From Greasy Lake to Sunny Lake, From Youth to Adulthood

It is generally acknowledged that as people grow older, they mature into sophisticated, hard-working, and experienced adults. However, the difference lies in the age at which we transition from childhood to adulthood. Sometimes, the change occurs when we are still children or teenagers, while sometimes it takes others longer to make that transformation. In “Greasy Lake,” we witness the narrator’s maturing as a direct result of two events: the fight with Bobbie—the “bad greasy character”—and the discovery of Al’s dead body. Furthermore, his observations of his natural surroundings, particularly of the lake, at the start and the end of the story confirm his transformation into adulthood.

The first of these two life-changing incidents is the fight with Bobbie, evident in the aftermath of this brawl. Admittedly, the narrator does not fully mature until after the discovery of Al's body, but he definitely achieves a sort of understanding that his actions were wrong. The time that the narrator spends hiding in the lake before he discovers the dead body certainly reveals the beginning of his human development. The narrator does not and cannot fully mature in these moments, because he believes that he can escape without apprehension. In addition, he does not feel ashamed for brutally attacking a man and almost raping a woman. The narrator cannot grow until he recognizes his faults and wrongdoings.

To be honest, it is not obvious to me if the narrator regrets his violence. He does not explicitly express his remorse for his actions, but he reveals his relief when he realizes that Bobbie survived the hard blow to his head. Yet, he remains in his hiding spot. I think I’m hoping that he feels guilty for the trouble he has caused, but there does not appear to be any correlating thought process in the story. I do believe, however, that after the second and more influential event, the discovery of Al’s body, the narrator begins a more rapid and overt character change. When he encounters the corpse, the narrator is absolutely horrified and repulsed. He feels like “a mere child, an infant” (21). Later, the narrator considers possible excuses or even suicide. He then considers Al’s fate, the body before him, and gains perspective. The narrator realizes that he is much better off than the dead man is, since “my car was wrecked; he was dead” (31). Even though the narrator may not regret his most recent actions, it is clear that he finally recognizes that his way of life is destructive and that he could end up like Al.

In case the anguished emotions of the narrator do not establish his change in demeanor, his perspective of the beach around him does certainly. Twice, the narrator gives his viewpoint of what nature is in terms of the beach, using the phrase, “This was nature.” At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes nature as a dank, dirty, and “festering murk” (2). The scene that the narrator paints for us makes Greasy Lake sound unappealing and a sore sight. Even during the series of events, the lake’s depiction is revolting and repulsive. Any lake filled with “muck” and “feculent undergrowth” does not seem like a place in which I would be interested in swimming (19). On the other hand, at the conclusion of the story, the illustrations become more positive, brighter. There is finally “a sheen of sun on the lake,” a lake that seemed filthy moments ago (45). In unison with the narrator’s changed demeanor, nature seems to be refreshing itself after being unclean for so long.

In conclusion, we can see clearly that the narrator alone, if not all three friends, has experienced a life-changing incident. Before, he was greasy and bad and was always causing trouble with Digby and Jeff. Now, he seems inclined to reform his ways and live a better life. Even the final sentences imply a somewhat despondent yet positive future: when the friends drive away from the girl in the end with “her shoulders slumped, hands out-stretched,” they seem to be leaving behind this wayward life for good (45). [685 words]


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is it about Digby and Jeff that inspires the narrator to call them “bad”? What does he mean?
   
2. Why does the narrator feel compelled or feel the urge to rape the “fox”?
   
3. Do you think that the narrator feels remorse for his actions?
   
4. At the end of the story, when the girl offers to party with the three friends, what causes the narrator to say, “I thought I was going to cry”?
   
5. The narrator appears to be an intelligent and well-educated young man. Why does he choose to do the things he does with Digby and Jeff?

No Country for Good Men

From the very first sentence of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” we learn that the grandmother is a bit of an obstinate character. She initially refuses to go to Florida with her family, because she selfishly desires to travel to Tennessee instead. While she does cave in, the grandmother still seems to be a constant pest to the family despite all of her good intentions. However, I did not particularly care too much about the grandma and her relationship with all of the other characters. No, my interest lay in the symbolism of the grandma and her seemingly pointless conversation with the barkeeper.

The grandma seems to represent a passing generation, evident in how she dresses, how she talks, and what she says. For the trip, she is dressed like a lady in white gloves and a straw hat (12). She alone admires the mountains, and she recounts the memory of her and Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden. The tale exemplifies the grandmother’s somewhat outdated existence in the short story. All her mannerisms and characteristics are extremely old-fashioned, and her family does not heed her set of values and preferences, including being respectful and traveling to Tennessee. The granddaughter is a total smart aleck, and the rest of the family almost completely ignores her. The conversation between the grandma and Red Sammy expresses nostalgia for the time when there were nice people who were trustworthy and honest. Now, Sammy says, “a good man is hard to find” (44). I think this story also resonated with me because the discussion between the grandmother and Red Sammy very much applies this very era. “These days [we] don’t know who to trust,” as Sammy laments (35).

Grandmother’s symbolism again reveals itself, perhaps more strongly, in the scene when she is holding the baby in the car. The grandma plays with her grandson, making all sorts of silly noises and faces. In reply, the infant only gives “her a faraway smile” (22). The key word is faraway, suggesting that the baby is acknowledging this very visible past but is declining to be a part of it. He will embrace it tenderly, lovingly but will not accept it as his own.

This story, especially the ending, reminded me of the recent Coen brothers’ film No Country for Old Men. The plot of the film is fairly bleak, and, similar to the story, in the end, everyone dies. Both the movie and this story suggest that the “good times” have gone, and now there is more violence and other terrible nonsense going on in this “new time.” The scene in the bar clearly illustrates the dying era and the nostalgia expressed for it. The Misfit provides extra demonstration that the grandmother’s generation is past, destroying the last living remnants of it through her murder. Even though the Misfit is somewhat of a “gentleman” to the grandma, he clearly is not part of her generation regardless of his age, because he is spiritually disturbed and ends up shooting every member of the family. (510 words)

Mr. Kapasi’s Desperate Escape from Marital Boredom, a.k.a. Mr. Kapasi is a Pig

In Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “Interpreter of Maladies,” the limited omniscient narrator writes from the perspective of tour guide Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi, as we learn through his conversation with Mr. Das, is also a language interpreter for a doctor. From the moment Mr. Kapasi mentions his other occupation and Mrs. Das reacts until the end of the story, there exists this assumption within Mr. Kapasi—one that the reader shares as well because of the narration style—that Mrs. Das is sexually drawn to him. Although we learn later that this preconception was entirely false, it is undeniable that attraction seemed the only explanation for Mrs. Das’s behavior. Mrs. Das insists that Mr. Kapasi sit with her (and her family) at lunch, she wants to know more about his job, she asks for his address, and she even stays in the car with him at the caves. Even though there are a couple obscure signs that suggest that Mrs. Das is not interested in sex, Mr. Kapasi and we the readers ignore them and jump to conclusions.

Mrs. Das is very interested in this alternative aspect of Mr. Kapasi’s life, because she believes that Mr. Kapasi can “cure” her of her guilt. She does not intend in any way to have an affair with Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi, however, completely misinterprets Mrs. Das’s actions and fascination with his career. When she says that his job is romantic, Mr. Kapasi feels flattered by her praise and assumes that she is suddenly attracted to him. The narrator does not even leave the readers to wonder why Mrs. Das enchants Mr. Kapasi. The narrator explicitly dictates all of the tour guide’s thoughts about his now-tedious marriage with his wife, how they are not the perfect match; then Mr. Kapasi thinks about how there also seems to be a lack of devotion between the two Dases. Throughout the rest of the story, Mr. Kapasi concentrates on Mrs. Das and trying to spend some time alone with her to continue their “friendship.” He becomes incredibly anxious about his appearance, about whether he has written the correct address, about his proximity to her, and, most of all, about pleasing her. It is ironic that Mr. Kapasi spends so much of his energy on gratifying Mrs. Das, because she really doesn’t want him for sex or even for making her husband jealous. Mr. Kapasi’s career as an interpreter is an ironic aspect of the story, because he utterly misinterprets Mrs. Das’s actions and motive.

I read this story twice. After each time that I read the story, there was always something bothering me, something that lingered hours after I read the story. As I was walking into school Friday morning (the day the reading was due), it suddenly occurred to me what the issue was: Mr. Kapasi. I detested him. Firstly, he reminded me of someone I know, someone who had an extramarital affair. Secondly, his desperation in getting alone time with Mrs. Das is both extremely pathetic and downright immoral. Marriage, and life for that matter, will always be a roller coaster with its ups and its downs. No matter how fast, how slow, or what direction the roller coaster is headed, you are on that roller coaster with your spouse and have made a promise to stay on it for good, ignoring any and all distractions. (562 words)