There are many meanings within the stories; “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides is a harrowing tale that follows the protagonist through the execution of his friend. EM Forster explains the desire to keep friendships strong even at the expense of the relationship with one's country. The main character of “Gregory” has multiple thoughts that show a connection to what Foster explained, as well as the internal struggle that occurs when you have two forces pulling against one. The Narrator wants to follow his tragedy, but ultimately wants to save himself from his superiors. "Gregory" concerns the Narrator's relationships with a prisoner of war named Gregory. At the beginning of the story Gregory has a gun pointed at him, which is held by the narrator; the story then circles back to explain what led up to this point. Gregory is captured to try to counteract the fact that one of the narrator's lieutenants has also been captured. The Narrator executed five people before Gregory discovered that it is becoming easier to execute prisoners; however, Gregory is different. Gregory is a very kind man, who does multiple things for the narrator and considers him a friend. Gregory is sure of this because they ate together. After the lieutenant is executed, the headquarters gives the order to kill Gregory and hang him as an example. The narrator and the other soldiers attached to Gregory try to allow him to escape to avoid execution. Even though Gregory has a better chance of escaping, he decides not to because the soldiers are his friends and he considers staying on the base to be a better situation. However, since Gregory does not escape the narrator, the other soldiers feel compelled to execute him. Even the... center of the card... would have had that image with a perfect happy ending. Unfortunately, life doesn't go that way and this story demonstrates it well. One sincerely wishes to see the Narrator choose his friend over his headquarters and is extremely sad when this does not happen. When I first read the story I remember wanting the narrator to put the gun down, unfortunately this is a very real story where the main character is determined to save himself despite the fact that it's not what he wants to do in his heart. Even if I would never find myself in this circumstance, I hope to have the courage Forster talks about to stick with a friend rather than bend to the will of a greater entity. Works Cited Ioannides, Panos. “Gregory.” Across Cultures: A Reader for Writers. 3rd ed. Eds. Sheena Gillespie and Robert Singleton. Needham Heights, NJ: Allyn and Bacon, 1996. 339-403. Press.