About Gregory
Gregory is a story about a soldier got an order that tells him he have to kill an hostage, also his friends, Gregory. Gregory was those soldiers’ hostage and he live with them They share foods and house, Gregory washes their clothes and iron their ties, however, soldier has to obey the order. This is a story that told by this very soldier, it shows all the helplessness, sadness, and indignation.The author wants to show his readers the contradictions between the top of the society and the bottom of the society.
In the story, the main problem of this soldier is the straggle in his mind, he does not want kill Gregory extremely, but he cannot violate the order from the Headquarters. He see this problem as a very difficult and resentful
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Quote ” The first time , I remember, I vomited. The second time I got sick and had a headache for days. The third time I drank a bottle of rum. The fourth, just two glasses of beer. The fifth time I joked about it.” His attitude changed after all the killings, he used to taking other people’s life away, his hands will not shake while he pulling the trigger anymore. However this time is not like that anymore, this time he will be killing a good friend of his own, he can no longer have a peaceful mind to do it.
Before the solider did the execution he tried to find some excuses to make himself easier to such a horrible thing. Quote “Why don’t you make things easier for us? Help us kill you with fewer qualms? If you would get angry—curse our Virgin, our God— if you’d try to escape it would be much easier for us and for you.” So, he did the execution with his lies, lies for himself.
And the saddest thing in this story is not the death of Gregory, it is the final part, “Headquarters did not ask for a report the next day or the day after. the top brass were sure that we had obeyed them and had left him swinging from a pole. They didn't care to know what happened to that Gregory, alive or dead.” This shows the sadness of being the bottom of the society, their life depends on the smallest decision that the top of the society made. They are so helpless and hopeless while they are facing those tough time that given by “the
It is about his execution, because he leaves his troops in battle. He has the firing squad for the execution of Private Jones.
Stops dwelling on his actions in order to stop feeling sympathy or guilt, which allows him to cope with killing others
The psychological effects, the mentality of fighting and killing another human, and the sheer decimation of human values is what makes war atrocious. War is not only fought on the battlefield though. This book also describes the feelings of a soldier fighting his own demons that war has brought on. The battle that the soldier has with himself, is almost if not more damaging than the physical battle of war. He will never forget his experience with battle, no matter how hard he tries the memories of artillery, blood, and death cannot be erased. “I prayed like you to survive, but look at me now. It is over for us who are dead, but you must struggle, and will carry the memories all your life. People back home will wonder why you can't forget.” (Sledge). This struggle still happens to soldiers today. Sledge’s words of the struggles still captures the effects of warfare that lingers today. The other effects that war has on the men is the instability that surrounds them at every hour of the day. They are either engaged in battle having bullets and artillery fired at them, or waiting for battle just so they can be deposited back in the pressure cooker of survival. “Lying in a foxhole sweating out an enemy artillery or mortar barrage or waiting to dash across open ground under machine-gun or artillery fire defied any concept of time.”
Eventually, he ended his rampage in a third floor lecture hall where he shot and wounded several more people before ending his own life. Suicide notes found on him revealed that his motives were based on his hatred for feminists, stating that they have “ruined his life”. It also revealed a hit list containing 15 public figures, probably found through news media sources, but stated that he was unable to act upon it. Instead, all his victims turned out to be strangers that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the killing spree (Maser, 1987).
A big problem in American army was that soldiers was taking care for their own interests and not for the interest their fellow soldiers. An example of this was when Martin badly injured his foot and when he went to see surgeon he was told to wait for the surgeon's game was not to be interrupted by “minor affairs”.Martin also explained his encounter with a “wounded captain” who “begged his sergeant to help him off the field”and how the captain was disregarded until Martin stepped in to help. This situation shows that instead than risking their lives for each other ,they prefer to allow their fellow colleges to die than spend extra energy in saving them. A reason for this probably was the motive for entering the army. Most of the soldiers enlisted in the army because of the money. Problems in the relations had not only soldier to soldier but also soldier to officers. Martin stated this in the comment which an officer gave him about sick soldier:”If he dies the country will be rid of someone who can do it no good.”This comment showed us that the officer did not have any respect for the sick soldier.
Often in the years following a war the notion of warfare is warped by common conceptions or cliches so that it no longer resembles the realities that the soldiers experienced. However, Tim O’Brien uses his own personal experiences from Vietnam to create stories which exhibit the real situations that these soldiers faced. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, demonstrates this unfiltered reality through multiple literary elements and the creation of fictional stories in order to portray the war accurately. Courage and valor are often associated with the idea of war and are often expected to be traits that all soldiers live by.
An example of courage in the good soldiers is on page 115 lines 34-44.Where they don’t know witch daughter was injured in the bombing and it was’t not us troops who hurt her they didn’t know if they could help her.
In many works of American literature, protagonists attempt to forge an authentic identity for him in spite of social expectations and circumstances. Some of the struggles that happen in the novel “The Things They Carried” was that the author was describing the lives and deaths of his company. The men include Kiowa, Mitchell Sanders, Dave Jensen, Lt. Jimmy Cross, Lee Strunk, Rat Kiley, Curt Lemon, Henry Dobbins, Azar, and Eddie Diamond. Rat Kiley is a very good friend to Tim, and he writes about how they've learned to tell war stories. One of the ways in which he explains it was in this line "How do you generalize?
The results of one’s involvement in society’s conflicts can be devastating. The short story “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides creates a setting where the characters are involved in the 1925 revolutionary conflict between Britain and Cyprus. Consequently, the plot focuses around an executioner who has the order to kill a British captive named Gregory, who became his friend. To make matters worse, fellow soldiers inform the executioner that he must to kill Gregory or else the Headquarters will execute him for failure to obey orders. Therefore, he struggles with the decision to either please his society or stay true to his friendship with Gregory. The author emphasizes this difficulty with use of mood, stream of consciousness, foreshadowing and visual imagery. Thus, Panos Ioannides short story “Gregory” develops the idea that society’s expectations and relationships can influence one’s moral decisions and create consequences.
Lesley Choyce’s The Book Of Michael illustrates that it is important to move on from hardships that occurred in our past. Michael decided to move on from his girlfriend’s murder, and instead of mourning, he decided to go back to school and do something with his life. “I had nothing to lose. I had already lost it all. I was free. Strangely enough, my parents tried to stop me. They thought I had lost my mind. ‘Why today?’ my dad asked. ‘What do I have to lose?’ was my answer.” (Choyce 147-148) This quotation tells us that Michael wanted to go back to school and start a new life again. He keeps repeating that he has nothing to lose, which shows us that he is starting from scratch again and has nothing that he can possibly lose. In addition, Michael
“Personal honor is the one thing valued more than life itself by the majority of men” (McPherson 77). The reoccurring theme of brotherhood in the story plays a major role as to why a soldier has come to war and why he performs on the battlefield. Brotherhood would be the best explanation for a soldier’s fight to protect one’s self and his comrades.
The chapter “Ghost Soldiers” the theme morality was evident. In the chapter, the medic Rat Kiley had left the war and Bobby Jorgenson filled in. While he was the medic Tim O’Brien was shot and Jorgenson did nothing to help him. When O’Brien was in the hospital he plotted revenge against Jorgenson. When he attempted to get revenge the plan failed but Jorgenson and O’Brien formed a truce. “What is real he said. Eight months in fantasyland, it
I decided to analyze the character of the Sergeant. The Cantebury Tales describe him as a wise advisor of the law. His recognition received from the King and Queen gave him importance. Sergeant lustfulness made him acquire luxorious items such as robes. He could never have enough. The personality he exhibited was cunning. The writer talked about how he appeared honest, but there was something more beneath that. I think he was charismatic, so no one ever thought to question anything he said. Sergeant feels like his appearance is extremely important. Showing his worth is so important that he would rather be riding around uncomfortably then not be seen average. Hopefully, the pilgrimage will humble him. The decision to join the pilgrimage is
this killing he seems unable to do anything other than sit and think about the
Following his rape, he starts to do what he feels is right, and in one case, goes directly against direct orders to stand for what he believes in, as well as to reconcile everything he’s been through as a soldier; the violence, the pain, and everything that has emotionally and physically scarred him.