Loss Of Innocence In Graham Greene's 'The Destructors'

Loss of Innocence could mean children were growing to become adults. At the same time, it also implies a specific individual or group lost their innocence for different reasons such as gain of knowledge, family or social issues, and war. The short story written by Graham Greene, “The Destructors,” took place in London after World War II. Loss of innocence is a notable theme presented by Greene through the setting of the story, and the different actions and behaviors of the boys in the Wormsley Common Gang. The setting of “The Destructors” served as a powerful symbol of the loss of innocence. After World War II, the neighborhood had been severely damaged by bombings. This reflected how a once stable and orderly place had become dilapidated.

In the early stages, T. was considered a quiet and reserved kid. This could be seen from how “ [T.] never wasted a word even to tell his name until that was required of him by the rules.” (Paragraph 2). As the story progresses, T. emerged as the leader of the gang as he proposed his plans and decisions for destroying Mr. Thomas’s house. He also showed how he disregarded empathy and how much he admired destruction. T. discovered Mr. Thomas’s savings and he told Blackie that “‘[They’ll] burn them,’ [T.] said, ‘one by one,’” (paragraph 100) even though he knew those were important to Mr. Thomas, T. just simply treated burning the banknotes as a celebration. Besides, T. gradually started to treat the destruction as entertainment, and he sat and listened to the sounds of the destruction. When one of the boys, Summers, asked T. if the damages they did to the house were enough, T. even answered that it had just begun. Trevor demonstrated a significant transformation from an innocent and brooding member to a cold-hearted leader of the gang, who showed no mercy or understanding to others when pursuing his goals or just personal enjoyment. Such changes clearly illustrated the idea of loss of

When Mr. Thomas came back from his holiday, the boys made up a new plan. They sent a boy to tell Mr. Thomas that another boy was locked in the lavatory outside his house and needed his help as they said the boy might have fainted. Just as Mr. Thomas managed to free the boy from the lavatory, “ A hand first supported him and then pushed him hard. His head hit the opposite wall and he sat heavily down. His bag hit his feet. A hand whipped the key out of the lock and the door slammed.” (Paragraph 158). Mr. Thomas was then being tricked by the boys, and became the one who was locked in the lavatory. Here the boys used Mr. Thomas’s kindness and trust to get him out of their way so they could continue to pull the house down. The boys also attempted to intimidate Mr.Thomas that he would be safe if he stayed silent. The boys were stepping further and further away from being innocent when they were able to manipulate others and control their feelings to get what they