The Destructors Literary Analysis

In the story “The Destructors,” there are groups of children that become desperate as a result World War II. The war was affecting many as their home were being attacked and destroyed. The house that survived¬¬¬ was the main target by these people in their daily exploits because of the jealousy from the divide between social classes. One of the kids explored the house as he was guided by the owner and describes how it all looked. The group was shocked at the description saying that, “it was the word ‘beautiful’ that worried him […] a man wearing a top hat and a monocle” (Greene, 23). The exploit was the cause from the desperation to cause trouble after being attacked as a civilian during the war. The group of children thought the house was
worthy for them to destroy. At the moment of hearing the word beautiful the majority of them voted to destroy the house, so it would not reach that point of status again. The group was worried because they felt uneasy that there was a high-profile man living in a house after the war. The house was entirely different from the poverty stricken community, creating fuel for the group of children to agree on using violent acts. The class divide shown through the owner’s top hat and a monocle represents the wide range of social status. The children were jealous and wanted everyone to feel the same desperate way. Even though the destruction of other houses did not help themselves, they are still desperate to commit violent acts.