analysis of the short stories

8/3/2019 Analysis of the Short Stories

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Christine Kaye C. Malon Word Literature

BSHRM

Analysis of the Destructors by Graham Greene

When first reading "The Destructors", by Graham Greene, one might think they are

simply reading a tale of childhood mischief. However, like all valuable stories, there are deeperconnections that must be made in order to understand the author's motives. "The Destructors"

tells the story of a gang of kids who aim to tear down an old man's house. This is a bit disturbing;

it is not something most kids would spend their free time doing, and starts to give the idea that

the story is a depiction of something greater. Indeed, as we will discuss, Greene is using hischaracters to portray a microcosm of post-war Britain. Specifically, Greene targets two central

themes within this microcosm. The most important is the transition of attitudes over generations.

We will see that this transition is a harmful one, and this is due to Greene's second concept of thedestructive nature of mankind. The combination of destructive tendencies and this transition

provides the reader with the story's ultimate message: human attitudes are nearly impossible tochange over time, and war can create a cascade of destructive generations to come.

To establish this message, Greene employs the use of an allegory. The story itself is notjust representative of the words on the page, but something much more important. In this case,

characters may be symbolic of particular people in society, but more accurately, the view into the

character's lives as children is symbolic of what they will become as adults. The conflicts that thecharacters undergo will be conflicts that they manage as adults, but on a different scale. For

instance, the main conflicts for the kids are how to tear Old Misery's house down in the most

efficient manner, and who should be in charge of the initiative. As will be discussed further, thiscan be translated as tearing down a country in war, and selecting a general for troops. To the

kids, the conflicts probably seem like games, but due to the allegorical nature of the story, wecan see that when these kids mature, these same games will be reality.

To analyze this story completely, the best method is to view the story as it develops sceneby scene, rather than through individual characters. This method works best since the story is

symbolic as a whole more than it is of any character. As the story opens, we learn of the

Wormsley Common Gang, a group of boys that meet in a parking lot every morning. The text

mentions that this parking lot is the site of the last bomb of the blitz, and that the leader of thegang, Blackie, claims to have heard it. However, the rest of the gang doesn't realize that the last

bomb dropped when Blackie was one year old. From this we gather critical information to start

our analysis. The blitz refers to the 8 month long bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany in WorldWar II, which ended in May of 1941. We gather that Blackie is the oldest of the group, probably

around 16. So that would place the story in post-war London around 1956. Thus, a transition is

taking place with these children, who are too young to comprehend the war, but who are growingup in a state of disarray of their country.

Next, we are introduced to the newest member of the gang, T, who is typically silent atmeetings. However, the children note that there were, "possibilities about his brooding silence"

signaling that T may be contemplative, and a potential strong force later in the story. He speaks

up one morning, mentioning that, "Wren built that house." The house he refers to is that of a man
http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/506/germany.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/506/germany.html


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the kids call Old Misery, and was one of the only houses to escape the bombs. Christopher Wren

was an architect that, as T mentions, built St. Paul's Cathedral in London. This is a crucial piece

of information because St. Paul's also miraculously escaped bombing during the war. Knowingthis, we clearly establish that Greene is using the house and kids to represent the war. We also

obtain details about Old Misery. His real name is Thomas, and he is an elder that was once a

builder and decorator. Thomas was a man who built houses, and made them to look beautiful,but that beauty was lost in the war. The aspect to note here is that Thomas has experienced

beauty and ugliness in his life, but the kids have only grown up in dreariness. This is proven

when Blackie responds to T's comments with, "who cares?" With the exception of T, who seemsto be more intellectual than the rest, the kids are growing up with the mindset that life is

miserable, and destruction is the only option.

In the next scene, we learn more about Thomas. Thomas meets up with the gang in the lot

one day, and gives them some candy he doesn't want. The gang is confused by this because theyonly see him as a mean old man. They begin looking for reasons that he might have done this,

because they don't see that Thomas is actually a nice person. Once again, they are growing up

seeing the world as bitter. They think that Thomas is trying to bribe them to stop throwing ballsat his wall, so they "don't take the bribe" and throw them all day. Of course, Thomas doesn't sayanything, because he appreciates their innocence. To him, the kids represent the life he had as a

child. The fact that the kids call Thomas, "Old Misery" is ironic, because they are actually more

miserable than he is.

The next day, the kids learn that T had been to Thomas's house. Moreover, they are

astonished that T didn't break in or steal anything while there. The kids are only concerned with

doing wrong to others, and can't believe it when T says the house was beautiful. This term

completely escapes them; nothing is beautiful to them, and they immediately disapprove of Tsaying it. We start to think that perhaps T is the point of hope for the future; he is smart and

seemingly more appreciative of life than his peers. However, this changes quickly. T mentionshe found out that Thomas would be leaving town on holiday the next day. The gang switchesback to accepting T, as there is now the potential of stealing things while Thomas is gone. T,

however, has bigger plans; he wants to destroy the house. The kids initially think he is joking,

but when they learn he has a legitimate plan of action, they are on board. Not only that, but theyalso declare T as their new leader.

Initially, T's actions seem to contradict his character. The beacon of hope that he first

seemed to show is now gone. We first think that T appreciates beauty, but now he just wants to

destroy it. From this, we can say that he recognizes beauty as something he never had, and wantsto take it away from Thomas. T has intelligence, but he is using it to be devious and destructive.

T is much like Hitler in this respect; he is smart, demonstrates strong leadership, and will use

these strengths for evil. With Thomas leaving town, it leaves the kids to themselves, almost incontrol of the town. This is effectively showing the transition of ideas from young to old. The

actions of the boys while Thomas is gone will stem from what they have been taught.

Consequently, the boys have already chosen a leader to take them into destruction, much like the

generation before them. The scene ends with some more symbolism. Blackie is consideringleaving the gang since he has been overthrown. As the story says, he comes back because of the

attention that the gang might obtain, but this really isn't true. He comes to stand in the "shadow


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of Misery's wall" which really means that he is standing in the shadow of something beautiful,

something he never knew. He is back because he wants to take away the only beautiful thing left

in Thomas's life.

A next point of analysis comes from the youngest character, Mike. As Blackie sets a

meeting time, Mike says he has to be at church at that time. We can see here Mike's innocenceand purity. However, the next morning he does arrive on time due to the fact that his mother was

ill, and father was "tired after Saturday night". Mike's parents tell him to go to church alone, butwhy would he? His mother and father both make excuses not to go to church, making it seem

like a chore. Mike will just do as his parents do, and meet with the gang

The next point in the story begins the methodical demolition of Thomas's house. This

isn't just destruction for destruction's sake, it is meant to dismantle the house, much like thebombings of the blitz were meant to dismantle Britain's war economy. The kids are meticulous,

tearing up everything they can besides the wall. By the end of the day, we see that the inside of

the house was completely in shambles. Everyone had worked hard, even Mike, who cut all the

electrical switches. We see here how Mike, as a naive kid, is giving up his innocence to the boys.He is a follower, and isn't smart enough to think about why he is tearing up this house. He is

much like citizens of a country that simply follow an authoritative leader's goals, in effect,German citizens.

An important moment happens at the end of the scene, when T and Blackie burn

Thomas's savings. Blackie originally thinks to steal the money, but T wants to burn it. T is

motivated strongly to take every last thing away from Thomas. Blackie asks T if it's because hehates Thomas so much, to which T replies, "All this hate and love, it's soft and hooey. There's

only things, Blackie." We see here how the aftermath of war has affected the kids. They never

had anything positive in their life like Thomas, and resent him for that. Their emotions are

limited to hate because of their current situation, and thus, will only continue to worsen thingsfor future generations. Thomas may have some hope that the kids will return things to the old

ways. This is false hope, as the next passage mentions a boy's parents driving out of town despite

signs of harsh weather. They hope to escape to Brighton, a fancy town on the sea. This issymbolic of the parents' greater hope that things will improve for Britain; but as the harsh

weather suggests, their children will neglect this improvement.

The next day, the destruction of the interior continues to completion. One boy, Summers,asks, "Why did we even start this?" He, like the others, is simply driven by the authority of T,

and not by any true motive. The kids begin to flood out the house, just as they learn that Thomas

is coming back early. When Summers suggest they have done enough, T replies, "No we haven't.

Anybody could do this." He knows that leaving the walls would leave the opportunity for theinside to be rebuilt, and possibly made even more beautiful than it was prior. The house that

remains with only walls clearly depicts the infrastructure of Britain's economy. After the blitz,

the core of the economy was destroyed, and could have been rebuilt. However, the bitterness anddestructive nature of mankind is exemplified in the gang. The gang will tear down the remaining

walls of the house, much like they will neglect their economy when they become older. They

have no desire to rebuild the beauty of England because they never experienced it. The housecould be a place where the kids see how beautiful Britain was, and motivate them to have that for


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themselves one day. Their decision to tear the rest down parallels their ultimate neglect of Britain

itself.

The story progresses and T is rattled by the thought that his plans might not fall through.His leadership is lost, as the gang sees T is cracking under pressure. They need someone to lead

so that their efforts can continue. Blackie is the only one with experience and takes charge.Thomas is arriving, and the kids arrange a plan to divert him away from the house. T runs

urgently to Thomas, telling him that a boy is stuck in his loo. T actually convinces him not to gointo his house first, and has Thomas climb over his garden wall. Although Thomas says that "it's

absurd," the fact that he climbs over seems to represent the ultimate transition of generations.

Thomas isn't really in control any more. He is clinging to his house, the only thing he has left ofhis good memories, but the kids, the new generation, will soon take that from him. Thomas

anticipates the loo's door will be locked, but upon giving it a hard pull, finds it isn't, losing his

balance. With the door opened, the kids push Thomas into the empty loo, take the key, and lockthe door. Old Misery is now out of the picture. As he sits in the loo, Thomas realizes that there

was only one car in the lot, and everyone was out on holiday. No one will hear his cries for

help; he is in a sense, the last of the old Englanders, and the fate of his house now lies in thehands of the next generation. As the scene ends, Thomas realizes that even if he did call forhelp, not even his enemies would hear him. His enemies, now, are the kids. Thomas is

beginning to see that the kids will not be able to bring back the old splendor of England; they

are enemies just like the German's who bombed his country.

The boys diligently continue to dismantle the house until it is completely gutted. Mike,

the youngest, was the only one not present, for he had gone home to bed. Mike is blissfullyunaware of what is happening. He is friends with these boys likely because they live in his

neighborhood. He doesn't necessarily feel any strong conviction to tear down the house, but

does so because he wants to fit in with the crowd. Thus, in Mike, Greene shows how these kids

will negatively affect future generations, as well.

With the job nearly finished, the boys leave for home, but not without first checking in on

Thomas. They bring him blankets and food to last him through the night, and this is kind of

Kevorkianesque. Although Thomas may not die, his house which represents everything that hestands for is about to. The boys bringing him some comfort seems to act as a way to ease the

pain that is about to be caused. The next morning, the owner of the lone car in the parking lot

arrives. The driver heard faint screams from Thomas, but did nothing to investigate. The driver

here represents the unwillingness of the current generation to fix anything after the bombings.As the driver pulls away he is startled when he feels his car seem to be pulled from behind, and

is then pounded with an avalanche of bricks and stones. Getting out, he sees that a rope was tied

to the back of the car to Thomas's house, and had pulled it to the ground. The fact that the driverwas the one that pulled the house down and not the kids is the ultimate significant point in the

story. Greene does this because the driver's generation is really responsible for teaching the

gang's generation that beauty doesn't exist. His generation did nothing to attempt to rebuild thecity after the bombing, and hence, the superpower that was Great Britain was conceded to

Russia and the United States. The immediate generation following the blitz was subjected to

living in unfair conditions, which accounted for a lack of love and pride in any area of life.


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Although the kids were the ones who planned the destruction, it was really a consequence of

those who taught them there was no hope.

When the driver hears the screams again, he fetches Mr. Thomas from the loo. Eventhough Thomas is clearly and understandably distraught, the driver actually laughs at him,

saying, "I can't help it, Mr. Thomas. There's nothing personal, but you got to admit it's funny."

These words, "there's nothing personal," appear for the second time in the story. The first timewe hear them is when T brings Thomas food, but won't let him out of the loo. The ultimate

point being made is that the destruction isn't personal to anyone except Mr. Thomas. He is the

only one who seems to remember England for what it used to be. In this microcosm, the houserepresented the only part of the England of old. Now that it is gone, no one will ever be able to

understand that life could be more meaningful than they live it now.

On the surface, the title "The Destructors" seems to be chosen simply because the gang in

the story destroys Mr. Thomas's house. However, it is chosen on a more meaningful level. Thestory is allegorical, and so is the title; the ''..."destructors' are the overall destructive nature of

man. Yes, we can say that the kids were destructors in the story, but from where did their

destructive nature stem? The parents of these children had to live through the blitz bombing oftheir beautiful country. As a result, they became disparaged and bitter. Instead of any effort to

rebuild London, the city was left in a deteriorating state, and the kids grew up without any

concept of true beauty. However, why would the German's bomb England? They saw the kind of

wealth and pleasure the British had, and wanted to take it away out of pure hate and greed. Aninteresting transition is created here. Before the war, the German's despised London for what it

was, and destroyed it. After the war, the kids that grow up in London despise it for what it is, and

actually want to destroy any part of London which represents the life that they missed. Now

these kids are spiteful, and display the same destructive traits which caused their country'scurrent condition. Through the use of allegorical elements Greene is effective in portraying on a

small scale what was occurring on a large scale in England, and "The Destructors" is a storywhich reminds us of the horrible effects of war, the destructive attitudes that result from it, and

how difficult it is to break these attitudes over generations.


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Christine Kaye C. Malon Word Literature

BSHRM

Analysis of the Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope

With its three line stanzas and brief statements, this poem is set up in such a way

that it resembles a newspaper add from the "personal section." It describes the outcasts of

society- the male biker, gay vegetarian, bisexual woman, Jewish lady- who long for love just

as the "accepted" members of society do. Each stanza gives a short description of who the

person is and what they are looking for when it comes to love. Obviously, these people are

lonely and let lonesome feelings compel them to seek love. The stanzas are filled with

desperation as at the end of each either the question "Do you live in North London?" or "Can

someone makes my simple wish come true?" is posed. Aside from desperation, the poem

also gives an air of satire. Needy, picky people who have the "perfect" image of someone inhis or her closed mind and look only for that person are seemingly made fun of.

Analysis of the Lost Baby by Lucille Clifton

In Lucille Clifton's, "The Lost Baby Poem," the poet displays a young mother who is fullof regret and guilt for her child in which she had lost to death. There are many technical devices

that express the poet's intentions and how it all fits together within this poem. First, I will be

discussing what this poem is trying to convey also the denotations and connotations within this

poem. Secondly, the poet uses imagery so intensely that one can almost feel the coldness of thewinter chill. Lastly, I will discuss how figurative language plays a major role in the young lady's

guilt.

First of all, I noticed that this poem had been written all in lower case letters except for

"Genesee Hill" and "Canada," which were names of the place that they had lived. The poet hadeven written herself as "i" in lower case in which it symbolizing a great shame upon herself.

Then I had broken this poem into three groups in which they have already been divided. I believe

the first group represents the process in which the baby in being aborted. "The time I droppedyou almost body down down to meet the waters under the city and run one with the sewage to

the sea what did i know about waters rushing back what did I know about drowning or being

drowned." (1-6) I believe that in the poets mind are constant repeating visual images of her babybeing drowned. That is why there is repetition with down and drowning. That's why she is

repeating herself "what did I know," as a sign of forgiveness.

The second group represents the excuses that the poet makes for her baby not being born

as if it was a benefit for the unborn baby. For example, "You would have been born into winterthe year of the disconnected gas and no car," (7-9) represents how poor the poet was. "We would

have made the thin walk over Genesee Hill into Canada wind," (9-10) this represents the location

in which the area that they had lived. "To watch you slip like ice into strangers hands." (11) Ibelieve that the poet is trying to say that if the baby was born then it would probably be given up


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for adoption, living in an orphanage or just abandoned. "You would have fallen naked as snow

into winter." (12) Since this was an unprepared problem, the baby would not have enough

clothing to wear. "If you were here I could tell you these and some other things." By saying this,she means that if you (the baby) were here, you would have lived a miserable life.

The third and final group deals with how she has learned from this situation and how shepromises to improve her ways. There are symbols and personification within this last group in

which I will be discussing later on in my paper. "If I am ever less than a mountain for youdefinite bothers and sisters let the rivers pour over my head let the sea take me for a spiller of

seas" (15-19) The poet is making a promise to her unborn child that if she does not treat her

living children right (the unborn child's brothers and sisters), then she wants punishment. "letblack men call me stranger always," (19-20) means that she wants to stay far away from men.

She wants nothing to do with men because that is how this tragic incident happened. Lucille

Clifton uses the term "black men," because she for one is black and she wants everyone whoreads her poem to know that she is black. "for you never named sake," represents the unborn

child. The poet is saying this because she has changed her lifestyle for her unborn child.

The imagery used within this poem deals with the strengths of the waters as well as the

coldness of winter. "What did I know about waters rushing back, what did I know aboutdrowning or being drowned," represents the sense of feeling. One could almost feel the power of

rushing waters controlling them also feeling the struggle for grasping of air. I can imagine the

feeling of discomfort every time I read this line. This also can represent the visual imagery fromthe poet's perspective. As mentioned earlier, since she had witnessed this traumatic experience,

she constantly sees visual image in her mind of her baby being drowned. "To watch you slip like

ice into strangers' hands you would have fallen naked as snow into winter," (11-12) is an

example of the sense of sight and display the dark colors and feeling of the cold, bleak weather.This can also be represented by the sense of feeling of the frosty cold temperature. When the

poet point outs "winter," "fallen naked," "disconnected gas," and "slip like ice," I can almost feelthe cold numbing my body, especially if I had "fallen naked."

Figurative language is used quite commonly in the last group of the poem. In, "If I amever less than a mountain for you definite brothers and sisters," (15-16) mountain represents a

symbol of being strong or supportive. So in other words, she is making a promise to her unborn

child that she will be strong and supportive her other children that are living.

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