{"id":7126,"date":"2014-10-14T21:15:41","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T21:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/?p=7126"},"modified":"2026-04-03T21:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:13:41","slug":"the-end-of-the-party-g-greene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/?p=7126","title":{"rendered":"The Destructors  [G. Greene]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>\u00a0[1904-1991]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-QxG4gMHFkw\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bi-fKj14g3Q\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/100mudcats.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/03\/destructors.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-37619\" src=\"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/destructors.jpg\" alt=\"destructors\" width=\"178\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/destructors.jpg 198w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/destructors-112x150.jpg 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/><\/a>\u2190[read]<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A 1954\u00a0short story\u00a0about teenagers destroying a house. The story is ironic\u2014showing how destruction is allegedly a form of creation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Set in the mid-1950s, it is about a boys&#8217;\u00a0gang\u00a0named the \u00abWormsley Common Gang\u00bb, after the place where they live.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trevor, or \u00abT.\u00bb, the\u00a0protagonist, devises a plan to destroy a beautiful two hundred-year-old house that survived\u00a0<a title=\"The Blitz\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Blitz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Blitz<\/a>. Under T., their new leader, the gang accepts the plan and executes it when the owner of the house, Mr. Thomas (whom the gang call \u00abOld Misery\u00bb), is away during a\u00a0<a title=\"Bank holiday\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bank_holiday\">bank holiday<\/a>\u00a0weekend.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their plan is to destroy the house from inside, then tear down the remaining outer structure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">[from \u00a0<strong>Graham Greene<\/strong>:\u00a0Twenty-One Stories, Penguin Books, 1973]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a style=\"color: #666666;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.audible.com.au\/pd\/Classics\/The-Destructors-and-Other-Stories-Audiobook\/B00FPE2XVU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"wimpyButtonRAND0\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.learnoutloud.com\/hearsampleplay.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"121\" height=\"28\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>&#8230;<strong>\u201cBeen to the loo,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> one of the boys said, for it was common knowledge that since the bombs fell something had gone wrong with the pipes of the house and Old Misery was too mean to spend money on the property. He could do the redecorating himself at cost price, but he had never learned plumbing. The loo was a wooden shed at the bottom of the narrow garden with a starshaped hole in the door: It had escaped the blast which had smashed the house next door and sucked out the window frames of number 3.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The next time the gang became aware of Mr. Thomas was more surprising. Blackie, Mike, and a thin yellow boy, who for some reason was called by his surname Summers, met him on the common coming back from the market. Mr. Thomas stopped them. He said glumly, <strong><em>\u201cYou belong to the lot that play in the car-park?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mike was about to answer when Blackie stopped him. As the leader he had responsibilities. <strong><em>\u201cSuppose we are?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he said ambiguously.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cI got some chocolates,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Mr. Thomas said. <strong><em>\u201cDon\u2019t like \u2019em myself. Here you are. Not enough to go round, I don\u2019t suppose. There never is,\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>he added with somber conviction. He handed over three packets of Smarties.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The gang were puzzled and perturbed by this action and tried to explain it away. <strong><em>\u201cBet someone dropped them and he picked \u2019em up,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> somebody suggested.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cPinched \u2019em and then got in a bleeding funk,\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>another thought aloud.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s a bribe,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Summers said. <strong><em>\u201cHe wants us to stop bouncing balls on his wall.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWe\u2019ll show him we don\u2019t take bribes,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Blackie said, and they sacrificed the\u00a0whole morning to the game of bouncing that only Mike was young enough to enjoy. There was no sign from Mr. Thomas.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Next day T. astonished them all. He was late at the rendezvous, and the voting for that day\u2019s exploit took place without him. At Blackie\u2019s suggestion the gang was to disperse in pairs, take buses at random, and see how many free rides could be snatched from unwary conductors (the operation was to be carried out in pairs to avoid cheating). They were drawing lots for their companions when T. arrived.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhere you been, T.?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Blackie asked. <strong><em>\u201cYou can\u2019t vote now. You know the rules.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cI\u2019ve been there,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> T. said. He looked at the ground, as though he had thoughts to hide.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhere?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cAt Old Misery\u2019s.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Mike\u2019s mouth opened and then hurriedly closed again with a click. He had remembered the frog.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cAt Old Misery\u2019s?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Blackie said. There was nothing in the rules against it, but he had a sensation that T. was treading on dangerous ground. He asked hopefully, <strong><em>\u201cDid you break in?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cNo. I rang the bell.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cAnd what did you say?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cI said I wanted to see his house.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cHe showed it me.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cPinch anything?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cNo.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat did you do it for then?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The gang had gathered round. It was as though an impromptu court were about to form and to try some case of deviation. T. said, <strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful house,\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>and still watching the ground, meeting no one\u2019s eyes, he licked his lips first one way, then the other.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat do you mean, a beautiful house?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Blackie asked with scorn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s got a staircase two hundred years old like a corkscrew. Nothing holds it up.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em> \u201cWhat do you mean, nothing holds it up. Does it float?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s to do with opposite forces, Old Misery said.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat else?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cThere\u2019s paneling.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cLike in the Blue Boar?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cTwo hundred years old.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cIs Old Misery two hundred years old?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mike laughed suddenly and then was quiet again. The meeting was in a serious mood. For the first time since T. had strolled into the car-park on the first day of the holidays his position was in danger. It only needed a single use of his real name and the gang would be at his heels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat did you do it for?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Blackie asked. He was just, he had no jealousy, he was anxious to retain T. in the gang if he could. It was the word <em>\u201cbeautiful\u201d<\/em> that worried him\u2014that belonged to a class world that you could still see parodied at the Wormsley Common Empire by a man wearing a top hat and a monocle, with a haw-haw accent. He was tempted to say, <em>\u201cMy dear Trevor, old chap,\u201d<\/em> and unleash his hell hounds. <em>\u201c<strong>If you\u2019d broken in&#8230;\u201d<\/strong><\/em> he said sadly\u2014 that indeed would have been an exploit worthy of the gang.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cThis was better,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> T. said. <strong><em>\u201cI found out things.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>He continued to stare at his feet, not meeting anybody\u2019s eye, as though he were absorbed in some dream he was unwilling\u2014or ashamed\u2014to share.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>\u201cWhat things?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cOld Misery\u2019s going to be away all tomorrow and Bank Holiday&#8230;\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"> [1904-1991]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\n<\/p>\n<p> \u2190[read] <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A 1954 short story about teenagers destroying a house. The story is ironic\u2014showing how destruction is allegedly a form of creation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Set in the mid-1950s, it is about a boys&#8217; gang named the \u00abWormsley Common Gang\u00bb, after the place where they live.<\/p>\n<p> [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":11046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[175,263,299],"class_list":["post-7126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-story","tag-mod_classics","tag-blighty","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7126"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55997,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126\/revisions\/55997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}