Rocking Horse Winner And The Destructors

There are many differences and similarities between Graham Greene's "The Destructors" and D.H. Lawrence's "Rocking Horse Winner." One general difference is that in "The Destructors" the setting is in Great Britain, after the bombing had happened during World War 1, when the buildings were destroyed. The setting of "Rocking Horse Winner" is a suburban community located on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. This one distinct difference affects the entire background of each story. The setting of "The Destructors" brings mood and feeling into the story were ass the setting of "Rocking Horse Winner" is just a general setting which could be changed and would not have a significant affect on the story as a whole. One general similarity between the two stories is that they both have a young boy as the main character, but the use of this character is very different in each story. The boy in "Rocking Horse Winner" is more innocent and unknowing of the evil the world can hold, he also hasn't reached the rebellion stage of adolescence. In the other story "The Destructors" you have "T" who comes from a high class English family but is forced into poverty by the war, but he has already begun his rebellion against what is "good." The similarities and differences between money, class, and family values in the stories are much more significant because they have more affect on each story and on the reader.

One of the key differences between "The Destructors" and "Rocking Horse Winner" is the working class of each family. In "The Destructors" the families of the children are poor and live in shambled houses and walk down rumbled streets with craters in random areas of the neighborhood. The children in the story do not seem to be affected by this very much, since they have all pretty much lived there entire lives like this, except "T" who comes from an "upper class" family but is forced into poverty by the war. To him and the other boys in the story money seems to be of no great significance. The awkward thing about the family in "Rocking Horse Winner" is that they all maintain an "upper class" status even though they are short on money. This is hard on the family especially the mother who can feel no love because of the stress that has been forced upon her heart. The family still maintains there lifestyle as members of the "upper class" even though the line of money continues to get shorter and shorter.

Money in each story is scarce, but how the characters in each story cope with this shortage is very different. In Graham Greene's "The Destructors" the children know that they are not part of the "upper class" but it has minimal affect to there ego or there self esteem. The need for money is not there. In D.H. Lawrence's "Rocking Horse Winner" the affect is completely opposite. The family in "Rocking Horse Winner" is part of the "upper class" but