Destructors by Graham Greene and the Rocking

¶ … Destructors" by Graham Greene and "The Rocking Horse Winner" by DH Lawrence have little in common. However, when the emotional impact of each plot on the various characters is considered, it becomes clear that there are many points of comparison. Thus, this paper will compare and contrast the emotions experienced by selected characters in each story. In order to achieve this goal, issues such as children, adults and the emotions experienced in various ways by each are considered first. This is followed by a discussion of the end of the two works. Each story ends in a destruction that can be both compared and contrasted with each other.

Children as Main Characters

Both stories feature children as their main characters. It is also true that in each story the children in the roles of main character are somewhat unusual. In Greene's story for example, Trevor has a distinctly dark character. At fifteen years of age he has a brooding temperament. Greene mentions that it is as if he had never been truly a child. Nearly same is true of Paul in Lawrence's story. The boy is forced into growing up quickly by the financial circumstances of the family. Paul and his two sisters are reminded on a constant basis of the financial difficulties of their parents. This manifests itself in the voice of the house where they live. There is a never-ending and urgent need for more money. The children are more aware than normal children should be of the necessity of money for well-being. Later Paul learns from his mother that the lack of money is directly connected to both her and his father's lack of luck. This prompts Paul's unchildlike search for luck. The search is culminated in a rocking horse. With the help of Bassett, the gardener, Paul begins betting on horses, winning uncannily on a regular basis. Later, when Paul grows up, he keeps the rocking horse in his room, much to the dismay of his mother, who feels that he has grown too old for it. This is a point of contrast with Trevor in Greene's story. Whereas Paul harbors the dichotomy of being too mature for his years while at the same time being unable to grow up, Trevor appears never to have been a child.

Trevor joins a gang of boys who congregate on a regular basis in a parking lot. The whole areas has been destroyed by bombs. Only the old man, Thomas's, house still remains. Thomas is referred to as "Old Misery" by the children. In his better years he was known as a builder and decorator. Trevor visits the old man and comes up with a plan for the gang. He wants to destroy the old man's house. His motivation is not clear in the beginning. However, as the story progresses, the reader is left with the feeling that Trevor has engaged in a kind of act of creative destruction. This is revealed by Trevor's panic when Old Misery returns early and nearly destroys their plans for destruction. When the old man is dealt with, the destruction continues and the boys are so caught up with it that their lives outside of the house are temporarily forgotten. Issues of gang leadership are for example subordinate to the collective act of destruction.

Adults in Misery

In both stories the adults live their lives in unhappy misery. Paul's parents are so obsessed with the lack of money to keep up their lifestyle that the very house has been saturated with their misery. This saturation is manifest in the way that the house whispers to the children. The house has absorbed the parents' desire for more money.

In a similar way Old Misery's house has been almost animated by a desire for its own destruction. This desire is heard by a child, Trevor. He conveys it to the other children, who respond to the challenge with enthusiasm. Each house is therefore influenced by adults, and this influence is communicated to the children. The children then set about to make the changes that the adults were unable to make. This change can be indicative of the fact that adults tend to be inflexible, whereas children are still susceptible to change in all its forms.

The End

Both stories end with the shock of destruction. "The Destructors" end with the complete destruction of the house, whereas "The Rocking Horse Winner" ends with the destruction of a life. One could perhaps say that Old Misery's life was also destroyed by the destruction of his house. However, the contrast is in the fact that a boy dies in Lawrence's story, whereas in Greene's story the destruction is of an old man's life.