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Mr. Thomas’s Lavatory
Sounds of destruction in the story symbolize awareness and ability to adapt. Throughout the text, hearing and understanding the meaning of the sounds of destruction signifies a character’s ability to move forward from that destruction and to create and master the new world that will replace the old. Blackie’s claim to have heard the bombs destroy the houses that had stood in the lot before the Blitz is his way of showing that he has understood and helped create the world in which he lives (even if he couldn’t possibly remember having heard the bombs because he was just a baby). On the other hand, Mr. Thomas’s inability to correctly interpret the sounds he hears while he is locked in the lavatory – he thinks the sounds of his house being destroyed sounds like carpenter’s building something – symbolizes his inability to grapple with the world as it is, to let go of what has been lost and to build something new in its place.
Sounds of Destruction Quotes in The Destructors
The The Destructors quotes below all refer to the symbol of Sounds of Destruction. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 3
Quotes
After a while it seemed to him that there were sounds in the silence – they were faint and came from the direction of his house. He stood up and peered through the ventilation-hole – between the cracks in one of the shutters he saw a light, not the light of a lamp, but the wavering light that a candle might give. Then he thought he heard the sound of hammering and scraping and chipping. He thought of burglars - perhaps they had employed the boy as a scout, but why should burglars engage in what sounded more and more like a stealthy form of carpentry?
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Part 4
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'I'm sorry,' the driver said, making heroic efforts, but when he remembered the sudden check of his lorry, the crash of bricks falling, he became convulsed again. One moment the house had stood there with such dignity between the bomb-sites like a man in a top hat, and then, bang, crash, there wasn't anything left - not anything. He said, 'I'm sorry. I can't help it. Mr. Thomas. There's nothing personal, but you got to admit it's funny.'
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Sounds of Destruction Symbol Timeline in The Destructors
The timeline below shows where the symbol Sounds of Destruction appears in The Destructors. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...narrated in the story is a boy named Blackie, who claims to have heard the sound of destruction when the bombs fall even though he would have been too young to...
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Part 2
...has given up on T.’s idea. But once he comes close, he can hear the sounds of destruction going on inside.
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...the only one not working, he is sitting in the non-functioning bathroom listening to the sounds of the destruction. T. instructs Blackie to destroy the bathroom, while also giving Mike new...
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Part 3
...Mike and another boy are not able to come. Rain begins to fall and thunder sounds. Summers has become bored and wants to go play on the slot machines, but T....
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...his cries if they did. He feels old and helpless. After a bit, Mr. Thomas hears sounds coming from his house and, peering out through a hole, can see light inside...
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Part 4
...part of the job, although it is not made clear what this is. Mr. Thomas hears sawing, which he can tell is not coming from inside his house. This reassures him.
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...the lot to get his lorry early the next morning. He can hear a faint sound of someone shouting, but ignores it. Then he turns on the lorry and backs it...
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