Greasy Lake Essay

The story “Greasy Lake” by Bruce Springsteen is about three male teenagers who have entered an area where rebellion is accepted. They go through a journey of adventure looking for trouble during the beginning of their summer vacation and they easily encounter it. During this era in 1985 it was “good to be bad” where courtesy and chivalry had gone out of style, and these characters where not going to be left out. They wanted to fit in and be bad characters until they were faced with a situation where

that this is not who they are. Some disobey and even be disrespectful to their parents just because they want to be cool, and want to show their friends that they can be just like them. In the three stories “Senior Picture Day” by Michele Serros, “Greasy Lake” by Tom Coraghessan Boyle, and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, one can see that all the characters in these three stories have the same problem, which is growing up. They have to deal with peer pressure and pretend to be someone else just so they can fit

In results of desires and unexpected outcomes, innocence and guilt lie based upon the person's thoughts and actions into their own future. In Barn Burning by William Faulkner and Greasy Lake by T.C Boyle, the narrators appear to be considerate on the changes the characters experience while being exposed to violence themselves or being affected by their own or someone's actions. The character who was violent played a major role in the story affects the other characters surrounding them. Even though

The story, “Birnam Wood” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, is about a young man named Keith who was a part-time substitute teacher who filled in whenever he received a call. Not having a steady job meant that Keith and his unemployed girlfriend Nora could only afford to live in small rundown shacks. Keith describes the first place they lived in as, “a shack, a converted chicken coop from a time long gone.” (156) One day the two of them go to look at another seasonal rental, only this one was smaller and

Clifford Roberts “If the shoe fits why not wear it.” “You haven’t heard the last of this yet. Mark my words if you don’t get me the money by morning you’ll wish you never were born.” Unbeknown to Sherlock, Butcher was just a few blocks away, wearing a bomber jacket, tired of the aggravation, and ripping mad over having been bamboozled. He told his sidekick Herman, “We need to teach that guy a lesson. They both checked weapons make sure they were loaded and zoomed outside, got in the car and sped

How “bad” can one be when put in a seriously “bad” situation? “Greasy Lake,” written by T. Coraghessan Boyle, depicts some rebellious characters getting into situations that are too rebellious for them to handle. These various situations, as well as the characters themselves, tell the reader something more than what is actually happening in the story. This makes “Greasy Lake” an allegory, because it can be read at a literal level, but interpreted on a second, more meaningful level. The story of “Young

Literature 115-003 April 22, 2010 Donna Craine The Hit Man’s Contradiction T. Coraghessan Boyle is a unique modern author whose work is a mixture of humor and social exploration. Boyle seems to have a very morbid sense of humor; most of what he writes pushes the envelope and challenges the meaning of what humor is. T. C. Boyle was born on December 2, 1948. He grew up in a small town in Iowa and first had dreams of being a musician. To this day Boyle still performs in a garage band and is very

(Discussion on theme “people often sleep with the enemy” in “Spoon River Anthology”) Creative title (will come back when feeling creative) For reasons unknown the people of Spoon River have continued to make the same mistake over, and over, and over again. The people of Spoon River have a nasty habit of sleeping with the enemy. That is to say they surround themselves with those that seek to harm them, both mentally and physically. Some examples of this sort of behavior is Loise Smith, Dora Williams

Prose Comparison The short stories "Greasy Lake," by Coraghessan Boyle, and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates are very similar, mostly so when it comes to the setting and how it contributes to the story. First of all, the setting greatly affects the way the characters actions and words, in "Greasy Lake" Digby, Jeff, and the protagonist are seen as stock characters from the 1950's, thinking it was "good to be bad" (Boyle, 687). Connie, in "Where Are You Going, Where

Lake Bridgeport was built in 1930 for flood control, water storage and recreation. Tarrant County owns the land and water that makes the lake. There is a spillway that takes water through the Trinity River to Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth. This year has been a rough year for Lake Bridgeport with three digit temperatures and draining water to the other lakes. Since one of the purposes to build Lake Bridgeport was for storage, The Tarrant County water district approved to let out 20,000 acre feet