ورودي هاي 87 زبان و ادبيات انگليسي

The Destructors

By Graham Greene

(Plot, Theme, Characterization, symbol & Irony, Conflict)

Author Biography

Name: Graham Greene

Birth Date: October 2, 1904

Death Date: April 3, 1991

Place of Birth: Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England

Place of Death: Vevey, Switzerland

Nationality: English

Gender: Male

Occupations: author, novelist, dramatist

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Plot:

In the short story, The Destructors, by Graham Greene, a gang of youths expresses their anger and frustration against society by destroying the last remaining house on a bombed out street. The protagonist, Trevor, or T,becomes the gang’s leader, who is fuelled by a desire to take revenge on the middle class. The previous leader of the gang, Blackie, loses his position when Trevor develops a superior plan for the gang’s activities. This plan involves destroying the inside of Mr. Thomas’ house, as his middle-class residence is the only one left standing on the block. The boys do, not trust Mr. Thomas, or “Old Misery,” even though he offers them candy. Trevor organizes the gang, who are eager to follow his lead as part of their dreams of becoming an infamously known gang. However, the youth do not want to be known as common thieves, as T. and Blackie burn the money they find. Instead, they just want to prove a point. T’s leadership is threatened as he panics when Old Misery returns early.However, he regains control and finishes the destruction of the interior of the house. When Old Misery returns, the boys lock him in the outhouse, but throw him a blanket and food to show that they don’t hate him. The last thing the boys do is attach a rope to the back of a parked truck and the next morning, the unwitting driver pulls down the house when he tries to drive away.

Theme:

If society and government places stress on the oppressed or even the fortunate,

that stress bound to return to society as a form of comfort to the ones most

affected, the boys almost seem to want revenge.

Characterization:

Trevor: protangonist of the story, and leader of the Wormsley Common Gang

once part of the middle class, but now finds himself taking revenge on it.

Blackie: former leader of the Wormsley Common Gang portrayed as an antagonist when he is in threat to T’s power.

The Gang: consists of youth who have experienced the hardships of war

Motivated to make a name for themselves.

Mr. Thomas: an old, middle class man, whose house is the only one remaining standing on the block and he’s portrayed as an antagonist when he wants to return to the house

* characterization is not a big issue in the story, as most characters are static and Flat

Point of View:

Limited Omniscient Point of View

Symbol:

The house is a symbol of a beacon of hope during dark times. This is one of

the few, if only, fully intact houses following the Blitz. T decides to mercilessly destroy this beacon of hope as perhaps he does not have any positive motivations in his own life and he wishes the same for everybody else.

Irony:

It is ironic that something like destroying a house from the inside out may give a

sense of fulfillment to a group of common boys and be humorous for a lorry

driver, and at the same time give a sense of devastation to a man whom the

home belonged to, this situation also concludes that everything is somehow

connected in this story. War is connected to the destruction of society, which is

Connected to the suffering of children which is connected to the destruction of a

Person’s home which is connected again to the suffering of that person. It is

apparent that suffering may be passed on from something extremely big like a

war, to the destruction and loss of someone’s home.

Conflict:

Man vs. Society

- T. is getting back at the middle class, which he once used to belong in

- The children take out their frustration of society through violence; their

frustration being the adult world destroying their childhood with a war

Man vs. Himself

- The kids reciprocate the adults’ actions by taking revenge on the many

things society as made them suffer for

- They destroy the house for the sake of destroying something.

   دانلود آنالیز داستان خرابکاران /The Destructors