What is The Destructors by Graham Greene about?
“The Destructors” is about a group of teenage boys who call themselves the Wormsley Common gang, after the area where they live. They meet every day in a parking lot near a part of town that was bombed during World War II. Almost everything in this area is destroyed although one house stands with minimal damage.
What does the house symbolize in The Destructors?
In Graham Greene’s “The Destructors,” Mr. Thomas’s house symbolizes England after World War II. First of all, the structure of the house, known as the “Old Misery’s,” represents the past glory of England. The elaborateness of the house is symbolic of the old class structure.
What is the central conflict in The Destructors?
The conflict of “The Destructors” is primarily man vs. society. The boys have had their innocence stripped by the events of World War II. They use their imagination to reconstruct scenes of violence, demonstrating the influence of their environment on them.
What is the point of view of The Destructors?
The short story “The Destructors” by Graham Greene is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator. The narrator is omniscient and allows the reader to see the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters in the story.
What is the banned book in Donnie Darko?
The Destructors
But the main obstacle to my goal, the problem that hounded me for years, was trying to track down a copy of “The Destructors” a short story by Graham Greene. In Donnie Darko the Greene’s story is banned from the titular character’s high school because it is seen to promote vandalism.
Does The Destructors portray a world without hope?
There is no hope in this short story.
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 message is Graham Greene trying to communicate with his short story The Destructors?
The main theme of Graham Greene’s short story, “The Destructors,” is conflict between the old and young. Other themes in the book are loss of innocence, destruction and creation, the struggle between economic classes and the meaninglessness of life.
What are three conflicts 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 …
Who is the antagonist in 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 antagonist in The Destructors?
Why do they destroy Old Misery’s house in The Destructors by Graham Greene?
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.