College Study

1. Who is the protagonist in this story--Trevor, Blackie, or the gang? Who or what is 
the antagonist? Identify the conflicts of the story.
I think Trevor and Blackie are both protagonists. I think that Old Missery is an antagonist, because after all the war and destruction, it still stood tall and proud. It antagonized the gang to destroy the beauty of it, so that it would be no better, nor worse than the rest of the town. 2. How is suspense created? Suspense is created by Mr. Thomas' arrival, and from since the beginning of the destruction. Through out the story, it was not said when Mr. Thomas would be home. When he arrived home, the suspense peaked by putting him in the outhouse, then everything seemed to settle down a bit. This indicated they were finalizing the destruction of the mansion.

3. This story uses the most common basic plot formula of escape fiction: 
protagonist aims at a goal, is confronted with various obstacles between self and 
goal, overcomes the obstacles and achieves the goal. How then is this story 
different from escape fiction? Does it have a happy ending?
The content of the story is what makes it different from an escape fiction. The story line was typical but the fact that the boys wanted to destroy rather than gain is what makes this story vary from others. The story has a blunt ending, where T's goal was completed. It was happy for him, and the taxi driver. All they could do was laugh. 4. What characteristics do the gang’s two named exploits—pinching free rides and 
destroying the house—have in common?
They break down the wall between the rich and the poor. It's a luxury to have the ability to ride a trolly rather than walk, and they get to do it for free, although it costs money that they don't have. Destroying the house was the same. It made everything in that neighborhood equal, and no one thing was better than another.

5. Of what significance, if any, is the setting of the story in blitzed London?
The significance is that the area of London was destroyed. That made the house more epic to still be standing, and the destruction of it even more impacting on the area. 6. Explain the causes of the gang’s delinquency, taking into account:
(a) their reaction to the name Trevor, 
(b) their reaction to Old Misery’s gift of chocolates, 
(c) Blackie’s reaction to the word “beautiful,” 
(d) Trevor’s comments on “hate and love,” 
(e) Summers’s reaction to the word “Please,” 
(f) the setting.
A) They reacted against the name Trevor because it worked against their image. They were trying to be seen as a tough street gang and the name Trevor was seen as a name for someone with money.
B) The gang acting guiltily when Mr. Thomas gave them a box of chocolate. They felt like they did not deserve it for no reason, so automatically assumed that there was something more behind it than just someone being kind. The idea of someone being kind to them was very far fetched.
C) Blackie seemed surprised by when Trevor called Old Missery "Beautiful". I think that he acted like that because it went against the image they were trying to portray. It's not every day you hear a gang member describe something as "Beautiful"
D) Trevor acted like love and hate were just things. Easy to replace, and didn't have high significance.
7. What good qualities do the gang members have?
The gang members good qualities are that they're trying to make everything equal. Theyre liberating the community and making every start fresh. Their hearts are in the right place, although their behavior destroys property. 8. On the surface this is a story of action, suspense, and adventure. At a deeper 
level, it is about delinquency, war (causes / consequences), and human nature. 
Try to sum up what the story says in general about human nature.
Human nature wants everything to be equal. No one wants to feel lesser than anyone else. The boys tried gaining popularity by destroying the mansion because they always aspire to be more than they really are.