"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...