Revelatory Moment In Greasy Lake

The short story “Greasy Lake" by Thomas Coraghessan Boyle reveals a moment of enlightened transformation in three young men as they go through a series of mistakes, consequences, and reaffirmation. Greasy Lake is a short story that traces the events leading up to the young men’s revelatory moments. This short story can easily be applied to similar stories of young men all over the world as a well-remembered turning point on the road to the maturity. For the characters of this story, one mistake follows another, revealing potential and actual consequences leading up to their revelatory moment. The young men in the story see themselves as tough characters: The narrator even explains how they wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with
toothpicks in their mouths, sniffed glue, drink gin and grape juice. They were nineteen. They thought this was how it must look to act as a bad character. These boys see themselves as the epitome of coolness. The narrator and his friends believe they are acting cool they roll their own marijuana cigarettes and are smooth dancers they wear their sunglasses day and night, inside and out. They think of themselves as ‘bad characters’. Yet, they are not born in the streets, or self-sustaining tough guys. They are just simple sons in rebellion, trying to copy the character of tough guy look from the books and movies they encounter. Only three days into summer break with nothing to do, they choose to go in search of thrills, they find themselves in more trouble than they had anticipated. In the midst of a climactic moment, the narrator recounts his mistakes: losing his grip on the keys, identifying the wrong car and going for the tire iron, all choices that lead to near tragedy. This series of mistakes sets the stage for their eventual transformation. “Greasy Lake" is more than just a story of one night in the life of three teenagers rather; it is a story of revelation. The narrator submerges into the dirty water of Greasy Lake in retreat and emerges with a cleansed sense of maturity and understanding. The series of mistakes and near consequences of the night’s events are now permanently etched into the subconscious of the three young men and will forever influence their future actions and behavior. Boyle’s tale of transformation has a mesmerizing effect on readers who can recount and relate to that defined moment of enlightenment that shaped their lives and brought them to their current state of maturity.