Transcript 11. The Destructors.ppt

The Destructors
Graham Greene
• Henry Graham Greene, (2
October 1904 – 3 April 1991)
was an English author,
playwright and literary critic.
His works explore the
ambivalent moral and
political issues of the modern
world.
• Graham Greene (1904-1991) was one of the
20th century’s most versatile story tellers in
English literature. This year marks the centenary
of his birth, as well as the 50th anniversary of
his short story ‘The Destructors.’ When I read
this short story for the first time, I was rather
surprised and tickled by its haunting, allegorical
sweep with the decline of the post-independent
Sri Lankan state in a miniaturized version.
• Greene suffered from bipolar disorder,
which had a profound effect on his writing
and personal life. In a letter to his wife
Vivien, he told her that he had "a character
profoundly antagonistic to ordinary
domestic life", and that "unfortunately, the
disease is also one's material". William
Golding described Greene as "the ultimate
chronicler of twentieth-century man's
consciousness and anxiety."
The Destructors
• "The Destructors" is a 1954 short story about
teenagers who destroy a house. The story is
ironic—showing how destruction is allegedly a
form of creation.
• The story is set in the mid-1950s, and is about a
boys' gang named the "Wormsley Common
Gang", after the place where they live. Trevor, or
"T.", the protagonist, devises a plan to destroy a
beautiful two hundred-year-old house that
survived The Blitz.
• Under T., their new leader, the gang accepts the plan
and executes it when the owner of the house, Mr.
Thomas (whom the gang call "Old Misery"), is away
during a bank holiday weekend. Their plan is to
destroy the house from inside, then tear down the
remaining outer structure. Mr. Thomas returns home
early, however, and the gang locks him in the outhouse
and leader, T., refuses to stop until the destruction job
is complete, because even the facade is valuable and
could be reused. Inside, they find a mattress filled with
money—but they burn it nonetheless. The final damage
to the house is done when a parked lorry pulls away a
support pole from the side of the house. Mr. Thomas is
released from the outhouse by the aforementioned
lorry's driver and after being laughed at is left with the
dusty rubble of what once was his home.
• In this short story, Greene profiles the activity
of a street gang named the ‘Wormsley Common
Gang.’ It has a leader called Blackie. Then,
Greene presents another member of the gang,
Trevor (abbreviated as T in the story), who
presents a fresh approach to criminal looting.
The target of T’s vandalism is Mr.Thomas’s
dilapidated house. ‘Old Misery’ is the nickname
given by the gang to Mr.Thomas.
Television adaptation
• "The Destructors" was adapted for
television as part of the 1970s British
drama series Shades of Greene. It starred
Michael Byrne, Phil Daniels and Nicholas
Drake.
Questions for discussion and
writing (1)
• How does Trevor’s plan help focus the
plot of the story? In what manner does
Trevor resolve the complication caused by
Mr. Thomas’s early return?
Questions for discussion and
writing (2)
• How is Trevor characterized in the second
paragraph of the story? How does his
description of his tour of Mr. Thomas’s
house add to that characterization? What
qualities does he possess that inspire the
gang to accept his leadership?
Questions for discussion and
writing (3)
• The setting for this story is London, nine
years after the city survived a series of
bombing attacks during WWⅡ. How does
this setting contribute to the development
of the story? For example, what do the
gang’s other activities suggest about life in
postwar England?
Questions for discussion and
writing (4)
• Because the point of view in this story is
objective, we see the events from different
perspectives. How do Trevor, Blackie, Mr.
Thomas, and the driver see the
destruction of the house?
Questions for discussion and
writing (5)
• How does the phrase “nothing personal”
contribute to an understanding of the
events in the story? If it is not personal,
what is the point of the destruction? How
does the success of the gang’s mission
comment on the success (and destruction)
caused by war?