Greed and Destruction in Greene and Lawrence's Stories

Introduction: Two Stories, One Theme

Greed has always been a powerful motivator, and it is one of the main themes in two works that seem quite similar at first glance: The Destructors by Graham Greene and "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence. A closer reading reveals meaningful dissimilarities between them, but ultimately both stories point to greed as a powerful destructive force in human life, and to a society that reveres money and possessions above all else.

Initially, these two short stories seem quite similar. They are both set in Great Britain, and they both feature young boys as their main characters. At first glance, they might appear to be stories about growing up in unfamiliar worlds, but underlying that first impression are dark and disturbing themes about how greed can destroy — and how destruction for its own sake is itself a form of greed. Both stories also illustrate how a love of "things," or possessions, can become a destructive form of greed.

Surface Similarities and the Role of Possessions

Greene makes this explicit in his story, showing how young juvenile delinquents view possessions. He writes: "All this hate and love, he said, it's soft, it's hooey. There's only things, Blackie, and he looked round the room crowded with the unfamiliar shadows of half things, broken things, former things" (Greene 236). The group of young boys tears down the old man's house because they see it as a symbol of everything they do not have — possessions they would love to own but cannot. They do not see the old man as a human being, and so they destroy everything that is dear to him. This dark tale shows how greed brings about ultimate destruction, and in this respect it closely resembles "The Rocking-Horse Winner," in which greed is equally destructive.

Paul is the young protagonist of "The Rocking-Horse Winner," and he is a sympathetic character because he is kind and ultimately gives his life to better his family. Throughout the story, his family is consumed with money — or the lack of it — while maintaining appearances to the outside world that they are well-off. Paul often hears his parents arguing about money and understands its central importance in their lives. Lawrence writes:

"There must be more money! There must be more money!" And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other's eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. "There must be more money! There must be more money!" (Lawrence).

Paul discovers he has a magical gift for picking winning racehorses, and he earns enough money to erase his family's debts. He then tragically dies, leaving his parents in far better financial circumstances — which is all that seems to matter in the end. Lawrence writes:

Paul and the Cost of Family Greed in Lawrence's Story

"His eyes blazed at her for one strange and senseless second, as he ceased urging his wooden horse. Then he fell with a crash to the ground, and she, all her tormented motherhood flooding upon her, rushed to gather him up. But he was unconscious, and unconscious he remained, with some brain-fever. He talked and tossed, and his mother sat stonily by his side" (Lawrence).

This tragic ending parallels the conclusion of "The Destructors," in which the poor old man stands in the ruins of his house — ruins created for no reason other than the boys' jealousy of his possessions.

The tragic endings of both short stories illustrate the theme that society brings out the best and the worst in people. The old man in "The Destructors" gives the children chocolate, demonstrating that he has tried to be kind to them — and they throw that kindness back in his face. Greene writes: "I got some chocolates, Mr. Thomas said. Don't like 'em myself. Here you are. Not enough to go round, I don't suppose. There never is, he added with sombre conviction. He handed over three packets of Smarties" (Greene 227). What does he receive in return for his decency? The boys tear down his house. This is ultimately a commentary on society, because modern society often overlooks compassion and decency while revering possessions and money above everything else.