Literary Analysis Of Greasy Lake

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Name Instructor Course Date Literary analysis of T.C. Boyle's short story, “Greasy Lake.” “Greasy Lake” is a short story that comes out as a “rebel without a cause”. The story is about three teenagers who look for trouble and find it in the summer evening. They hang out in Greasy Lake a local joint. They spot a car, which they confuse with their friend's car and end up harassing the occupants who are a man and his girl. The man is angered by the boys’ behaviors and this leads to a fight. The narrator hits the man using a tire iron nut and they do not realize if he is hurt or dead. The girl jumps out of the car to find out what is happening and the boys attempt to attack her too. Luckily, before they implement the mission, they are disrupted by a car, which heads towards the parking, and due to the guilt, they run to hide “The headlights came at me like accusing fingers. I was gone.” When hiding in weeds surrounding the greasy water the narrator sees a floating corpse. The author’s main aim is to point out the dangers that are posed by the lake and how people end up losing their lives in the lake. …show more content…

After some time they then show up from their hiding place and when surveying the damaged car, another vehicle jerks into the lake. The occupants of the car are two women who examine a motorcycle (Boyle). In addition, according to them, the bike was owned by Al, "That's his bike over there, Al's”, and it crosses the narrator's mind that the corpse he saw in the lake must be Al, but he remains silent. Later the women invite the boys to party. Due to the sight of the damaged car, the narrator says, “I thought I was going to cry." Through the narrator, it comes out clear that time could be referred “good to be bad." On analyzing the story carefully, it shows the boys are not right. In the story, changing of culture due to time is evident, and the young men wished to be part of