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"Greasy Lake" - how the point of view affected the meaning of the story?



mnh /  
Dec 8, 2014   #1
I had to write an essay about how the point of view affected the meaning of the story and I had to use three or more quotes to support it. I did is based on the short story "Greasy Lake" by T. Coraghessan Boyle. I don't think it's crucial that you actually know they story, I just need to know if the essay is okay and effective. Thank you. (:

Point of View in "Greasy Lake"
In "Greasy Lake," T. Coraghessan Boyle uses a first person point of view to illustrate a detailed encounter that taught him that pretending to be someone that you aren't, will inevitable affect your judgment and leave you facing major consequences. By using a first person point of view, the narrator is able to take the reader on a journey of a past experience that shaped his life in a major way. The point of view allowed the reader to experience the story through specific, first hand detail from the dropping of the keys to discovering the grimy body floating in Greasy Lake, and every thought and action in between.

Since the now adult narrator is telling a story of his youth, he is able to relay that he knew where he went wrong and how the events could have easily been avoided. For example, he addresses that his "first mistake," (59) the most crucial mistake, was dropping the keys in the dark night so they had no escape. He refers to this mistake as a "tactical error, as damaging and irreversible in its way as Westmoreland's decision to dig in at Khe Sanh" (62). Through this specific narration, the reader sees that there is certain (humorous) regret in his tone that shows he has grown from the situation and developed into a more mature character.

In a large majority of the story, there is an obvious tone of sarcasm that makes the serious events seem quite humorous. While the actual events took place during a time "when it was good to be bad," (1) the narrator lists several laughable characteristics that defined him and his friends, Digby and Jeff, as "dangerous characters" (22). They were "able to manage a ford with lousy shocks" (26), they could roll a joint that was "compact as a tootsie roll stick," (27) they could lounge on booming speakers, and they wore mirror shades almost everywhere they went, no matter how unnecessary (like the shower). Digby even allowed his dad to pay his tuition at Cornell. They were superficially bad.

This humor continues to surface throughout the story, even in the most serious moments. Instead of using a terrifying, masculine description, the narrator compares the non-negotiating, bad, greasy character's first kick to the kick of a "lusty rockette" (74). The sarcastic tone acts as evidence to the previous made statement that the story shows growth within the narrator who is able to joke about his mistakes and share the story as if he were re-living it.

By using a humorous first person point of view, the narrator was able to relay the point that he and his friends were not bad characters at all. They were well-educated (so we assume) boys who got caught up in a dangerous situation that left them face to face with a real bad character who displayed what they were ironically trying to imitate.

vangiespen - / 4077  
Dec 9, 2014   #2
Morgan, are you supposed to be writing an opinion paper or a summary of the book? From the looks of it, there is not much of an opinion contained here. An opinion paper normally contains your opinion about the story and certain aspects of the characters development and storyline. Most of your essay contains references to what goes on in the book, but no opinion coming from you about the events depicted. That would include its strengths and weaknesses in an over all manner. Right now, this feels more like a summary paper rather than an opinion paper. Do you have any guide questions for your essay? Normally a book report includes some points of consideration given by your teacher. That would help you better create a point of view and respond properly to the expectations of the teacher when she grades your paper. Mainly, an opinion paper would contain more than just a summary of the story and a "he said" , "she said", style of quotations. Give your teacher your opinion of the work. What works in the story? Why does it work? What doesn't work in the story? Why doesn't it work? How did you like the character development? Who is the strongest character and why? Who was the weakest and why? Those are just some opinions that you can provide to the teacher in this paper. All of those will be based upon your opinion after having read and analyzing the book.
OP mnh /  
Dec 9, 2014   #3
It's not an opinion paper. We were just supposed to write about how the point of view affects the overall story and we had to use quotes to support it. So for this story, the author uses a first person narrative to tell a story about his youth and some trouble that he got into. Since it was told in first person and not third person, it was effective in the sense that we saw the story through the narrator's eyes and saw the mistakes he made. Had it been in third person, it would have been pretty impersonal and it would have been just a story, not connected to any real person. If that makes sense. I wasn't supposed to really have an opinion in the essay.
vangiespen - / 4077  
Dec 10, 2014   #4
The there is no problem with your paper Morgan. It is alright to submit based upon the instructions your teacher gave. Your said something in your response though that I believe you should work into the introduction or first paragraph of your paper. Consider rephrasing the following:

the author uses a first person narrative to tell a story about his youth and some trouble that he got into. Since it was told in first person and not third person, it was effective in the sense that we saw the story through the narrator's eyes and saw the mistakes he made. Had it been in third person, it would have been pretty impersonal and it would have been just a story, not connected to any real person.

After I read this statement of yours, I wondered why you did not include these thoughts and feelings in the beginning of the paper. I mean, this really shows a great analysis of the work on your part and gives credibility to the quotes that you chose to use in a very definite and analytical manner. Of course this is just a suggestion :-)


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