Greasy Lake Symbolism

Greasy Lake” Greasy lakes is an excellent yet outrageous story, due to the descriptions and comparisons that Tom Coraghessan Boyle throws at his readers. Its these mysterious descriptions and comparisons, that hold the key in identifying the hidden symbols in this story. Three major symbols are the name Greasy, the narrator gives the lake, the lake itself and how the narrator‘s filth reflects on the lake , and the mislaid car keys. These symbols played an immense part in the revelation of the narrorator “bad character”. The Narrator opens up the story, talking about the nature of how being bad was good, and they live in a time “When you Cultivated Decadence like a taste” (Boyle, 125). The narrator and his two friends, Digby and Jeff, were
He realizes he’s only a kid and shouldn’t be witnessing this whole ordeal. Still in mind the lost keys, the solution to his problems are still concealed by the darkness of the lakes vicinity. “ The Keys are his ticket to avoidance. With the keys in his possession , this episode will mean nothing; he may ignore any and all carcasses.” (Walker, 5) This is obviously understandable, but if the narrator didn’t fumbled the keys then growth and experience wouldn’t be learned from his recently degrading action. In turn the narrator would not go through an eye opening chance in his life, so loosing the keys were his salvation. The third symbol is the keys, finally after “Bobby” and the blonde fraternity looking brothers were done demolishing the narrators car he emerged from the lake. When getting out of the water the setting establishes this for the readers “ from water to land, and from night to morning, parallels his passage from ignorance to knowledge, from chaos to order, from naivete to understanding.”(Walker,1) This passage from walker helps the reader see the end of the revelation, the change in the