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Unjustified Insanity In Graham Greene's 'The Destructors'

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Unjustified Insanity After the London blitz, during the conclusion of World War 2, many people including families lived in horrible conditions. Many high-class families were poor due to so many bombs hitting their homes and businesses. In “The Destructors” by Graham Greene, Trevor's actions were unjustified because he had no reason to target a specific person. He just wanted to destroy everything in the house to make someone feel the same as he does. Trevor’s actions to destroy Old Misery’s home were not logical, due to Old Misery compassion to the gang. The way T(Trevor) walks about gives a message about how he wants the past back, and he wants the emotion and luxuries that he once had. The actions of Trevor and the boys were below the belt, considering the kindness Old Misery had shown the boys. Regardless of the gang …show more content…

T tries to recreate his feelings by creating something else, “destruction after all is a form of creation”( Greene 55). While Trevor didn’t mean anything “personal”(Greene 60) that doesn't mean it’s ok to go to extremes by demolishing a house to feel better about what he lost. When T, a teenage boy, talks about his plan to tear down the house, and throws a fit when it is almost ruined it indicates a level of mental instability. The way Greene tells the story, Trevor's sanity was stolen from him, and he wants everything back but reacts to it in an insane/unjustified way. Trevor's insanity makes him feel like he has to make someone feel horrible about what had happened to them to make himself feel better. In “The Destructors” by Graham Greene, T’s actions aren’t even close to being justified. Instead, he should have been grateful due to the courtesy and generosity of Old Misery. Works Cited Greene, Graham. "The Destructors." Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, edited by Thomas R. Arp, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998, pp.

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