Short Story Epiphanies There is a theme of epiphanies in “Greasy Lake” written by T. Coraghessan Boyle and “Cons” written by Jess Walter. The theme is very strong and prevalent in each story in their own way. In the story “Greasy Lake” there are epiphanies when the characters that they are not as bad as they would like to believe themselves be. The last short story “Cons” the main character has a very strong epiphany at the end. All the stories have strong epiphanies in all of them will be explained greater later for more understand on what these epiphanies actually are and the epiphanies will change the way characters will like their lives. In the short story “Greasy Lake” the theme of epiphanies fall to three boys back in an age where
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“Bad” as in dressing like a tough guy, doing various drugs, fighting, and anything that would make you look like a “bad character”. These three boys all wanted to be bad characters so they would do whatever that took to make themselves appear bad to other people as kinds of a way of fitting in. Doing whatever was cool at the time, which was being bad. They decided to take a drive over to the greasy lake, called that because of how filled of trash it was. Upon arrival they mistakingly decide to prank a person who thinks is their friends due to the color and type of car. When the fellow gets out they then realize they had made a mistake. The bad character got out of the car and started fighting them and beating them badly. By now they realize they are really not that bad. “I’d touched the tire iron exactly twice before, to change tires: it was there. And I went for it”(Boyle, 689). He …show more content…
This grief has stuck with him is entire life and he doesn 't let himself live happily because he always reminds himself and other that he served time in jail for killing the young teenagers. “On their very first date Kyle told her, ‘You should know that I was in prison. Eight years ago I had got drunk and lost control of my car… There was a young couple on a date and I hit them and they died’… He did the same thing when he met her parents”(Walter, 81). He will remind everybody of his crime that he can not escape and he will not even allow himself to escape it. The guilt he feels is immeasurable and will do anything to make up for it. “When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, it was almost as if he were relieved, as if he’d been waiting for this for years”(90). Dying would be a release for him and thats how bad the guilt really is that death could be his only release. “It wasn’t just the collection of features, there was somethings in the photograph that made Lisa feel like she was looking at herself”(Walter, 94). Lisa had come to an epiphany that their entire marriage could be a sham and he doesn 't actually love her. He could have just married her to repent for killing the teenage
“Bad” as in dressing like a tough guy, doing various drugs, fighting, and anything that would make you look like a “bad character”. These three boys all wanted to be bad characters so they would do whatever that took to make themselves appear bad to other people as kinds of a way of fitting in. Doing whatever was cool at the time, which was being bad. They decided to take a drive over to the greasy lake, called that because of how filled of trash it was. Upon arrival they mistakingly decide to prank a person who thinks is their friends due to the color and type of car. When the fellow gets out they then realize they had made a mistake. The bad character got out of the car and started fighting them and beating them badly. By now they realize they are really not that bad. “I’d touched the tire iron exactly twice before, to change tires: it was there. And I went for it”(Boyle, 689). He …show more content…
This grief has stuck with him is entire life and he doesn 't let himself live happily because he always reminds himself and other that he served time in jail for killing the young teenagers. “On their very first date Kyle told her, ‘You should know that I was in prison. Eight years ago I had got drunk and lost control of my car… There was a young couple on a date and I hit them and they died’… He did the same thing when he met her parents”(Walter, 81). He will remind everybody of his crime that he can not escape and he will not even allow himself to escape it. The guilt he feels is immeasurable and will do anything to make up for it. “When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, it was almost as if he were relieved, as if he’d been waiting for this for years”(90). Dying would be a release for him and thats how bad the guilt really is that death could be his only release. “It wasn’t just the collection of features, there was somethings in the photograph that made Lisa feel like she was looking at herself”(Walter, 94). Lisa had come to an epiphany that their entire marriage could be a sham and he doesn 't actually love her. He could have just married her to repent for killing the teenage