Character Motivation In Graham Greene's The Destructors

Character motivation in short stories is often obvious. When a character’s visibility is limited, it is better to explain why they want what they want. Graham Greene’s “The Destructors” explains several of the character’s intentions. Of the children left undefined is Trevor, a seemingly typical teenager in a new setting. 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. The gang in question has never done anything so heinous, which makes the reader wonder why Trevor would want them to do such a thing. Could he be motivated to impress the gang? A 15 year old whose family has been relegated to the slums would be desperate for anyone’s approval. Or, he could be doing this to “destroy” his past. His background is an easy target for bullying amongst his new friends. Trevor knows his peers could easily unleash upon him their pent up anger for the system he was once associated …show more content…
Juxtaposed by two bomb sites, the formerly beautiful house symbolizes everything about which the gang is mad. It is shown that Trevor has an appreciation for architecture. His father was an architect, and he knows of at least one significant architect. On page 1, Trevor “startled the whole gang by saying broodingly, ‘Wren built that house, father says’,” letting us infer that he knows more than the average kid would know about architecture. Trevor knows the historical significance of this building, and proceeds to demolish it anyway. With an interest in the subject, he still motivates and leads the group to destroy the house. Razing the house would be very satisfying for the gang, but hardly at all for Trevor. He is motivated by the approval he would receive from the gang to destroy the house, even though it is disrespectful to a field he finds