The sheer act of writing the story led to different initial reactions to the main characters regarding racial injustice. Mark Carson's identity was that of an unscrupulous reporter for a white newspaper and each article was a cathartic release, his "clear" and "intelligent" eyes able to deceive even the most suspicious person. He was illustrated as a man who would “sell his soul for a story” (86). He was a man driven by professionalism in a way that was debilitating to those around him. For him, writing this story was the crux of his career, and he didn't see the implications of exposing the falsehoods of an entire race. For this reason he exposed the customs and ideas that were dear to him without their consent, especially without the consent of Pan. He was described as being received like a "brother" (87) while he was with Pan and used this to his greatest advantage just to gather material for his article. Pan suffered emotionally for his actions as he cast her aside once the article was completed, the sight of the article burning “hot; agony not relieved by words, not calmed by tears” (91). However, while Carson would gladly sell his soul for a story, Pan would “prefer his own