Comparison and Contrast of “The Destructors”, by Graham Greene and “The Rocking Horse Winner”, by D.H. Lawrence
This comparison and contrast of “The Destructors”, by Graham Greene and “The Rocking Horse Winner”, by D.H. Lawrence will center on selected parts of stories from the opening through the conclusion. I will seek to compare and contrast both authors’ choices of characters, themes, techniques of suspense, moral statements, and conclusions.
“The Destructors” and “The Rocking Horse Winner” were both written in the third person by British authors and set in post war Great Britain. “The Destructors” was written post World War II and “The Rocking Horse Winner” was written post World War I. Misery caused by poverty is the underlying theme of each story. The significance of the period each story was penned can easily be understood when considering the miserable living conditions of the people of post war Great Britain.
The characters in “The characters in “The Destructors” are not as fully developed as those in “The Rocking Horse Winner”. In “The Destructors” the characters are bound together as a distinct unit or a gang. Their overall interaction is based primarily on the destruction of Old Misery’s house. Dialogue between the gang members is limited to a great extent on the house’s destruction. In contrast, “The Rocking Horse Winner” characters, Paul, his mother, his uncle, and Bassett, are in constant conflict over poverty and bad luck as opposed to wealth and good luck. “The Destructors” is a story about the gang-style activities of young boys living in the inner-city poverty of post-war London and their conspiracy toward destroying an old man’s house. The opening of “The Rocking Horse Winner” sets the tone, moo...
... middle of paper ...
...which in turn led him to seek games of chance.
The conclusion of both stories is sad. In “The Destructors”, not only is Old Misery’s house destroyed, but also during the latter part of the demolition, the gang holds him captive in the out-house. The final humiliation appears when the lorry driver is an unknowing accomplice but still finds humor in Old Misery’s house being razed. In the “Rocking Horse Winner”, tragically although Paul selects the winning horse of the derby and brings wealth to his family, he dies in the end. Paul’s last words to his mother were “I’m lucky”.
In conclusion, the two short stories as compared and contrasted above, depict the degradation of social norms caused by poverty. The two sets of characters’ reactions to this abasement are different, and both prove ineffective attempts to overcome or cope with the situation.
The book deals with several sociological issues. It focuses on poverty, as well as s...
In the novel Poor People, written by William T. Vollmann asks random individuals if they believe they are poor and why some people are poor and others rich. With the help of native guides and translators, and in some cases their family members, they describe what they feel. He depicts people residing in poverty with individual interviews from all over earth. Vollmann’s story narrates their own individual lives, the situations that surround them, and their personal responses to his questions. The responses to his questions range from religious beliefs that the individual who is poor is paying for their past sins from a previous life and to the rational answer that they cannot work. The way these individuals live their life while being in poverty
2. What views does the author have of landlords, the "young street roughs," and the dispossessed German woman? What do his views of each have in common?
When comparing the themes of each story, surprising similarities arise. First, both are developed around the lives of children. In “The Destructors” a group of boys called the Wormsley Gang have the same view of the world around them. They have grown up together and share stories about the bombs that destroyed their town. They also challenge each other to accomplish various tasks. The house that the boys ultimately destroy represents the greediness of Mr. Thomas, an architect who owns the tattered home. The Wormsley Gang called him ‘Old Misery’. In the Rocking Horse Winner”, the story’s plot is thickend by a a young boys obsessive desire to “become lucky”. This young boy, Paul, believes that his house is continually whispering, “…there must be more money…there must be more money”. Paul is able to relate the self-proclaimed dissatificatoin of his mothers life with the odd mood of his house. Paul knows that although his mother appears to have everything together on the outside, she does not love him on the inside. Paul believes that he can please his mother if he is able to find a way to give her more money. In both stories, the houses were very symbolic.
Over many years, in many countries, our community as grown leaving people wealthy, but more in poverty. In the book Outsiders by S.E Hinton it has to deal with two groups called Socs and Greasers that tie into the poem “Poverty and Wealth” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. In the poem “Poverty and Wealth” the themes presented are represented in the novel Outsiders.
The contemporary reviewers of Bleak House fall into two categories when discussing its structure. There are those who like it and there are those who do not. More specifically, those who dislike the novel’s construction complain of the absence of plot and lack of connection between characters and their actions. Opposing this view are the reviewers who find the characters in Bleak House remarkably intertwined in the story, especially since it was written as a series for a literary magazine.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1010-1012. Print.
In “Another Holiday for the Prince” by Elizabeth Jolley the author draws upon many themes, one in particular that Jolley illustrates is how poverty influences changes in the individual lives within one family. To begin with the head of the family; a father is never mentioned in the story, not even once. But by not having a father figure in the story the reader can understand a lot. In society the man is the one who earns the money and provides all the essentials for his family, however this story is presented in a society were the mother has to be the man of the family. Ones self-esteem can be diminished as a result of poverty, alienation; destructive effects of a week personality or society on the individual. The author effectively conveys this theme through the use of characterization, symbolism and contrast.
An inference that can be made about the author Graham Greene in the two texts “Henry Graham Greene” by the Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica and “The Destructors” by Graham Greene is that his technique is emphasizing and using evil/corruptness to represent the characters and the actions being shown in the texts. According to the Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica it states, “...but explores the contrasting moral attitudes of its main characters with a new degree of intensity and emotional involvement.” This evidence supports the inference that his technique is emphasizing and using evil/corruptness to represent the characters and the actions being shown in the texts because in an example text “The Destructors”, the characters being as wicked
Paul was outraged when he confronted his mother about the family’s lack of wealth, and she rejected his statement that he was lucky. After this scene, Paul was easily influenced that he would be able to reach this place of luck and finally satisfy his mother. Her desires for more money and luck are never satisfied, and as a result, lead to tragic consequences when love and money are confused in Paul’s mind. Paul’s heartbreaking attempt to win his mother’s love inevitably leads to his own death. Lawrence’s, The Rocking Horse Winner, exposes the negative qualities associated with modern society and specifically adults.
The notion of poverty has a very expanded meaning. Although all three stories use poverty as their theme, each interprets it differently. Consequently, it does not necessarily mean the state of extreme misery that has been described in ?Everyday Use?. As Carver points out, poverty may refer to poverty of one?s mind, which is caused primarily by the lack of education and stereotyped personality. Finally, poverty may reflect the hopelessness of one?s mind. Realizing that no bright future awaits them, Harlem kids find no sense in their lives. Unfortunately, the satisfaction of realizing their full potential does not derive from achieving standards that are unachievable by others. Instead, it arises uniquely from denigrating others, as the only way to be higher than someone is to put this person lower than you.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ninth Edition. Stephen Greenblatt, eds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 2308. Print.
When analyzing Hard Times a number of different points will be found. Although, short in page length the story is elaborate and can be interpreted in an endless number of way. It is however doubtless that the story is mean to be a work that bring the explores the major issued of its time and which shines a light on the darkness that accompanied the industrial revolution and utilitarianism.
The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story that demonstrates how materialism is very destructive in people’s lives. D.H. Lawrence uses one of the main characters, Hester, to symbolize how greed heavily affects the idea of materialism. Hester’s need for money develops the idea that happiness and love is destroyed by the need for money. Lawrence uses money in her short story to convey the idea of how neglect from a mother destroys an innocent, young child such as Paul. Lawrence’s symbolism reveals that children like Paul need love and compassion from their elders. Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness.