love, dad

This story was awesome! I found it very entertaining and it was probably my favorite of the entire semester. It was super funny in a very corny way but it was light hearted and fun. I love that his dad is a total perv but he is hilarious. He is that guy who think he is a play boy and is super slick but really he is just a rich guy who kind of acts like an ass. He openly tells his son to have sex but to be careful what social classes he mixes with. His advice is horrible! It is the epitome of what you should not tell your son. He openly admits to cheating on his mother when he tells his son that he is very fond of one of their maids. He tells him that he should have sex with waitresses and maids because women of his social class are only for marrying. He also tells his son not to mix with catholics, blacks or jews. Only people of his kind or foreigners of the same social class. This is something that was widely preached at the time which was post World War II. He also tells Nate that he is proud that he went to into the military but he advises him not to fight because that is for the lower class. His dad also adds Ha Ha in his letters after what he assume is a joke because that is how appalling his advice is. You do not know when to take him serious. Overall, this story was hilarious and I actually found myself laughing the entire time at the Nate’s dad.

the destructors

I found this story to be interesting. It was a little disturbing at times but in general i found myself very entertained. The characters in this story are not specifically in my age group but i liked the fact that the characters were teenagers and of the younger generation, even if it takes place after world war II because it makes it easier to relate for a college student. I liked that we compared them to the boys in the Sandlot because initially that is exactly what i thought of initially. Because it is easy to relate to them, you really like them at first and you think that their loyalty is cute especially since most of them have either lost their homes or families so it is nice to see them have some sense of family but then my opinion quickly changed. Of course what had happened to them was horrible but i could not help but feel horrified at all the damage they caused Mr. Thomas’s home. It was not as if Mr. Thomas was the antagonist of the story. On the contrary, T says that it would not have been fun to burn down his house if they hated him. This seemed very dark and twisted. You would not expect a kid his age to have that much violence in him. Their actions could have occurred out of jealousy since his house survived and most of theirs did not. Overall, although this story was a little disturbing, I found myself very entertained and on the edge of my seat.

Love, Dad

The short story Love, Dad by Joseph Heller depicts the lavish life of Nately a boy who grew up in a very wealthy family, so wealthy in fact that his mom disregards others in their social class who have to work. Nately and his father share an awkward, almost along the lines of a business relationship in comparison to the type of interaction most have with their son or dad. Joseph Heller appears to create a connection between the amount of wealth the family has with the lack of love between not only the father and son, but also the father and mother. Nately and his father openly talk about the people, and the ways that his father is cheating on his mother. A woman who is in charge of only preparing their numerous homes for the next vacation. Nately and his father both seem to look down on his mother for her lack of intellect or occupation, although in reality his father is very much a product of his own families good fortune. When Nately passed away while at war the family is shocked and heartbroken to hear the news that their son was killed, yet neither his mother nor his father ever truly expressed how they truly did love him. The fact that the family used letters as its sole means of communication is further proof that their wealth along with their status creates a wall between the loved ones. This short story is made to put a focus on the need for family and love to achieve happiness, not wealth and status.

The Destructors

The Destructors was a very interesting short story to read. The first time I read the story, I was trying to not read too into the motives of the characters or any subtext. On the first read, the gang seemed just like a group of boys that had nothing productive to do, so they went around looking for trouble and things to do. As I read more into the story, it seemed like the boys  , or at least the leader of the gang, was very upset and angry with the world. Angry at everyone who was not in the same position as he was, poor and stuck with no where to go. The gang leader can be seen as a symbol for the natural feelings humans have of wanting to be in a better position than those around them. And if the person can’t be in a better position then bring others down to your level. What defines the person is how they react to that feelings. The gang leader’s reaction is the negative version. This view can be related to today’s society quite easily. United States buildings aren’t being blown up, but lower classes are fighting the upper classes because they feel they don’t deserve to be in the position they are in.

Donnie Darko and The Destructors

One of my favorite movies of all time is Donnie Darko. This is relevant to “The Destructors” because they actually mention the Graham Greene short story in the film. One day in his English class, they discuss the boys’ motives in burning the mattress full of money. Donnie mentions the fact that the story mentions the creation from destruction paradox and wonders if the boys just wanted to see what happened when they ripped things apart. This speaks into one of the themes of the movie as well as the short story. I won’t spoil the end of the film for anyone who might read this and who might want to see the movie, but through some sort of paradox, there is, indeed, creation made from destruction at the end of the movie. Sorry for all that ambiguity, but in any case actually reading this short story gave me even more insight into the film.

Unfortunately, Donnie Darko completely spoiled the end of the short story for me. I knew from the beginning who the boys turn out to be in the end: destructive monsters. The analogy of the Sandlot crew was thrown around in class and most people thought, from the beginning of the story, that the boys were probably about as dangerous as Smalls and the gang. I think it would have been interesting to read this story without the prior knowledge about the end. I wonder if I would have been able to see the end coming or if I would have been surprised by their actions.

The Destructors

In the story The Destructors by Graham Greene a group of young kids, between the ages of nine to 16 are portrayed in a run down, depressing living condition. They gang up and create an outlet for them to vent all of the hate and sadness they have been through in their short lives. The pain felt by living in the run down and war torn London is portrayed through their violent tendencies and knack for hurting and ruining other peoples lives. I began reading the story The Destructors with a sense of pity for the kids before they were truly shown as the evil monsters that their actions make them. They began as a hardened group of kids who had been through way too much and not been loved enough by their parents who may or may not have been involved in their lives. Because they only knew a life of terror and unrest it was almost normal for them to see and feel all of the pain that they attempted to put on others by destroying their houses and then trying to destroy their lives. 

I can understand why the kids would want to vent their pain and show the world how unhappy and hurt they are, but the cruelty and disregard for human values is puzzling. You almost wonder how a 9 year old kid is capable of doing such a terrible thing, as when I think of a 9 year old innocence is the first trait that comes to mind. Overall the story is a thought provoking one which makes you realize how terrible the times were for everyone involved.

The Destructors

i really enjoyed ” The Destructors” by Graham Greene. At times it was very funny and light hearted, but the moments of the destruction by the kids was very intense. it makes sense to the reader why the kids do what they do because they have grown up with nothing but War. our class discussion was really insightful about the symbolism of the house and the top hat. it shed some light on the the authors style because i didn’t realize the connection of class structure from when i was reading it. i felt bad for Mr. Thomas because there really was no reason for the gang of boys to destroy his house. the monologue from one of the boys saying “there are only things” was extremely powerful. again the short story hits the dichoetemy of emotion and logic. is there really love, passion, and feelings or are we just blank slates bouncing around like random electrons. logic and reason versus emotion. this is why i really enjoyed this story i like how the author incorporates deeper meanings of life rather than just a story for face value. but the external story was actually good and entertaining. i could relate to the young gang of hooligans because thats what i did with my friends back in my old neighborhood. we didnt go around destroying houses and burnging up life savings but we did the normal kid friendy pranks. ding dong ditch, tp, burning dog poop on the porch. the story brought me back to the good ole days.

The Destructors

“The Destructors” by Graham Greene, is about a group of teenage boys who call themselves the Wormsley Common gang, after the area where they are from. They meet every day in a parking lot near a part of town that was bombed during World War II. Almost everything in this area is destroyed although one house is left standing with only a few damages. An old man, whom the boys call Old Misery, owns this particular house and lives alone. The boys range from age 9-16 which I see as a common age to be acting out. It is also important to note the time period when this story took place. Because they were born in the late 1930s, all they knew was war. They were raised in a time of hatred, anger, and destruction. This was a common way of life for them, therefor justifying their enjoyment for misbehaving. However, when they decide to go after Mr. Thomas’s house, I almost take back my last statement. They boys were out to destroy this one particular house on this one particular day. They waited outside until Mr. Thomas was gone to attack. The amount of damage that was done could never be replaced. This part didn’t sit right with me because I felt so sorry for this old man. A full background of his life was never discussed leaving his grumpy personality. It almost makes you wonder is he may be a widow or suffering from some tragedy that is never known.

The Destructors

The Destructors is a story that is symbolic of the destroying of Britain as a powerful entity The Battle of Britain. I would have never realized this until after we spoke about this in class. It was brought to my attention that the reason the students conduct in the manner that they do, is because they grew up knowing the war, under Nazi bombardment, where England really did not recover until after the 1980. Personally, I believe that this story is about power and those who are the haves and have-nots. The gang represents the lower class citizens, while Mr. Misery represents the upper class. The house is symbolic because it stands as a form of historical architect. In the relationship among these individuals the gang feels as if they are not pleased with the fact that the upper class gets to enjoy these valuable things, while they sit and suffer. Instead they seek the chance to destroy the happiness of the wealthy to create a more leveled play field between one another. Although Mr. Thomas stands for what we may consider traditional values of the past, I believe that it is time that he evolves with time. Sometimes I believe that people fail to realize that society will always have a dystopia because the world will not function if everyone was on the same playing field. There always has to be someone who is more powerful than the other. Take for example, how many people would respect the President of the United States if he was without power….No one because you cannot be the ruler of a society and try to be the same as them. In order for society to operate there has to be different socio-economical statuses to allow society to function the way that it should.

Welcome to the Monkey House

Sexuality is an integral part of human nature, yet it is also a very animalistic part of our human nature. As humans, we often feel that we may rise about our animanlisitic instincts and find true purity. Kurt Vonnegut explores this notion in his short story Welcome to the Monkey House. In the story societies has deemed sex and reproduction as detrimental to the human race, in order to prevent reproduction a birth control is developed that causes no pleasure in sex. These themes are explored through a character named Nancy. Nancy’s character is the representation of the effects on society from a sexless life. Nancy’s character is tied very closely to death, exploring the idea that death is closely tied to sex. When Nancy is asked what is life without sex like, she responds, “pointless”. This idea can be extended to the comparison of death and sex. Life would be pointless without death as well. These core animal instincts cannot be avoided, death and sex are key to our existence as human beings and denying them is “pointless”.