Summary:
"Greasy Lake" by T. C. Boyle and "Araby" by James Joyce are both about coming of age. Although, the two stories are very different they both symbolize a maturation point in the character's lives. The characters are faced with life-altering changes that affect their very thoughts and feelings, their own morals and a realization that they have been living a childish fantasy.
A Comparison of "Greasy Lake" and "Araby"
"Greasy Lake" by T. C. Boyle and "Araby" by James Joyce are both about coming of age. Although, the two stories are very different they both symbolize a maturation point in the character's lives. The characters are faced with life-altering changes that affect their very thoughts and feelings, their own morals and a realization that they have been living a childish fantasy. In both stories we see an understanding of a new and possibly brighter life; in both stories the narrator shows that the speaker's environment mirrors the emotional states of the characters.
In "Greasy Lake", the speaker describes how the characters are "bad." "We wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue and ether and what somebody claimed was cocaine"(par.1). Although, these things are not socially acceptable they are not really bad. The boys are simply wannabes who are trying to be cool. They want to impress the other teenagers with their antics.
In "Greasy Lake", the lake is at first pristine and beautiful. This is where the central action of the story takes place. "The Indians had called it Wakan, a reference to the clarity of the waters" (par.2). Like the lake the narrator was at first young and innocent. He then became jaded, like the lake. He was at first clean of true life experience and then he reached a maturation point. "I was nineteen, a mere child, an infant, and here
in the space of five minutes I'd struck down one greasy character and blundered into the water logged carcass of a second"(par.21). He has realized mortality here; he has realized just how young and inexperienced he was before this incident.
In "Greasy Lake", the speaker finally reaches his full maturation point in the story. "I just looked at her. I thought I was going to cry"(par.44). The narrator has realized the way he believed to be the true way of living really is no way to live at all. He has matured; he has grown into a true man and has escaped from the wannabe he was before. In a matter of one night his morals have completely changed. These experiences have left him jaded like the lake but nowhere near as dirty. In this section of the story "the birds had begun to take over for the crickets, and dew lay slick on the leaves" (par.32). He has seen a new beginning in his life. Life is sweeter now, he realized this when he realized his own mortality. The birds taking over for the crickets show a sweeter song, a sweeter nature. He has come out of the dark and has realized life is not about being bad.
In "Araby", All through this story there is emptiness and dead-ends. "North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free" (par.1). Like his heart, this neighborhood is quiet and full of despair. He is blinded like the street to his childish fantasy about Mangan's sister. The narrator describes a realization that he has come to. "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger" (par. 37). The darkness symbolizes his empty heart, for it is broken. He has
matured noticing that he was only driven by childish things and a childish fantasy. His eyes burned because he had been living this lie for sometime and had finally come to terms with this reality. He has now matured and regrets his boyhood dream.
Both stories contain an essence of losing innocence and coming of age. Both boys are first naive then they realize something about themselves. They realize they have been living life foolishly and are set to change their ways. They both have come to terms with life and it has brought them close to tears. Both boys have seen their foolish fantasies and are ready to make a change in their lives.
Works Cited
Boyle, T. C. "Greasy Lake" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Ninth ed. New York: Longman, 2005.143-151.
Joyce, James. "Araby." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Ninth ed. New York: Longman, 2005. 612-617.
This is the complete article, containing 721 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
