Ignorance In Greasy Lake By T. Coraghessan Boyle

A common trait to young adults is ignorance. They all think that they have complete control of the world and have a full understanding of what is going on. The literary works “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, “To the Virgins, to Make Much Time” by Robert Herrick, and Antigone by Sophocles all share the same theme of the dangers of ignorance. Each story can be broken into different parts of this theme, whether it be uninformed about the dangers of life, how the world works, or the bliss of being young and stupid. Ignorance is dangerous because it leaves the possibility of harm not only onto the people and places directly involved, but other people and situations that may have no connection to the original problem. The first major

For example, in “Greasy Lake” by Boyle, we find our young narrator hiding in the lake. Upon the discovery of the dead body our narrator says, “I understood what it was that bobbed there so inadmissibly in the dark. Understood, and stumbled back in horror and revulsion, my mind yanked in six different directions… thinking” (Boyle 52). It’s in this moment that he realizes where this path in life could take him, and what it could mean for his future and happiness. We see this affects him because of his change towards the end, turning down a chance to party for the safety of his home. Another example is in Antigone when she chooses to disobey the law and bury her brother. When confronting Creon she says “Our wills conflict head-on. No chance of reconciliation. I can’t think of a finer reason for dying, - guilty of having buried my own brother” (Sophocles 1356). This is a good example of knowing the consequences of her actions but not fully realizing the impact it has. Antigone doesn’t comprehend the effect her disregard for the law and her own life has on her family. Her sister Ismene begs her to not bury her brother, saying, “How terrible if we as well are executed for disobeying the lawful orders of the head of state” (Sophocles 1349). Antigone doesn’t understand how this action will further tarnish her family’s name and how her sister will

For example, In Antigone, we see that she is willing to die for her brother right to a burial. What she fails to see is that her death will not overshadow her brothers. It seems as though she is trying to outshine him by being a martyr, without even realizing it. She thinks that after death people will start to care about her brother, but that simply doesn’t work, it dies with her. She is the only one fighting. When confronted by Creon after being caught burying her brother, Antigone tells her sister, “Don’t worry. You won’t die. But I’ve already sacrificed my life to help the dead” (Sophocles 1358). This is a major example of her being prideful of her actions. She’s ignorant to the fact that her name isn’t everything. In this time, women don’t have the ability to be martyr, her death is nothing. Another example of this is in the Poem, To the Virgins, to Make Much of time” by Robert Herrick. In this poem the narrator warns young people to cherish what you have, because once it’s gone you’ll only have memories and lessons learned. This is shown in the beginning of the poem where he says, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, // Old time is still a-flying; // and this same flower that smiles today, // tomorrow will be dying” (Herrick 206). This tells a younger audience that what is here today, my not be available tomorrow, and you need to cherish