Perfectly captured in the title, the character being the unnamed narrator of this short story “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle. This story follows the narrator though a series of unfortunate events where He and his friends Digby and Jeff attempt to exemplify the persona that they believe would be considered in accordance with a bad or “Greasy Character”. These three boys at their last teenage year as they spin there wheels in a June summer of 1960’s suburbia. Just as many small towns there was a shortage of social activities especially for teenagers so they fill there down time with sneaking around drinking and smoking. Succumbed by boredom the narrator decides to round up his gang and hop in the family station wagon and set off in search
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They bolted but the only person whose escape plan is shown is the narrator’s. He bolts for the lake treading and treading through muck and filth to a point to where no one can see him. As he completely submerges himself, he feels the fleshy composition of a dead body. The point at which he is submerged and finds this body and comes out of the water can be symbolized as a reverse baptism where instead of being bathed pure holy water in which you are forgiven of your sins and transgressions he is bathed in those very metaphoric transgressions through the murky water of the greasy lake. Not until after he is free and clear of the people searching for him, the boys gather back in the old parking lot where now a third set of headlights now sweep into their vision. But this time the now bad characters are greeted by two girls who refer to the three boys as such, bad characters. But the boys that in the midst of their escape and regrouping have fully and violently crashed back into the reality of their horrid actions. The girls ask the three now bad characters if they want to party and before the narrator can respond Digby says “No thanks, he said leaning over me some other time” (Boyle 9). Just like that they all come full circle and the ramifications of their actions have set in and the narrator reverts back into a child with a new view on his rebellious
They bolted but the only person whose escape plan is shown is the narrator’s. He bolts for the lake treading and treading through muck and filth to a point to where no one can see him. As he completely submerges himself, he feels the fleshy composition of a dead body. The point at which he is submerged and finds this body and comes out of the water can be symbolized as a reverse baptism where instead of being bathed pure holy water in which you are forgiven of your sins and transgressions he is bathed in those very metaphoric transgressions through the murky water of the greasy lake. Not until after he is free and clear of the people searching for him, the boys gather back in the old parking lot where now a third set of headlights now sweep into their vision. But this time the now bad characters are greeted by two girls who refer to the three boys as such, bad characters. But the boys that in the midst of their escape and regrouping have fully and violently crashed back into the reality of their horrid actions. The girls ask the three now bad characters if they want to party and before the narrator can respond Digby says “No thanks, he said leaning over me some other time” (Boyle 9). Just like that they all come full circle and the ramifications of their actions have set in and the narrator reverts back into a child with a new view on his rebellious