What does the house symbolize in the destructors?
What does the house symbolize in the destructors?
This is the kind of environment in which the boys live. Old Misery’s stately home stands as a symbol of a bygone age, an age of elegance and nobility. The home is a representation of a vanishing heritage, one unceremoniously swept away by the Second World War.
What happens in the destructors?
Plot. Set in the mid-1950s, the story is about the “Wormsley Common Gang”, a boys’ gang named after the place where they live. The protagonist Trevor, or “T.”, devises a plan to destroy a beautiful two-hundred-year-old house that survived The Blitz.
What is the main theme of the destructors?
Loyalty. One of the main themes of the story “The Destructors” is loyalty. Before Trevor becomes a member of the Wormsley Common Gang, their undisputed leader is a boy named Blackie, who is very much a “gang” boy.
What is the message of the destructors?
Money and the Value of Things “The Destructors” focuses particularly on the clash between the pre-war and post-war generations in their relationships to money and material possessions. Perhaps in part because the boys of the gang have grown up during a time of shortage, they have little respect for money or things.
What does Blackie symbolize in the destructors?
Blackie symbolizes the more typical boys’ gang leader of the early part of the twentieth century. Like the other boys who join together in mischievous conduct for thrills and a sense of camaraderie and belonging, Blackie is one of the group, and is a friend of the other boys.
What is the conflict in the destructors?
Conflicts in “The Destructors” by Graham Greene include conflict between the gracious pre-war world and the new world of devastation all around the boys, class conflict as the working-class boys experience discomfort with a home that represents upper-class tastes and oppressions, and inner conflict as the boys destroy …
Why does t want to destroy the house in the destructors?
Graham Greene himself once said, “Destruction, after all, is a form of creation.” Trevor represents class struggle; he also exhibits the nihilism that resulted from the great wars, especially World War II. They destroyed Old Misery’s house because it was there, and because mob mentality took over.
Who is the antagonist of the destructors?
Mr. Thomas: Mr. Thomas is the most obvious choice as antagonist, because the boys attempt to circumvent his authority by destroying his house and locking him in the outhouse.
What is the climax of the destructors?
In “The Destructors,” the climax of the plot occurs when Mike arrives to tell the boys that Old Misery is approaching the home.
How does the destructors end?
At the end of the story, a truck driver starts his truck and hears a crash behind him as he pulls off. He doesn’t realize that his truck has been tied to a main beam in the home and that he brought the entire home crashing to the ground until he steps out of his truck to look at it. Mr.
Who is the protagonist of the destructors?
The protagonist in ‘The Destructors’ is Trevor, a 15-year-old boy.
What is the setting of the destructors?
“The Destructors” is set in post-World War II London in August, near the August bank holiday.
What is the rising action of the destructors?
The rising action includes the gathering of the boys and the actual destruction of the infrastructure of the house, the climax occurs when the boys must make a quick decision of whether to abandon the house or not, and the falling action is the complete destruction of Old Misery’s house.
Why is Trevor called T in the destructors?
Trevor, also known as T., takes over the gang from Blackie. At first, they do not make fun of him even though everything about him means they usually would. This is one of the reasons his name gets shortened to T. He never wasted a word even to tell his name until that was required of him by the rules.
Why was t particularly interested in Old Misery’s house?
He didn’t want to destroy Old Misery’s house because there was no need for it to be destroyed, and because they would have gotten caught. Blackie was thinking about the consequences of his actions more than anyone else in the gang, so I believe he can be saved from complete corruption.
Why did the driver laugh in the destructors?
A driver who keeps his lorry in the lot near Mr. Thomas’s house. The lorry driver’s laughter suggests that the boy’s hostility to the old pre-war world of strict social class, and their affinity for destruction, is shared more broadly by the community of people around them as well.
Why is Mr Thomas’s house valuable?
Thomas’s house is extremely valuable because it was designed and built by the man widely considered to be England’s greatest architect, Christopher Wren. This is revealed to the gang by Trevor. “Wren built that house, father says.”
What does Old Misery give the boys?
The boys call Mr. Thomas “Old Misery,” and indeed he seems like a sad and lonely figure. While he is too much of a miser to fix his plumbing, he does show generosity in once giving the boys chocolates (an action the boys mistrust as a possible bribe).
How old is Trevor in the destructors?
fifteen years
How old is Blackie in the destructors?
fifteen-year-old
How is a loss of hope and innocence shown in the destructors?
One of Greene’s strengths in “The Destructors” is to show young people as devoid of hope and promise. Thomas in the bathroom to be found by someone else is reflective of a reality in which young people lack hope and innocence both in their worlds and in themselves.
What does the destructors say about human nature?
The story suggests that destruction is part of human nature. It is infinitely more easy to destroy something beautiful, than it is to create it. The boys in the Wormsley Common gang are a microcosm of the senseless destruction and total war ideology of World War II.
What type of character is Mike in the destructors?
Mike Character Analysis. Mike is one of the youngest members of the group. Mike’s frequent moments of surprise show the difficulty of mastering the group’s code and moving from childhood into adolescence. Mike is eager to contribute and wants to be taken seriously.
How is suspense created in the destructors?
Suspense is created through the fear of the boys that they will not be able to destroy the entire house. This larger concern is involved. Also, suspense greatly increases when Mr. Thomas arrives early to the house and they have to devise a plan to contain him.
How does the destructors differ from commercial fiction?
Graham Greene’s short story “The Destructors” does not fit into the genre of commercial fiction , or fiction written for profit, in part because of its absurdist language and theme.
How is suspense built?
Suspense arises out of your readers’ anticipation of, and worry and fear about, what’s going to happen next. You create suspense by making your readers fear the worst for a character they care deeply about. To build suspense, make your readers worry about all the ways your hero’s plans could go wrong (see Klems).