The Plot and Setting of “Greasy Lake”

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Anthony Richardson March 16, 2013 English 125 The Plot and Setting of “Greasy Lake” T. Coraghessan Boyle’s short story Greasy Lake is about one night in the life of three boys named Digby, Jeff, and an unidentified narrator of the story. The events that took place happened three days into the summer vacation while a car was parked at Greasy Lake. The boys noticed the car thinking it was a friend of theirs named Tony. This car was identical to Tony’s. There was nothing to do that night the boys was bored so they decided to play a joke on their friend. They thought he was in the car with his girlfriend having sex. They started to flash the headlights and honk the horn of their car they drove to Greasy Lake. This was an old station wagon that belonged to the narrator’s mother. In the act of the joke that they was doing on Tony they quickly realized that this was not Tony’s at all. It belonged to one of the town’s hoodlums. Upset that he was interrupted the hood starts a fight with boys. As struggle goes on, the narrator hits the hoodlum with a tire iron and it seems that he has killed him. Inflamed by the realistic thought of the murder of a man. So next the boys set there sight on the hoodlums girlfriend by sexually assaulting her and trying to rape her. But the three boy’s notices headlights from another vehicle pulling up beside the lake and boys all ran off. The narrator of the story chooses to escape into the lake where he sees a dead body and then turns around with the feeling of horror and fear. The narrator and the other two boys hide, the hoodlum is found and slowly remains consciousness. Next the hoodlum’s friends arrive to the lake joining him in destroying the station wagon the three drove to the lake in. Not long afterwards another car arrives at the lake with two girls very high on drugs.

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