Henry Graham Greene's The Destructors

Henry Graham Greene wrote many stories that express his views on political aspects or major events. Greene instigates his views of the harsh truth of life into his short story "The Destructors" as he expresses his view of the instability of post-World War II in England. The boys in the story have lost their innocence having forced to give up their childhood to the bombings and destruction of war. The boys reflect the trauma England experienced in the war and the drastic changes made after the war. Forced to give up their childhood and innocence, the boys turn to causing mischief in town, along with destroying a specific house. This house in "The Destructors," symbolizes England after World War II. The house represents post-war England as …show more content…
Similar to after the war, the new generation did not feel connected to the past as did the older generation. After the war, England tried to reestablish past leadership and return to the old ways. Mr. Thomas represents the older generation, "Been a boy myself. As long as things are done regular," who wants to stick to traditional England ways (97). T moves into the position of leader to the gang, representing the younger generation that wants a different England from the one before the war. As the destruction of the house continues, T finds money belonging to Mr. Thomas and states the money they find will be burned. T doesn't want to steal the money for his own benefit or destroy the house for fun, but to show Mr. Thomas they are not satisfied about going back to the old ways. Mr. Thomas is old and does things by the book, unlike the gang who decide to bypass tradition and make their own choices as children. The boys' actions are similar to the younger generation of post-war England wanting a clean slate, keeping in mind “destruction after all is a form of creation” (93). They wanted to show the older generation how change was needed in England and to stray away from …show more content…
The gang starts early the next morning to destroy the inside of the house by taking off the trims and taking out the floors and stairs. The boys plan to act as "worms. . .in an apple," sneaking into the house and destroying the good, all unseen from the eyes of others (91). The walls were balancing on the cement between each brick of the house, and with a rope tied to the bed of a moving truck, the walls came crumbling down. After the war, England lost the boundaries between the upper, middle, and lower classes. The classes blurred into one body suffering from the war, and started to focus on the rebuilding of England. This caused rebellion within the classes against the government reestablishing what was before and wanting something new. The classes were destroying the country from the inside and caused the remaining supports of England to