Greasy Lake Character Analysis

“bad greasy character” (Boyle 78) is not one to think to show off his badness but only to react as a bad character will in such a situation. The third night of summer the narrator and three boys take off looking for adventure in their “parents whining station wagon”(S1) (Boyle 77). The narrator characterizes himself as a “dangerous character” (Boyle 77) although driving his parent’s station wagon hardly counts as being dangerous. The narrator and two of his friends drive up to “Greasy Lake” looking for something to do. “The Indians had called it Wakan a reference to the clarity of its waters” (Boyle 77) (S2). The once clear waters refers to the current state of the boys and the lake described now as “fetid and murky” (Boyle 77) (S3) refers
The narrator, Digby and Jeff decide to play a joke on their Tony and his girl and may even get the chance to “catch a glimpse of some little fox’s tit” (Boyle 78) (S5). Given that the narrator thought of having the chance to catch a glimpse of a girl in a moment of vulnerability symbolizes the characters immaturity. “The first mistake, the one that opened the whole floodgate, was losing my grip on the keys” (Boyle 78) (S6). Keys as a teen represent freedom from home and possibly parents and the freedom to do what they want. In this moment the keys represent the will and ability to leave once the narrator realizes what is about to happen. In “losing grip on the keys” (Boyle 78) the narrator loses control of the situation at hand (S7). Seeing that they only way the narrator would escape his fate is through the vehicle he came in, the keys being dropped also symbolize that the narrator at that moment is unable to change what is about to happen. He is in a situation that he himself and his friends have instigated and now they must face the greasy
Although victory was theirs it is still a battle and not one of the characters know what is to come before and after their encounter with the greasy character. The character knows that things about to change but is uncertain how. The narrator describes the character as a “very bad character” (Boyle78) (9), not the bad character that the narrator see himself as but a worse character than he is. The narrator sees the greasy character as a true bad. Without question moments later an attack is launched on the narrator. The narrator combs through the “stiff hacked grass for the keys” (Boyle78) (S10). The stiff hacked grass refers to the situation at hand. It is hard for the narrator to contemplate what happens next as the air between him and this greasy character