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The Character Analysis Of Gregory, By Panos Ioannides

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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. To begin with, Ioannides exemplifies this idea with the use of mood. The executioner struggles to pull the trigger when the soldiers watch him, and he seems nervous. This is apparent when the executioner mentions, “My hand was sweating…curve of the trigger biting against my finger…soldiers were watching…” (Ioannides 142). The conflict between these characters creates an emotional impact and sets a tense mood. To add on, the tense mood establishes the social pressures the executioner faces as his peers watch him. This affects his ethical decisions since he

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