This paper discusses how a
destructive element refers to that one trait which can destroy a person or negatively impact his
life in some manner and how the element usually acts as a barrier between men and their full potential and can also seriously impede their growth. It looks at how in Joseph Conrad's novel, 'The Shadow Line' the
destructive element is in the shape of immaturity, which makes the
protagonist give up his job on whim and out of sheer boredom. It shows how in "The Dead" by James Joyce, we come across another kind of destructive element, which is negative in nature because the protagonist has chosen to actually submit to it by becoming its victim. Finally it examines how in E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India", we come across a destructive element again and this time it is prejudice and an abnormal fear of 'others'. The author highlights the problems faced by the victims of prejudice and how this destructive element proves detrimental to the friendship between Indians and British and one woman's quest to discover real India.