He Was So Fat Summary and Analysis

In "He Was So Fat," Goolrick discusses bullies that he encountered as a child. The family often charged goods and services in town, and when Goolrick or his siblings wanted something, they claimed to need it for school, and were sent to town to charge it. Goolrick set out one Saturday to town, a two-mile walk by the erotic stream, where a boy found an endless sea of beer bottles, condoms, and other objects. Goolrick notes that while his siblings were given bicycles, his parents never purchased one for him, so he was left to walk.

On the way to town, Goolrick met up with five boys from school who began to harass him, claiming he said something crude to one of them the previous week. Goolrick was unafraid at first, believing the boys to...