Comparative Essay Example on Gregory and Lathe and Nothing Else

descriptive essay on gregory and lather and nothing else Our lives are affected by our decisions. “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides and “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez both demonstrate dilemmas throughout the stories. It is observed that while decision making, every aspect and its outcome should be considered ad it is to be remembered that there are always options open and not every problem has an ultimatum. Ioannides and Tellez both talk about how altered our decisions become at times of war, and how the unexpected conquers the expected and it is then that the truth of one’s identity (protagonist) is unveiled. In Gregory “When the order came, it was like a thunderbolt” (Paos Ioannides 3), the author wishes to emphasize on the irony of the friendship of an inmate and the soldier, and how he gets to choose between friendship and duty to his country. This quote highlights how reality struck the author because he knew it was a do or die situation. In the end he does what he thinks is best for him and shoots Gregory. When the author says “You see, this Gregory was such a miserable little creature, such a puny little thing, such a nobody…” (Paos Ioannides 2), he’s portraying his altered side, his true reality because later in the text he declares Gregory as his friend. He tries to justify his actions by altering his thinking about Gregory. In Lather and Nothing Else the protagonist deals with the situation in a similar yet different way. The quote “you came so that I could shave you. And I’m doing the job honourably….I don’t want to stain myself with blood. Just lather, and nothing else” (Hernando Tellez 3), shows how the author analysed the consequences of killing the captain which costs him his career- his most valued possession, hence he chose his career over rebellion, though the captain was his enemy, he could have simply avenged the deaths of his fellow rebels and he wouldn’t have to live with the fact that he could have killed