Graham Greene's The Destructors

Literary Criticism Review: The Destructors
“There are infinite shades of grey, but writing often appears so black and white.” American author Rebecca Solnit quipped when it came to her own writings about political and sociological undertones within certain classic stories. In his article, Philip C. Kolin reveals the ever present sense of grey that resides the short-story “The Destructors” by Graham Greene. Although the story that rests on the surface is just that of delinquent children creating chaos in reflection in the world around them, Kolin attempts to find a far more meaning through the symbolism and his own personal interpretation of what lies between the lines of this timeless classic.
Through his own analysis, Kolin has delved deep
Kolin creates parallels between the destruction of the house by the hands of the children to the destruction of the world that surrounds the house by the hands of men. Instead of reiterating the theme of grey within the story, he has gone in another direction in describing how the characters actions are fulfilled in dark terms, both literally and figuratively. T.’s actions are not driven by an emotion that spans the two extremely. His actions are driven purely by his desire to plant the seeds of darkness so that the house resembles all that is around them. This idea of darkness is once again mentioned as the children continue destroying the elderly man’s house through the night in a so-called “shroud of darkness”. Kolin does a good idea of illuminating these small details, ones that most readers might miss upon a first
Kolin explains that the underlying goal of the children in the story isn’t just pure destruction, the de-colorization and demoralization of society through their actions. The color grey comes up time and time again within the writings of Graham Greene, most than any other color imaginable. When another color is introduced, it is quickly washed away or removed from the world through various means. As symbolic as everything else, the color grey stands out above all else. Grey skies, buildings, dusty walkways, rusted cars, and the muddy faces of the children bring this fact to light. Kolin even describes the grey blanket that Mr. Thomas wears when exited his outhouse prison as an symbolic manifestation of the gang’s overwhelming distortive power that’ve exerted on him. No longer is Mr. Thomas prideful and flushed with color as he now is dark and as drab the world that surrounds him. Through T.’s planning and nature, the gang manages to bring the world of an old man down to their own level of personal