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T says to Mike, "We aren't thieves, nobody is going to steal anything from this house. I kept these for you and me-- a celebration. We'll burn them, one by one. I'd like to see Old Misery's face when we are through" (Greene 186). T is someone who has grown to detest material things and the upper-class way of life. Lighting Old Misery's money on fire and watching it burn symbolizes defiance of the importance that society puts on money and possessions.

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Wormsley Common is the fictional area in London where the gang lives, which was severely bombed and damaged during WWII. The gang has little parental supervision and is essentially free to be as disruptive and destructive as it is. The usage of the word "worm" in the gang's name symbolizes their act of rebellion against the upper class. Their disruptive behavior can be compared to a worm's in an apple because their plan consists of destroying Old Misery's house from the inside, much like a worm consuming an apple from the inside.

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When Trevor initially joins the Wormsley Common Gang, the boys make fun of his name because it sounds "upper class," a concept they reject. Trevor is usually referred to as T, but the usage of his full name is used as punishment or as a defiance against his authority. He goes by T to leave behind his upper-class roots, his origins being something he despises about himself. He also doesn't want to be seen as any different from the less fortunate boys or be a display of wealth in any way.

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In the story, the top hat symbolizes wealth and the upper class. The boys have little respect for what they consider an outdated and useless standard of life (that being, the desire to accumulate material possessions and wealth). The boys despise the idea that the top hat is no longer seen as a practical tool to keep one's head warm but as a status symbol. The tall shape of the top hat is seen as a badge of privilege and is often ridiculed or even knocked off the wearer's head: "...that belonged to a class world that you could still see parodied at the Wormsley Common Empire by a man wearing a top hat and a monocle, with a haw-haw accent" (Greene). The top hat shape can also be recognized as Old Misery's house's shape.

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Sounds of destruction in the story symbolize awareness and the ability to adapt. Throughout the text, hearing and understanding the meaning of the sounds of destruction signifies a character’s (more specifically, the boys') ability to move forward from that destruction and to create and master the new world that will replace the old. Old Misery's inability to correctly interpret the sounds he hears while he is locked in the lavatory 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. "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..." (Greene 166).

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Old Misery's lavatory symbolizes the upper class' ability to uphold the appearance of wealth yet its inability to carry out practical acts of manual labor, such as plumbing (an act associated with the "lower class"). Old Misery's lavatory is just another symbol of the impracticality of the upper classes and their tendency to cling to obsolete things and values. He clings to a time before modern plumbing and would rather deal with the discomfort of using the outdoor toilet than fix the plumbing. Being confined to the lavatory while his house is destroyed emphasizes how pointless it can be to cling to the past.

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The deterioration of the house symbolizes postwar Britain's collapsing social systems. The house's top hat shape functions as an emblem of old Europe and the upper class, which, as a result, makes the gang want to rebel against the previous generation's ideals. T describes the house as beautiful at one point, distinguishing him from the rest of the gang. The boys react with confusion to T's deduction. The house is later destroyed (an operation led by T) from the inside out as an act of rebellion for the "misery" that the previous generations have imposed on them.

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"I'm sorry, I can't help it, Mr. Thomas. There's nothing personal, but you got to admit it's funny" (Greene 192). The lorry driver's laugh emphasizes how little importance the lower class has for the house's destruction and how pointless an event like this might seem to an outsider. His lack of understanding of the principles the house previously stood for highlights how disconnected society is becoming from the past and its customs. Ultimately, his laughter represents how useless it is to hold on to the past and its outdated ideals as society progresses.