

Gregory, By Panos Ioannides Essay

1713 words - 7 pages

There are many meanings inside stories; “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides is a heart-wrenching short story that follows the protagonist through the execution of his friend. E.M. Forster explains a want to keep friendships strong even at the expense of one’s relation to one’s country. The main character in “Gregory”' has multiple thoughts showing a tie to what Foster explained, as well as the internal fight that happens when one has two forces pulling at one. The Narrator wants to follow his gut and skirt tragedy, but in the end he wants to save himself from his superiors.
“Gregory” concerns the Narrator’s dealings with a prisoner of war named Gregory. In the beginning of the story Gregory has a gun pointed at him, which is being held by the Narrator; the story then jumps back to explain what led up to this point. Gregory is captured in order to try and combat the fact that one of the Narrator’s Lieutenants has also been captured. The Narrator has executed five people before Gregory finding that it is getting easier to execute prisoners; however, Gregory is different. Gregory is a very nice man, who does multiple things for the Narrator and considers him a friend. Gregory feels sure of this because they ate together. After the Lieutenant is executed the orders are given by headquarters to kill Gregory and hang him up as an example. The Narrator and other solders that are attached to Gregory try to allow him to escape in order to skirt the execution. Even though Gregory has multiple chances to escape, he decides against it because the soldiers are his friends and he considers being on the base a better situation. However, because Gregory does not escape the Narrator and other soldiers feel obligated to execute him. The Narrator places blame on Gregory for not escaping, not fighting back, and not running away. The Narrator proceeds to shoot Gregory and after two shots Gregory starts screaming at the Narrator who then empties the gun into Gregory while Gregory clasps and grabs the Narrator’s legs leaving red imprints. However, rather than hanging Gregory they give him a grave. Only after a few days do the soldiers realize that headquarters does not care if Gregory is dead or not.
“If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.” -- E.M. Forster. Normally when someone relates to a country there are ideals that are associated with the county, one could even state that it is the country’s mission statement. For example, one of the United States’ mottos is land of the free and home of the brave that a person may think about when it comes to fighting for the United States, and if one does not fight for that ideal then they could be considered a betrayer of their country. However, those ideals though relatively ingrained into an individual are not as tangible as a friend who is standing at one’s side. Therefore, when it comes to betraying something one may have a...

Find Another Essay On Gregory, by Panos Ioannides

Gregory Essay

866 words - 3 pages The date is 1958, location Cyprus.The air is filled with the aroma of gun-powder and bloodshed, the grounds covered with bullet-shells and deceased bodies. The on-going struggle for liberation from British domination continues for every cypriot living in Cyprus at around this time. This story Gregory by Panos Ionnides is the direct result of Ionnides' first-hand experience as a soldier during the war when he and a former cypriot, Guerilla, were

When the Bubble Burst Essay


phase diagram

4456 words - 18 pages the molar volume change resulting from state change (i.e liquid to solid) is minimal, phase equilibrium is independent of of pressure and depends only on composition and temperature. Therefore by studying a system at different temperatures and various compositions, it should be possible to observe and predict phase changes in that system. Methods: To complete the binary phase experiment, students first set up the experimental apparatus, which

Revolutionary Work of Art

1890 words - 8 pages of painting, and it has an exemplary aura that cannot be replaced. A picture taken of the Sistine Chapel is just an imaged “captured”, while the painting is still original, because it is not movable, and its cult value is still intact. He asserts that the origin of an artwork gave its aura and authenticity and since it is not moveable, it does not have the ability to be reproduced by other artists. Therefore, the aura and authenticity is

Enlightenment Thought in New Zealand Schools


Psychological Egoism Theory


How Celtic Folkore has Influenced My Family

1587 words - 6 pages were issues that were more complicated and could not be solved with a folktale, Finn MacCoul was always in our minds whenever we disagreed. This version teaches about forgiveness and mistakes while my dad’s version of Finn MacCoul shows how it is important to not judge a book by its cover. My father’s version of the legend tells the story of Finn MacCoul finding the Salmon of Knowledge after King Cormac “tossed it aside without a second

Julia Margaret Cameron

1406 words - 6 pages forever be recorded in the history books as one of the first female photographers to make significant contributions to a field that was ruled by the male counterpart of her time. Julia Margaret Cameron was born 1815 in Calcutta, India and was the fourth child of James and Adeline de l'Etang Pattle. She was one of the seven celebrated Pattle sisters, renowned in Anglo-Indian society for their intelligence and beauty (Cox 5). She married

Evaluation of School Improvement

1403 words - 6 pages , such as trainings on TIENET, and High Yield Strategies by Marzano. Recently, all staff and teachers met for the common core standards, key changes for evaluation, and assessments updates and expectation during the pilot program. Dr. Hunter(personal communication, November 7, 2011), expresses the importance of professional development and ensured the staff, will be supported during future changes Teachers will receive necessary training to

Case Study: The Benefits of Animal Testing

1757 words - 7 pages human survival. They protect us against bacteria, viruses, and airborne pathogens. Animal experimentation also benefits people who live with life long illness. In 2010, 18.8 million people living in the United States have been diagnosed with diabetes (“Fast Facts”). Diabetics survive on a medication called insulin; a medicine made possible only by animal experimentation. Without insulin, diabetics can easily slip into a coma and become very ill


1531 words - 6 pages -ending, until illness overcame her. A third example is that Remedios the Beauty was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world (Marquez, 235). This would be considered an understatement unless all the women of the world were presented in the novel. She seems to be so at peace with herself that she doesn’t realize that men die just by looking at her (Marquez, 233). In another part of the novel, she flies away into the heavens while

Similar Essays

"Gregory" By Panos Ioannides Essay

455 words - 2 pages Panos Ioannides wrote a story about loyalty, friendship and irony, which he called, simply, "Gregory." The story takes place in Cypriot prisoner of war camp, during their war with Britain, from the perspective of a Cypriot guerrilla. An English prisoner named Gregory develops Stockholm syndrome, where the captor and captured form a positive bond. When his execution is ordered the guerrilla's must choose between their friend and their

The Impact Decision Making Has On The Society

1305 words - 6 pages Moral decisions can be difficult to make if it goes against your beliefs. You could choose either to follow orders given to you, or your own instincts. The stories “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides, and “The Day of the Last Rock Fight” by Joseph Whitehill, have endings which result in different negative outcomes. In both stories, the protagonists face dilemmas which lead them to question whether they should be loyal to their leader or friend, or

The Impact Decision Making Has On The Society

1294 words - 6 pages Moral decisions can be difficult to make if it goes against your beliefs. You could choose to either follow your orders or follow your instincts. The stories “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides and “The Day of the Last Rock Fight” by Joseph Whitehill, both have endings that results in a negative outcome; both the protagonists are conflicted whether they should be loyal to their leader or friend, or follow their instincts. The soldier from “Gregory” is

The Will To Survive Essay

1036 words - 5 pages When put in a situation where it comes down to one's own life or another person’s life, one will always do anything for their own survival. This could mean betraying others or even killing enemies just to ensure one's own survival. The protagonists in the short stories "Gregory" by Panos Ionnides and "Lather and Nothing Else" by Hernando Tellez are both faced with difficult situations where they must decide whether or not they want to save