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The Destructors

            "The Destructors" is a great example of a good kid gone bad. The main character displays knowledge and leadership skills but does not have an opportunity to put them to good use. For this reason, Trevor is a victim of society. The story takes place in London shortly after the end of World War II.
             The protagonist in the story is Trevor. His father lost his job as an architect in the high class society where his family has lived all of their life. The family was forced to move into less expensive housing. His son Trevor had troubles adapting to the change. Trevor soon made friends around his neighborhood and became a member of the Wormsley Common Gang. .
             Early on, the other boys could tell that he did not fit in. The gang made fun of his name, Trevor, because it was typically an upper class name and unheard of where they lived. Trevor adapted and demanded that they call him "T." Trevor gained the favor of the other gang members when he told them his plan to tear down Mr. Thomas" house. Trevor had been inside the house before and used his knowledge of architecture that he learned from his father to devise a plan to tear the house down from the inside out. The gang was successful and build a reputation for themselves.
             Revenge against the upperclass is the underlying theme of the story. To understand why, we must first make an important distinction between the upper and lower class. The upper class have better education and are given the opportunity to create, whereas the lower class do not have these norms, which causes anomie and results in an adverse affect of a child's development. It is easier for the upper class to strive because their lifestyle encompasses opportunities that gives them the ability to create a positive environment for their family. The children are nurtured in this environment and are given a chance to grow. However, the lower class children are not born into such an environment.


Essays Related to The Destructors

1. compare and contrast the Rocking horse Winner and the Destru

... Trevor famous. Paul's only desire was to help another, and Trevor wanted to help himself. In "The Destructors", the main theme deals with a street gang who has to complete its goal of destroying the home of Mr. Thomas, who is often called "Old Misery". In the "Rocking-Horse Winner", the theme centers on a young boy, Paul, who is obsessed with horseracing. Initially both stories seem to ... who once had a decent home that eventually is destroyed by a gang at the end of "The Destructors." More than likely Mr. Thomas will have a great financial burden when trying to rebuild his home again. ...

  • Word Count: 850
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. symbolism in the destructors

... a deeper idea than they actually write. Symbolism is an object used by an author to open doors of meaning. They use objects, actions, and characters to give more meaning to the thing itself. In Greene's short essay "The Destructors", there are uses of symbol. These examples include, Old Misery's house is a symbol for art, beauty, and upper classes moreover, It symbolizes ... the need to destroy something aesthetic when in the atmosphere of war. The Destructors of the house, namely the Wormsley Common Gang, symbolizes the effect of war on younger generations. Lastly, the main character T...

  • Word Count: 634
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Destructors

The Destructors "Chaos had advanced. The kitchen was a shambles of broken glass and china. The dining-room was stripped of parquet, the skirting was up, the door had been taken off its hinges, and the destroyers had moved up a floor. Streaks of light came in through the closed shutters where they worked with the seriousness of creators - and destruction after all is a form of creation. A kind of imagination had seen ... as I said before, "destruction" could be taken as part of human nature, but perhaps this is always needed to create later. It could be considered as one more step in the ladde...

  • Word Count: 602
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. "The Destructors" Composition

The boys of the Wormsley Common Gang underwent a serious, yet devious set of destruction. It was so devious because of it was targeted at a man who had done no harm to them; yet they felt apathetic towards him - but so obligated to destroy his house. The fuel behind their action was comprised purely of a greed for fame. The boys used Old Misery as their victim to forego their vicious crime. Trevor, known as T., was the ruthless mastermind behind the whole scheme, and throughout the story he appeared to be the leader of the gang. Blackie, the branded leader, became a pseudo-leader of sorts, as ...

  • Word Count: 432
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Wormsley Common Gang by Graham Green

... is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations". This is apparent in the short story "The Destructors" by Graham Greene. Set in post World War II England, the short story centers on a gang of adolescents who decide to demolish an aged man's house. The adolescents who prefer calling themselves the Wormsley Common Gang, meet everyday in an area that is heavily bombed during ... "The Blitz" attack . Nearly everything in this area is wiped out except one ... causes them to commit devastating crimes. Although there are many components that bring forth human behavior; the setting, jealousy and ...

  • Word Count: 848
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The destructors

1. The protagonists of the story are the gang, because it's about them, the gang as group, on how the war has affected each of them inside, even if they might not know it, tiring down a two hundred year old house isnt what a bunch of kids usually do as a favorite pastime. Inside, while the house stands erect like a top hat while all the other houses around it has collapsed after the bombing, its like a symbol of high society and beautiful, Trevor knows if not for the war, he could be living a rich life, instead, he has to join gangs and his father have to work as a clerk, giving him a hatred ...

  • Word Count: 838
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Elements of Fiction

... to get his car from the lot next door and preceded to drive off when all of a sudden the whole house came crashing down. The boys had succeeded after all by tying a rope to the back of the man's car, knowing that the pull would be enough to tear the house to the ground. Secondly, the intense characterization in "The Destructors" is intriguing. In the beginning when Trevor seems to ... underhandedly take control of the gang, we sense a great deal of jealousy ... coming from Blackie, the former leader, when he goes to the back of the parking lot and begins kicking ... ...

  • Word Count: 648
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. 21 short stories

... as " Alas poor maling" and "when Greek meets Greek". Others can be deeply shocking as "The Destructors" and "Proof Positive", yet others are hauntingly tragic as " The end of the party" and "The Basement Room". However the three that appeal to me the most are "Alas poor maling", "The Destructors" and "The End of the party". In "Alas Poor Maling" Greene uses a direct approach to humour and employs a tongue in ... cheek style. Throughout the story, he makes use of dramatic and bombastic terms to describe something, ... such a minor thing that he makes it sound trivial. However being tri...

  • Word Count: 1169
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Power:

... The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding and short story "The Destructors" by Graham Greene show a similar theme. The theme that they both convey is that the want for power leads to savagery. This theme is shown by many different things throughout both pieces of literature. The things that most show this theme are the thoughts and actions of the characters. The ... ideas showed this evil. Jack became evil when he acquired a want for power. He could not stand it from the start that Ralph had been elected chief over him. ""I ought to be chief", said Jack with simple arrogance, " ... ...

  • Word Count: 885
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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