of meaning. Read the following passage from "Black Girl." Here are links to our lists for the short stories in Stories of Ourselves: The Hollow of the Three Hills, The Fall of … The Destructors. ... Word Count: 850; Approx Pages: 3 5.) Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruisticambition of fame for the gang, Blackie … Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruistic ambition of fame for the gang, … However, like all valuable stories, there are deeper connections that must be made in order to understand the author’s motives. The story begins with Blackie having power over the gang, and then it shifts to Trevor when he brings the idea of destroying Old Misery’s house. One day, T. surprises everyone by arriving late to the lot. ... "The Destructors" is a representation of a gang in London after World War II. Mrs. Hutchinson is representative of the whole community because 3. In an act that could be a desperate cry for affection, an act of redemption, or of malice, he leads the gang to demolish an old man’s house. In The Destructors Trevor is the main protagonist while Old Misery's house is the antagonist. “There’s nothing personal,” the voice said. As he was not broken by the war, he still holds the more admirable feelings attributed to humanity, such as generosity. ... car park, the spot of the most recent bomb of the first bombardment. At first it seems to Blackie that this is unbefitting for a member of the gang, especially because T. describes the home as “beautiful.” How the story opens and how it ends 4. As for a real vacation, she had hardly had any. Proficiency book club, lesson 1: The Destructors by Graham Greene. Now, we are going to read a story: THE DESTRUCTORS by G. Greene which deals with the results of WWII in Britain. Definition (based on context/in your own words): to kind of care about someone. Rite of Passage 1. an object of desire: a. T wants to feel as he belongs in the gang. Synonym: selfless Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): I decided to be altruistic and give him my last cookie. The Destructors Theme. Of the children left undefined is Trevor, a seemingly typical teenager in a new setting. In "The Destructors" Graham Greene uses Trevor and other characters as an example to assert that the war and the bombing that injured British cities during the war was causing people surrounded by the destruction to become desensitized. -Thomas (Old Misery) was once a builder and decorator and is a member of the older generation that survived the war. ... Thomas who loses his home in the end of "The Destructor". They use objects, actions, and characters to give more meaning to the thing itself. The The Destructors quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Thomas, or “Old Misery” or refer to Mr. Thomas, or “Old Misery”. The truck driver laughs hysterically when he realizes he has destroyed Mr. Thomas’s house. The dark nature of the story also manifests through the evil that can be sensed in Trevor’s words “I’d like to see Old Misery’s face when we are through” (p.9), or through the realisation that the destruction of the house would be utterly senseless to an observer – there was no clear motive, it was not planned because of some personal hatred for Old Misery because “there’d be no fun if [Trevor] … The protagonists destroy Old Misery’s house. "The Destructors" tells the story of a gang of kids in postwar England, who aim to tear down an old man's house. Altruistic - p. 169 Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruistic ambition of fame for the gang, Blackie came back to where T. stood in the shadow of Old Misery's wall." 2. trespassing (defying authority): a. T wants to have the authority of the gang, he wants to have the control of the group by taking over Blackie’s leadership. In reality, he is a nice old man who is willing to put up with noisy and rambunctious boys playing in the empty lot next door, and occasionally using his toilet, because he is a little lonely. Blackie doesn't think that an appreciation for architecture is quite becoming for a member of the Wormsley Common Gang, and tells T so, but T responds that he has been planning a prank. 1) Object of desire: the destroying of the house. It was on the eve of August Bank holiday that the latest recruit became the leader of the Wormsley Common Gang. He lived alone in the crippled house, doing for himself: once a week you could see him coming back across the comm,on with bread and vegetables, and once as the boys played in the car-park he put his head over the smashed wall of his garden and looked at them. “Old misery's going to be away all tomorrow and Bank Holiday” “we’ll destroy it” 2) Trespassing: when they break into the house and when T defies Blackie. One can conclude from the passage that 2. The only two characters that Green developed were Trevor, better known as “T”, and Mr. Thomas, also referred to as Old Misery. A vocabulary list featuring "The Destructors" by Graham Greene. Mr Thomas is nicknamed "Old Misery" by the boys in the gang, but their idea of a misery is an adult who won't let them run riot. This is the first in a series of lesson plans for proficiency level students based around short stories from the book: The Oxford Book of English Short Stories edited by A. S. Byatt. I can’t help it Mr. Thomas. by Graham Greene (1973) 1. Altruistic - p. 169. Blackie interrogates T. about where he has been and it slowly comes out that T. has visited Old Misery and toured around the old man’s home. Read the following sentences from “The Destructors.” A voice spoke to him through the hole. Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruistic ambition of fame for the gang, … Graham Greene ’s “The Destructors” was first published in two parts in Picture Post on July 24 and 31, 1954. The Destructors By Graham Greene English Literature Essay. Which of the following is an example of internal conflict in “The Destructors?" The two sources for this essay are "The Destructors" by Graham Greene and "Tsotsi" by Athol Fugard. b. T wants to destroy Old Misery house. Altruistic - p. 169 Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruistic ambition of fame for the gang, Blackie came back to whre T. stood in the shadow of Old Misery's wall." When first reading “The Destructors”, by Graham Greene, one might think they are simply reading a tale of childhood mischief. Thesis Statement: When first reading “The Destructors”, by Graham Greene, one might think they are simply reading a tale of childhood mischief. Quote: "Driven by the pure, simple, and altruistic ambition of fame for the gang, Blackie came back to where T. stood in the shadow of Old Misery's wall." Greene develops the theme of power through the characters and their actions in The Destructors. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: (Page 174) Definition (based on context/in your own words): a feeling of excitement or happiness Because Greene arranged the stories in reverse chronological order, “The Destructors” was the first story in the collection. Next to the car park stood the house of ‘Old Misery’ -a name that had been given to him by the gang. Read the following sentences from "The Destructors." Old Misery-whose real name was Thomas-had once been a builder and decorator. This paper examines various aspects related to the stories “The Lottery” and “The Destructors” and attempts to examine the similarities and the differences inherent in either story. “Here’s a blanket,” the voice said, and a long grey sausage was worked through the hole and fell in swathes over Mr. Thomas’s head. Old Misery – whose real name was Thomas – had once been a builder and decorator. He lived alone in the crippled house, doing for himself, once a week you could see him coming back across the common with bread and vegetables, and once as the boys played in the car-park he put his head over the smashed wall of his garden and looked at them. Notes on Graham Greene’s The Destructors Purpose of the Short Story: To teach the reader about the destructive element present in human nature. Read all about The Destructors here. Repeatedly, the boys show that they aren't destroying Old Misery's house to steal or to do anything that they... Discuss the gang's motivation, taking into account the age/beauty of the house, the gang's loss of concern over... First of all, in terms of the age and beauty of the old house, the boys have no appreciation for it. Old Misery-whose real name was Thomas-had once been a builder and decorator. In "The Destructors" there seems to be a satirical approach at the end. Trevor was the outsider that … Thomas.” “Let me out,” Mr. Thomas said sternly. That little Davy Hutchinson, the small son of the victim, is given a few pebbles to throw at his mother suggests … Continue reading "ENGL 102 Test 1" He says that it is beautiful. The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Thomas, or “Old Misery” appears in The Destructors. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. ...T. about where he has been and it slowly comes out that T. has visited Old Misery and toured the old man’s home. 9/24/2014 03:24:48 am. Short stories are perfect for the ESL classroom because as the name suggests they are short. The characters in “The Destructors” are not as fully developed as the characters in “The Rocking Horse Winner”. ‘If you don’t shut your mouth,’ somebody once said to him, ‘you’ll get a frog down it.’. However, gang’s today are not the same as they were some time ago, today are more likely to be integrated by old man or kids playing. (p. 169) Other themes in the book are loss of innocence, destruction and creation, the struggle between … His lack of revenge took control of his mind and body to make him to destroy Old Misery’s belongings, as the war did to him. No one was surprised except Mike, but Mike at the age of nine was surprised by everything. While Old Misery was bewildered and in a pitiful situation, the driver started to laugh outrageously saying: “I’m sorry. Exhilaration - p. 174 Quote: "By the evening an odd exhilaration seized them as they looked down the great hollow of the house." Read the following sentences from "The Destructors." 3.) More notes below the following images of London, England during and after WWII. However, like all valuable stories, there are deeper connections that must be made in order to understand the author’s motives. The Destructors. In this short story, a gang of boys plots to destroy the home of an elderly man. Altruistic - p. 169. He wants to fit it. Altruistic. In Greene's short story "The Destructors", symbols are used. Later that year, the story appeared in a collection entitled Twenty-One Stories.

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