The Destructors

Blackie is the small-minded, “happy-go-lucky” leader of the Wormsley Common Gang who loses his power to T (9). Though he is preoccupied with rules and procedures, he demonstrates a weakness for vanity and petty pranks. He makes claims the other boys know to be false, and he briefly considers leaving the gang when he loses power. He stays only because he thinks T’s plan to destroy Old Misery’s house will make the gang famous—Blackie doesn’t distinguish between infamy and fame. He dislikes that T describes the house as “beautiful” because he sees this as a word that should be mocked (6). When the day comes to destroy the house, Blackie hopes they won’t go through with it. To his surprise, he discovers the gang working diligently and with great organization. When T discovers the money in Old Misery’s mattress, Blackie suggests sharing it with the gang. T instead burns it, and Blackie assumes T must hate Old Misery, an assumption T denies. Blackie, for the most part, is impressed with T’s leadership, and when the gang briefly turns on T for wanting to finish the job despite the imminent arrival of Old Misery, Blackie supports him.

Blackie can be seen as the face of a fair-weather government or society that changes according to popular opinion. He lacks integrity and is largely motivated by vanity. Though he hesitates to destroy Old Misery’s house, he goes along with the plan and defers to T’s orders. Out of all the boys, he comes closest to having a conscience, but his attempts at moral thinking are confused, fickle, and incoherent.

Old Misery is a man who had once been a decorator and builder. He lives alone in a beautiful house that survived the Blitz, though some damage was done. Every other house in the neighborhood was destroyed. He’s too stingy—or “mean” (4), as Greene puts it—to repair his house’s plumbing, so he uses an outhouse in the backyard. He offers the boys in the Wormsley Common Gang chocolates, saying he doesn’t eat them himself. He willingly gives T a tour of his home, and he says the boys can play in his yard on Saturday mornings, provided they are regular and orderly about it. He doesn’t even complain when the boys maliciously bounce balls against his house. In no way is he antagonistic toward the gang. He is greatly upset when his house gets destroyed, and he’s furious with the truck driver for laughing.

Old Misery can be seen as a representative of the religiously faithful. His house can be seen as a church or perhaps an embodiment of Christianity in general. His house was designed by Christopher Wren, who designed St. Paul’s Cathedral. The historical Paul is commonly seen as one of the people who turned Christianity into a worldwide religion. Like the church—in Greene’s view—Old Misery fails to address repairs that need to be made, and he fails to recognize his enemies. Both of these mistakes make him vulnerable. When his house falls down, he is left with a truck driver laughing at him, claiming it’s nothing personal.

Mike is possibly the youngest member of the gang. He’s primarily a comic character who is surprised by everything. The others, recognizing his immaturity, warn him that a frog will jump down his throat if leaves his mouth hanging open all the time. He wants to be taken seriously, but he is just a child. He warns the gang when Old Misery is returning early from vacation, and he helps T trap Old Misery in the outhouse.

Summers is described as a thin, sallow boy. For reasons that are not identified, he goes by his last name. Though he contributes significantly to the destruction of the house, he wonders aloud why the gang is doing it. When T begs the gang to finish the destruction even though Old Misery is coming back early, Summers is the one who calls him by his “fatal name,” Trevor, and tells him to go home. After Blackie pushes him, Summers resumes his destructive activities. Later, he watches out for Old Misery in the street.