
Instead the story ties the plan to destroy the house directly to T.’s upbringing, describing it as having “been with him all his life, pondered through the seasons, now in his fifteenth year crystallized with the pain of puberty.” This strengthens the impression that T. Thomas’s comfort after locking him in the lavatory and brings him food and a blanket. is not motivated by cruelty, as is made clear when he thinks of Mr. Although destroying an old man’s home and possessions is a cruel act, T. rebels against his father, who pointed its architectural importance out to T., and against what his father holds to be important. Thomas in the slightly less prestigious profession of builder and decorator. Thomas worked to build houses – T.’s father as an architect, and Mr. In the character of T., though, the story explores a different, more pointed sort of rebellion. Thomas’s house is just another prank to carry out with gusto. The boys’ rebellions are general and undirected and, for a young boy like Mike, even the destruction of Mr.

They have little respect for the world around them – a world blown apart by a war that shaped their society but which they don’t remember – and so in search of fun and fame from rival gangs they pull pranks such as stealing rides on buses. As such, there is little surprise in the boys’ rebellious antics.


and Blackie are just a few years into their teens. The members of the Wormsley Common Gang are boys ranging in age from nine to fifteen years old.
