In T. Coraghessan Boyle's "Greasy Lake," how does the point of view enhance the story?

Using the first person point of view, the narrator endeavors to convey how "bad" he and his friends were when they were just out of high school. The narrator explains that he and his two friends were dangerous. They wore leather jackets, drank gin, read provocative literature, and stayed out all night. However, the narrator also subtly mocks himself and his friends because, in hindsight, he knows they were not as dangerous as they tried...

Using the first person point of view, the narrator endeavors to convey how "bad" he and his friends were when they were just out of high school. The narrator explains that he and his two friends were dangerous. They wore leather jackets, drank gin, read provocative literature, and stayed out all night. However, the narrator also subtly mocks himself and his friends because, in hindsight, he knows they were not as dangerous as they tried to make themselves appear. He says they "struck elaborate poses to show that [they] didn't give a shit about anything." They are literally "posing" as dangerous guys. They have embraced this idea of rebellion and do their best to act like members of a dangerous gang to live out that fantasy. 

But when real danger occurs, the narrator moves from bragging to humbleness. Once he and his friends get involved with someone much more dangerous than they are, they panic. The narrator nearly kills their assailant and in the heat of the violence, they start to sexually assault the girl. In that panic, they resort to foolish and thoughtless choices.

The narrator is older and looking back on this event, he contemplates how foolish he had been. But, he does show that he learned from the event. The brush with the corpse in the lake made him aware of his own mortality. That, and the violence that ensued that night were wake up calls. When the three boys finally leave, they decline the drugs and company of the two girls. At this point, they have quit their roles as dangerous rebels. Taken from the narrator as an older man, we can see how he looks back upon this as a lesson learned.