways considered bad, and it was cool to be bad. Eventual this fantastical idea of being bad is usual outgrown by progressive steps, or important events that help shape young adults morals. However, Boyle’s characters in in this fiction had a much harsher consequences then drinking underage or taking drugs could provide. Grease Lake is a sordid coming of morals short fiction. Written by T. Coraghessan Boyle, it follows three main characters that thought they were cool, because they think they were bad. The three characters in the story experienced a change in morality, realizing that wanting to be bad by their actions, and the actual acts associated with being 'real' bad boys are two different things. Their road to moral maturity literally ended at Grease Lake, and by the time the night was through, they had each experienced the tangible dangers and realization of the unexpected consequences from trying to be bad.…
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Greasy lake The boys are seeking to gain the respect and honor that man hood has for them. They thought that bad was good of course in that time it was the cool thing to do, they went cruising around the strip sixty seven times trying to look like bad boys. Then all of a sudden Digby (one of the narrator’s friends) fought for the wheel because he saw his friend’s car at greasy lake so they thought to play a prank on him they flashed their lights and honk the horn to look like the police. But they didn’t see their friend tom when they got close to the car they saw a dead body in the water they then screamed and ran for their lives in that mucky water while they were running in terror a lady screamed out and pointed to them and said “Its them they tried to raped me”(Greasy lake 134) and a greasy fellow came up to them and said “I’m going to kill you”(134) so they try to run which isn’t manly at all they don’t get to far eventually the greasy man catches up to them and starts beating them up. The boys take on the stronger man because it’s like a right of passage like when the Indians would go hunting with their sons they would leave as boys and come back men. Well if all three of them can some how beat this man up they will be manly and no one would mess with them, they try to punch him and kick him but it seemed like nothing would work some one even tried some karate moves on him but he just got slammed on the ground and the greasy man started to kick him. The greasy man then started to mess up the narrators mothers car then all of a sudden “whack” digby hit him in the ear with the tire iron, it was silent and everyone was scared because they thought they killed him and like little boys they run away for the car only to find out that they cant start it, “We were bad characters and we were scared and hot and three steps over the line anything could happen.”(132) The boys realize about them selves and the world is that they should not try to be something that their…
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Boyle describes the lake as to be a place where some rather not go anymore do to its physical condition. The lake is physically described as “fetid and murky, the mud banks glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires” pg 77. The narrator continues to describe the lake with such a horrid atmosphere when he and his friends arrive. Describing all things that come about in a place like that “the bad breath of decay all around me” pg 80, signifying that the Greasy Lake was not a place to be.…
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There comes a time in every young man's life for him to break a barrier of reality to go from invincibility to mortality. They have to take that leap forward gradually, but as they do they will make mistakes along the way and have to learn from the bad ones. The short story “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle is about three young men who have to break that barrier of reality in one horrible night by making mistake after mistake, only they have to learn from their mistakes quickly or they wont get out of their bad situation. There are two different symbols, themes, and characters that have meaning to it in this story. The symbols are the key being lost, and the water itself signifies a rebirth. The themes that are seen in this story are that the point of view was told from an older person looking back at his younger years and that he would have to learn from the mistakes of the past. The characters that have meanings to them are the main character and Bobby (the bad guy).…
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An epiphany is when a character comes to realization of discovery in his or life based on what was seen or experienced. Usually, an epiphany is made at the end of a story. In “A & P,” the epiphany for the story is when the main character, Sammy realizes that it there is going to be hardships in life after he quits his job. He realizes this because as he looks at his previous boss, Sammy notices that he could not quit as fast as he did. He took up for the girls that were being insulted, but did he need to quit his job in defense for the girls that would pay him no mind? In “Greasy Lake,” the speaker wanted the reader think he was a “bad” kid, but was he as bad as he thought? He drank a weak wine, grape juice and gin, and drove his parent’s station wagon. The epiphany made at the end of the story was that the speaker and his friends were not as bad as he thought they were. To be frankly honest, they really did not know what bad was from the start. These two stories are very similar when learning life experiences, and letting the character know who they are as people.…
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There are six criteria that need to be met when writing a narrative essay: Narrate your story using first person point of view, Write about a past or personal event with past tense verbs, Focus on one specific dramatic event that builds tension – suspense – for the reader, use vivid and specific language that describes and recreates scenes and people, write meaningful dialogue that moves the story, and explain why the event is significant to you.…
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