Greasy Lake Analysis

In the short story Greasy Lake, the author T. Coraghessan Boyle styles his writing like a careless young adult and it assists in the set up of the story. Greasy Lake is written in first person point of view leading the main character to tell his rendition of the events that occurred including his own opinions. The way that Boyle swears and writes in an almost lazy manner at the beginning of the story makes the perspective of the storyline believable. “We were nineteen. We were bad. We read Andre Gide and struck elaborate poses to show we didn't give a shit about anything,” (Boyle 529). As the story progresses and the main character finds himself in a dangerous situation Boyle’s style changes and he begins to write in longer sentences that jump from one thought to another rapidly to reflect the main characters panic. “. . . The keys, the keys, why did I have to let go and lose the keys? I stumbled back, but the muck took hold of my feet—a sneaker snagged, balance lost—and suddenly I was pitching face forward. . .” (Boyle 533). Not only does

The main character makes many decisions in this story that he ends up regretting once it comes back to bite him. He is with his friends and showing off, trying to be tough, but when it comes down to it he cannot handle the repercussions of his actions. “I contemplated suicide, wondering if I’d need bridgework, scraped the recesses of my brain for some sort of excuse to give my parents. . .” (Boyle 534). He did not exactly feel guilty for the actions he took, but they were too much for him to handle. He was not mature enough to own up to what he did wrong, or even try to rectify the situation; he just ran into the woods and hit until the people searching for him gave up. If he had not been trying to act like somebody that he is not, he would not have been up in a situation that made him feel the way he did that night at Greasy