The gang feels that the destruction of the house is creative. They disregard the historic nature of the house. Blackie says at the beginning of the story, "Wren built that house, father says.” They talk about how Wren also designed St. Peter's, but Blackie says he doesn't care. Later, T. visits the house, which they call "Old Misery's," and describes it as "beautiful." The rest of the gang regard his use of the word "beautiful"...
The gang feels that the destruction of the house is creative. They disregard the historic nature of the house. Blackie says at the beginning of the story, "Wren built that house, father says.” They talk about how Wren also designed St. Peter's, but Blackie says he doesn't care. Later, T. visits the house, which they call "Old Misery's," and describes it as "beautiful." The rest of the gang regard his use of the word "beautiful" with disdain, but when T. tells them they will take the house apart, he wins them over and becomes leader of the gang. The gang take apart the house with a kind of organization they've never had before. In destroying the house, they feel that they have created something:
"Streaks of light came in through the closed shutters where they worked with the seriousness of creators—and destruction after all is a form of creation. A kind of imagination had seen this house as it had now become!"
The gang regards the beauty of the house in its capacity for complete destruction. Once the house collapses, their work is complete. The house that once stood with what Greene describes as "dignity...like a man in a top hat" has been leveled entirely. This is the potential the gang sees in the house--its complete disintegration.
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