The Destructors
"The Destructors" is a 1954 short story written by Graham Greene,[1] first published in Picture Post[2] and subsequently collected in Twenty-One Stories later that year.[3]
Plot
Set in the mid-1950s, the story is about the "Wormsley Common Gang", a boys' gang named after the place where they live. The protagonist Trevor, or "T.", devises a plan to destroy a beautiful 200-year-old house that survived The Blitz. The gang accepts the plan by T., their new leader, and executes it when the owner of the house, Mr. Thomas (whom the gang call "Old Misery"), is away during a bank holiday weekend. Their plan is to destroy the house from inside, then tear down the remaining outer structure. Mr. Thomas returns home early, however, and the gang locks him in the outhouse. T. refuses to stop until the destruction job is complete, because even the facade is valuable and could be reused. Inside, they find a mattress filled with money—which they burn. The final destruction of the house occurs when a lorry pulls away a support pole from the side of the house. Mr. Thomas is released from the outhouse by the lorry driver to see the rubble of what once was his home. When the driver finds the situation funny, Mr. Thomas is incensed, but the driver is still unable to stop laughing.
Television adaptation
"The Destructors" was adapted for television as part of the 1970s British drama series Shades of Greene. It starred Michael Byrne, Phil Daniels and Nicholas Drake, directed by Michael Apted[4] with a TV debut for actor Andrew Paul.[5]
Allusions and references in other works
- In the film Donnie Darko (2001), the title character contributes to discussion of "The Destructors" in his English class, stating that the story is ironic[6]—showing how destruction is a form of creation.[1][2] A parent of a pupil protests the use of this book in the curriculum during a PTA meeting, implying that it inspired an incident of vandalism to the school[3]—a broken water main (which flooded the building) and an axe in the head of the mascot statue—in a manner similar to the protagonists of Greene's story.
References
- ^ a b Ripatrazone, Nick (13 April 2017). "How Donnie Darko Captures the Spirit of Lent". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ a b French, Philip (27 October 2002). "Into the heart of Darko". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ a b 5 Books That Were Featured In Movies. ManyBooks. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "Shades of Greene" The Destructors (TV Episode 1975). IMDb. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ Padman, Tony (25 October 2014). "Whatever happened to… The Bill's PC Dave Quinnan?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ Hall, Sandra (17 October 2002). "Donnie Darko". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
External links
- Full text of The Destructors
- v
- t
- e
- The Man Within (1929)
- The Name of Action (1930)
- Rumour at Nightfall (1932)
- Stamboul Train (1932)
- It's a Battlefield (1934)
- England Made Me (1935)
- The Bear Fell Free (1935)
- A Gun for Sale (1936)
- Brighton Rock (1938)
- The Confidential Agent (1939)
- The Power and the Glory (1940)
- The Ministry of Fear (1943)
- The Heart of the Matter (1948)
- The Third Man (novella; 1949)
- The End of the Affair (1951)
- The Quiet American (1955)
- Loser Takes All (1955)
- Our Man in Havana (1958)
- A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
- The Comedians (1966)
- Travels with My Aunt (1969)
- The Honorary Consul (1973)
- The Human Factor (1978)
- Doctor Fischer of Geneva (1980)
- Monsignor Quixote (1982)
- The Tenth Man (1985)
- The Captain and the Enemy (1988)
- No Man's Land (2005)
- Journey Without Maps (1936)
- The Lawless Roads (1939)
- In Search of a Character (1961)
- Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)
- A Sort of Life (1971)
- Ways of Escape (1980)
- Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)
- A World of My Own: A Dream Diary (1992)
- The Living Room (1953)
- The Potting Shed (1957)
- The Complaisant Lover (1959)
- Carving a Statue (1964)
- The Return of A. J. Raffles (1975)
- The Great Jowett (1981)
- Yes and No (1983)
- For Whom the Bell Chimes (1983)
- Twenty-One Stories (1954)
- A Sense of Reality (1963)
- May We Borrow Your Husband? (1967)
- The Last Word and Other Stories (1990)
- "The End of the Party" (1929)
- "Proof Positive" (1930)
- "The Basement Room" (1936)
- "Across the Bridge" (1938)
- "Alas, Poor Maling" (1940)
- "The Blue Film" (1954)
- "The Destructors" (1954)
- "A Shocking Accident"
- "The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen"
- "The Last Word"
- Orient Express (1934)
- The Future's in the Air (1937)
- The New Britain (1940)
- 21 Days (1940)
- This Gun for Hire (1942)
- Went the Day Well? (1942)
- Ministry of Fear (1944)
- Brighton Rock (1947)
- The Fallen Idol (1948)
- The Third Man (1949)
- The Heart of the Matter (1953)
- The End of the Affair (1955)
- Loser Takes All (1956)
- Saint Joan (1957)
- The Quiet American (1958)
- Our Man in Havana (1959)
- The Comedians (1967)
- Travels with My Aunt (1972)
- The Human Factor (1979)
- The Honorary Consul (1983)
- Monsignor Quixote (1985)
- The End of the Affair (1999)
- The Quiet American (2002)
- Brighton Rock (2010)
- Brighton Rock (play)
- Shades of Greene