Theme, Symbols And Characters In Gryphon, By Charles Baxter

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Often, a piece of literature will remind us of events or people in our own lives. “Gryphon,” did exactly that for me. This short story by Charles Baxter was told in great detail and had a large emphasis on characterization. Specifically, Baxter goes into great detail on the substitute Miss Ferenczi through the eyes of a young fourth-grade boy. In this story, Baxter was able to clearly get across the type of individual that Miss Ferenczi is and how she views the world. The theme, tone, setting, use of symbols, and characters are greatly expressed throughout this short story due to Charles Baxter’s exquisite use of detail. We all are likely to have experienced someone who is quite interesting like Miss Ferenczi and gives us a new perspective …show more content…

The story takes place in a rural Michigan community. This is important since, in a more urbanized place, someone very different like Miss Ferenczi may not be so mysterious and unheard of. Towards the beginning of the story, Tommy even says “…the supply of substitute teachers was limited to the town’s unemployed community college graduates, a pool of about four mothers” (Kirszner 246). This provides an emphasis on how Miss Ferenczi wasn’t just mysterious to them, it was a substitute they have never seen before. A majority of the short story takes place in the fourth-grade classroom. However, some small parts of the story take place in different locations like the bus, and Tommy’s house. The setting is important to understanding why someone like Miss Ferenczi is considered strange, and to understand the circumstances that the story is …show more content…

First off, Tommy is a static and round character. Throughout the short story, you’re able to get a sense of who Tommy is, therefore he is round. However, he is also static since he does not change in the story. On the other hand, Miss Ferenczi is also static and round. She is static since we know exactly who she is through the descriptions given by Tommy. For example, when she walked in Tommy had described her in exquisite detail, he had stated “Her fine, light hair had been up in what I would learn years later was called a chignon, and she wore gold-rimmed glasses whose lenses seemed to have the faintest blue tint” (Kirszner 246) Also, she is round since she stays mysterious and unpredictable throughout the entire story even after she was fired. Through Charles Baxter's emphasis on characterization, these two characters came to life vividly in this short

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