analysis of Greasy Lake by T.C Boyle PDF

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Dominic Scacco Professor Jackson College Writing 106 7 March 2018 Coming of Age in “Greasy Lake” A common partner to a coming of age story are gender roles. In fiction it is typical to see a coming of age story be greatly affected by gender roles. A coming of age story about a boy is most likely very different from that of a girl, but both are used as a way of social commentary by the author. Each story, despite being different, both comment on gender and society, and highlight the struggles of modern young adults. “Greasy Lake” by T. C. Boyle is a bildungsroman about boys growing up in the 80’s, clearly showing the interaction between gender and coming of age, while highlighting the struggles of trying to conform to a societal ideal. The story begins with a proclamation, “There was a time when courtesy and winning ways went out of style, when it was good to be bad… We were all dangerous characters then,” (Boyle, 425). In this statement, the narrator is recalling what it was like to be a teenager, and how being “bad” was the norm. An inference can be made that acting like this bad teen was the cool thing to do, because the narrator describes how all of his friends and all of the other teenagers would do it. The bad teen starter pack included alcohol, drugs, sex, staying out late, listening to rock and roll, and ignoring responsibilities.

The path these young adults chose to go down was a path of rebellion. They were acting against what their parents and teachers expected and looked for from them, which is most likely what teachers and parents expect from the youth in today’s world; regularly attending school, getting good grades, and eventually moving on to get a college degree and a full time job, etc.… In trying to resist their parents’ plans for them, the characters in the story conform to a common societal belief: the bad teen ideal. This cycle is seen even today, so what makes this coming of age story so special? From analyzing the text, there is a distinction between how males participated in the bad teen ideal and how women did. “We went up to the lake because everyone went there… watch a girl take off her clothes and plunge into the festering murk,” (Boyle, 426). It seems like the boys only kept girls around to please their sexual desires, “We hit the horn, strobed the lights, and then jumped out of the car to press our witty faces to Tony’s windows; for all we knew we might even catch a glimpse of some little fox’s tit…” (Boyle 427). It is evident here and elsewhere in the novel that these boys did not have respect for women as people, which is unfortunately a battle still being fought in today’s world. Disrespecting women is a theme seen repeated throughout the story, culminating in the one of the most horrific events in the plot, “it was the sight of those flaming toes that set us off… We were on her like Bergman’s deranged brothers—see no evil, hear none, speak none—panting, wheezing, tearing at her clothes, grabbing for flesh. We were bad characters, and we were scared and hot and three steps over the line—anything could have happened,” (Boyle 429). Here, the three boys try and rape the lover of the man they just viciously fought. It’s almost like something came over them. Some sort of primitive animal behavior revealed itself and took over the boys. It seems as if they didn’t fully realize what they were doing, or that they knew exactly what they were doing and were relishing in it.

The theme of disrespecting women in this story is a method used by the author to send a message to readers. This message reveals the destructive, dangerous, and primitive nature found and acted upon in men. In the case of coming of age, the display of this behavior is very dangerous for the future of these boys. The author is highlighting how the inequality of gender in today’s world is the product of the upbringing of today’s adult generation. Boys grew up trying to rebel against what was right and do what they thought would make them look cool, and in turn poisoned themselves. The pressure to fit into the bad teen mold for these boys lead them to actually become evil, which is not what they intended. The bad teen ideal was just an act so that the youth could avoid growing up and look cool to their friends. It was not intended to turn them into criminals. This event from the plot raises the question of whether or not the bad teen ideal is just an act or if it’s real. Are these boys actually dangerous characters in their core, or just pretending? Will they in turn grow up to be actual criminals? One would make the assumption that if these boys almost raped the partner of a man they thought they killed, they are truly and actually bad characters, and that this phase they are going through isn’t actually a phase. But looking deeper into the text may reveal a different argument, “a pair of headlights swung into the lot… We bolted. First for the car, and then, realizing we had no way of starting it, for the woods. I thought nothing. I thought escape,” (Boyle 429). An argument can be made here that if the bad teen ideal were truly who these boys were, they would have stuck around to confront the car pulling into the lot, but their first instinct was escape. Why would the author include this? The events at this point of the plot seem to suggest that the three boys share characteristics with animals. Preying on a helpless and weaker person as if she were a meal for them, then exhibiting skittish behavior by running at the sight of a

potentially stronger opponent. It seems that the author is comparing them to wild dogs; vicious, afraid, dirty, and untamed. So what can be said about the coming of age of animalistic men? That they may grow up to be rapists and delinquents. There is foreshadowing in the plot that affirms the theory of these boys growing up to be bad people; the dead body seen in the lake. When the main character runs away from the headlights into the lake, he sees a dead body floating next to him. This dead man is a view into the three boys’ futures if they continue down this path of destruction. This is not to say that the boys will necessarily commit suicide, although that is a possibility. It’s more of a metaphor. The boy saw this dead man in Greasy Lake, which is the symbol of the teenager’s misbehavior, and the center of their convoluted idea of what reality was. This is the event in the plot where the characters realize that they are choosing the wrong path for themselves in their journey of growing up. “Greasy Lake” by T. C. Boyle is a bildungsroman about boys growing up in the 80’s, clearly showing the interaction between gender and coming of age, while highlighting the struggles of trying to conform to a societal ideal. This story is essentially a warning to the youth. Boyle is trying to warn teenagers to choose the right path and to not become someone the aren’t, just so they can get approval from their friends. This story isn’t only a warning, but it’s also informative. The author is describing the potential reasons as to why some adult men are rapists, sexist, and corrupt people; because of how they grew up.

Works Cited Boyle, T. Corraghessan. Greasy Lake. 2016. Ebook [Chegg]....