Want and Common Car-park Gang
Samantha Shifflet
February 27, 2013
Intro. To Literature
Short Story Essay
Graham Greene is the author of the short story “The Destructors”. In order to fully understand this story we have to understand where the story has came from. Greene’s story has been said to branch from Churchill’s defeat by the Labour Party in 1945 (Kolin). The story is set in London after World War II which is key information in order to understand the concept of the story. The story tells of a “gang” which is led by Blackie and Trevor who want to destroy Mr. Thomas’s, an old decorator and builder, house. After analyzing the story there is only one question I have left to try an answer and that is, why do they want to destroy Mr. Thomas’s house? “We’d do it from the inside. I’ve found a way in. We’d be like worms, don’t you see, in an apple. When we came out again there’d be nothing there, no staircase, no panels, nothing but just walls, and then we’d make the walls fall down—somehow” (Green 51). This statement from Trevor makes us believe that he has something personal against the property. Since Trevor’s dad was also an architect who has not accomplished anything after the war Trevor seems to be jealous of Mr. Thomas and how beautiful his house is after he breaks in. Trevor does not see it as being fair that his house is going to be the only thing beautiful that comes out of this war and feels as if he needs to do something about it.
Another reason to believe Trevor wants to destroy Mr. Thomas’s house is because he has became the new leader of the “gang” and he wants to do something that no other “gang” has done before, he wants them to be noticed. “The fame of the Wormsley Common car-park gang would surely reach around London. There would be headlines in the papers. Even the grown-up gangs who ran the betting at the all-in wrestling and the barrow-boys would hear with respect of how Old Misery’s house had been destroyed” (Greene 68). This statement is as clear as it seems, these
February 27, 2013
Intro. To Literature
Short Story Essay
Graham Greene is the author of the short story “The Destructors”. In order to fully understand this story we have to understand where the story has came from. Greene’s story has been said to branch from Churchill’s defeat by the Labour Party in 1945 (Kolin). The story is set in London after World War II which is key information in order to understand the concept of the story. The story tells of a “gang” which is led by Blackie and Trevor who want to destroy Mr. Thomas’s, an old decorator and builder, house. After analyzing the story there is only one question I have left to try an answer and that is, why do they want to destroy Mr. Thomas’s house? “We’d do it from the inside. I’ve found a way in. We’d be like worms, don’t you see, in an apple. When we came out again there’d be nothing there, no staircase, no panels, nothing but just walls, and then we’d make the walls fall down—somehow” (Green 51). This statement from Trevor makes us believe that he has something personal against the property. Since Trevor’s dad was also an architect who has not accomplished anything after the war Trevor seems to be jealous of Mr. Thomas and how beautiful his house is after he breaks in. Trevor does not see it as being fair that his house is going to be the only thing beautiful that comes out of this war and feels as if he needs to do something about it.
Another reason to believe Trevor wants to destroy Mr. Thomas’s house is because he has became the new leader of the “gang” and he wants to do something that no other “gang” has done before, he wants them to be noticed. “The fame of the Wormsley Common car-park gang would surely reach around London. There would be headlines in the papers. Even the grown-up gangs who ran the betting at the all-in wrestling and the barrow-boys would hear with respect of how Old Misery’s house had been destroyed” (Greene 68). This statement is as clear as it seems, these
Cited: Greene, Graham. “The Destructors”. Perrines Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Tenth Edition. Ed. Thomas R. Arp. Boston: Massachusetts. 2009-2006. Print. 111-124. Kolin, Philip C. “Greene’s The Destructors.” Explicator 58.3 (2000): 158. Academic Search Elite. Web. 27. Feb. 2013.