Greasy Lake by Boyle Analysis Essay

T. Coraghessan Boyle writes, “[There was a time] when it was good to be bad... we were all dangerous characters then” in his short story “Greasy Lake” (581). The story shows how every human has a brutal side to them. Some people are better at hiding it, especially now that violence has become prominent in the world. In “Greasy Lake,” Boyle uses tone, style, and character to convey the effect of violence in society.

The narrator’s repetitive use of pessimistic diction brings attention to how deep of a devastating impact a group of people can have. For instance, the way he describes the lake, “The Indians had called it Wakan, a reference to the clarity of its waters,” years later the atrocities that were put upon the lake had made it “fetid and murky” (581-582). The humans living around the lake had neglected it so much there was nothing good left of it. Violence is prominent in the story. At first the narrator is put off by the thought of violence, “I was terrified. Blood was beating in my ears, my hands were shaking” (583). Clearly, the narrator has an underlying anxiety with violence. At the same time, he is surrounding himself with violence. His word choice shows how the narrator is scuffed up character by having the narrator use descriptive words like “stabbed” and “kamikaze” (582 and 584). By using these words to describe their actions implies people who correlate themselves with chaotic behavior are the path of self-destruction. Furthermore, the use of the phrase, “frogs, crickets” (585) instead of complete silence helps the audience understand not only the intensity of situation the guys had got themselves in, but the narrator’s feeling of unsteadiness.

Along with diction, Boyle also uses style to show how violence is a roadblock in society’s improvement. Using phrases like “little fox” and “already tainted” (582 and 584) to describe the women in the story shows how stuck in the past the men are. The narrator is showing how primitive males in society can be. When they were attempting to assault the woman, Boyle uses the phrase “pure primal badness” (584) shows how it is deeply ingrained in animals to protect and take ownership of their mates. Boyle uses this phrase to show how the earliest human beings were violent and when it comes down to it, we all have a bad side in us. He feels numb to the violence around him “I kept it there because bad characters always keep tire irons under the driver’s seat,” (583). He now has the self-awareness to understand what he was doing was not for the betterment of society, though he still had good left in him. In addition to the violence, Boyle put this phrase of the narrator’s self-reflection in the text because he wants the readers to sympathize with the narrator.  Lastly, the choice of having the narrator come face to face with “the dead man rotating to expose a mossy beard and eyes cold as moon” (585) shows how a person gets what they give. The dead man’s eyes being described as “cold as moon” (585) symbolizes the mysteriousness and death that happens in and around Greasy Lake.  The man in the lake is a forewarning for the narrator, because he found the dead guy implies that the narrator will have the same fate. Unless he changes his attitude towards life.

Thirdly, Boyle uses character to show a person conforms to their surroundings. Boyle makes the choice of having violent characters surround the narrator. At the beginning of the story the narrator speaks about how life used to be, “There was a time when courtesy and winning ways went out of style, when it was good to be bad” (581). The use of this line shows in life sometimes the bad people are seen as good and vice versa. A person will often assume a person is a good person if they agree with their actions. The other two characters come off as much more violent than the narrator, “Digby… delivered a savage kung-fu blow to the greasy character’s collarbone… Jeff was on the guy’s back, biting at his ear... I was terrified. Blood was beating in my hands” (583). It can be concluded the narrator was not as violent in the past as he is with Digby and Jeff. People often do not like upsetting their friends so they do things they normally would not do. In addition to the narrator’s friends, Boyle also wrote in “this bad greasy character” (583) to act as the narrator’s villain. Meaning everyone is their own protagonist who has their own antagonist and has their own struggles, including vile people.

In his short story “Greasy Lake” T. Coraghessan Boyle shows everybody has their own dark side and how violence has become so ingrained in our society. Boyle shows how violence has a negative effect on society through character, tone, and style.