Gryphon

       Charles Baxter uses the conventional and unconventional ideas in Gryphon to show the difference of the personalities of the children and Miss Ferenczi, the class substitute. In the story, Miss Ferenczi acted very unconventional and seemed to have a unique characteristic. For example, one student accidently said that six time eleven is sixty-eight, but Miss Ferenczi said it was correct sometimes. In the real world, that would equal sixty-six, but she acted like it was completely normal and didn’t seem to care whether it was right or wrong (42). She had different perspective and thought of many creative ideas. In addition, instead of sitting with the teachers during lunch, she sat with the children. She ate strange foods like raw spinach and stuffed fig (44). Miss Ferenczi also said, “you have to shuffle the pack. Mix it up” (44). That quote shows her wanting and enjoying being different. Furthermore, she teaches the children about imaginary creatures and says that she saw them. For instance, she wrote the word “gryphon” (47) on the board and said she saw one. However, many of the students did not believe that there was a half bird and half lion. She seemed to be strange to the students and had a very wide imagination. On the contrary, the children of Mr. Hibler’s class were very conventional and followed a schedule. They always said the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning and went through the day by having reading and then arithmetic. The students complained if the schedule wasn’t followed and expected everything to be in order. Moreover, one of the students corrected Miss Ferenczi and said that six time eleven was actually sixty-eight. They followed the rules and did not bend them. On the other hand, Miss Ferenczi was able to bend the rule and showed her thoughts. Charles Baxter utilized the conventional and unconventional ideas throughout the story to give the readers two different perspectives on the story.