The Destructors

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Trevor (T) :

A silent, decided, and seemingly frustrated teenager . He speaks nothing more than needed and " yes" or " no" forms most of his answers. He becomes a member of the gang because he wants to take revenge of a society in which his parents have come down. His father, formerly an architect, is working as a clerk ; and his mother considers herself better than the neighbors. This leaves T with nothing better to do than join the local gang. In the destruction of Old Misery's house, he is given the ability to lash out at the world in response to the misfortune it beset onto him.

T is very decided and sees the world as a collection of sayings powered by actions. He tends to destroy Old Misery's house and puts it into action despite the first reluctances and doubts put forward by the gang and specially Blackie.

He has the power of convincing the gang to cooperate in destructing a house which he himself thinks of " beautiful."

T abides by his sayings at the beginning of the project while he announces that nothing will be robbed or taken from the house. He burns the pound - notes found stashed in Old Misery's bedding along with Blackie. Upon questioning, Blackie discovers that T doesn't burn the bills in an act of retaliation against Old Misery, but rather just to keep faithful with the principles he set forth at the beginning of the destruction.

T is very courageous, for when all the boys are afraid of Old Misery's coming back earlier than predicted, he strongly claims that he will do " something" to end his plan. He overcomes his doubt (It is not fair!) and really wants to do something. He does the best thing when he imprisons Old Misery in his outhouse and the children comp...

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...site. To the community of Warmsley, Old Misery's house serves as a proud tribute to the struggles they endured during WWII. To the gang, it is simply a reminder of the reason their lives are disrupted, the reason they choose to take down the building.

The neglection of the boys parents also serves as a key aspect of their motivation;of the few times parents were mentioned in the story, the most memorable ones were of the degradation of T's parents and Mike's parental negligence on the first day of demolition.

Another point to mention here is the gang's blind obedience to their leader. They seem to be brain - washed by T, for they don't show any serious protest or complain to T's strange suggestion. They destruct the building for two reasons : the common sense of hatred towards the old house as the reminder of the war ; and the complete obedience .

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