Pattern Of Behavior In Charles Baxter's 'Gryphon'

Ferenczi. This quote was thought when Tommy looked out the window to see the same Five Oaks that didn’t have anything new and exciting. “I knew every barn, every broken windmill, every fence, every anhydrous ammonia tank, by heart.” (p. 63 l. 608, 609) Since Tommy knows everything in Five Oaks, he is drawn to things new like Ms. Ferenczi. This next quote just describes one of the teachers in Five Oaks. “She was no mystery.” (p. 69 l. 818, 819) That quote just says that Five Oaks is one of those places where everybody knows everybody. The boring Five Oaks make Tommy hunger for something that is new and exciting like Ms.

One of the first memory moments is about him and his dad practicing at the park. They then were talking about football and then Tommy’s father said “Everyone wanted to play offence…” He was talking about how all of his friends and pretty much everyone else who wants to play offence instead of defence. But Tommy and his dad play defence I feel like that brings a connection from Tommy’s dad to Tommy. It adds a person vs. person conflict. Tommy is sad since, he and his father won't have that connection ever again because he is gone.

She can identify the shape of a woman. In her real life she is less and less the woman John used to know and is becoming more of her own person, but her ability to identify with the woman in the paper frightens her. "There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will. Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day. It is always the same shape, only very numerous. And it is like a woman, stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don't like it a bit. I wonder--I begin to think--I wish John would take me away from here!"

In Chapter 5, the Johnson family went to church. John still could not decide on what to believe in, creation or the theory of evolution; but after Mr. Strom’s discussion, he believed in creation. While in Chapter 6, John was convinced by Mr. William’s lecture that everything evolved from something. After class, the trio: John, Marvin, and Pete were down by the tracks smoking. Marvin suddenly asked for John’s share of tobacco, but John said he did not afford tobacco and Papa does not smoke. Marvin shrugged and suggested him to steal some at Mr. Thorsen’s store. John was astonished by his suggestion; he could not steal now or could he? In Chapter 7, Mama had a big announcement: Hilda could take piano lessons if Mama would clean Mrs. Lavine’s house once a week. The girls were squealing from excitement but all John felt was hugging someone and getting some tobacco. In Chapter 8, Mr. Strom showed his complex watch and related it to the

She tries to make them believe that the books they received are “wonderful”. In actuality, the books are dirty and old. Little Man is known as a clean and organized person so he was not happy about getting a book in that shape. Furthermore, he opens the book and sees a list. This list shows the year that the book was given, the condition of the book and the race of the student that the book was given to. For example, in 1992, it said the condition was “new” and the race of the student was “white”. In 1933, the condition of the book was “very poor” and the race of the student was “nigra”. This infuriated Little Man. He throws the book on the floor and stomps on it. In turn, Miss Crocker takes him outside and gives him a whooping.

In the short story entitled “Gryphon” by author Charles Baxter, the author begins to formulate a storyline about a young boy named Tommy and his experience with his new substitute teacher, Miss Ferenczi. Miss Ferenczi being a new substitute teacher in Five Oaks, Michigan provides Tommy’s class with a unique atmosphere. Ferenczi’s personality and teaching methods are particular features newly encountered by Tommy. Moreover, Miss Ferenzi’s is presented as a strange individual amongst Tommy’s class because of her attire and the two lines present across her face. Tommy and other classmates begin to alter their perspective on Miss Ferenczi’s as her character begins to unravel. Further, characters such as Miss Ferenczi and Tommy begin to change behavior through the continuation of the story. For instance, Tommy starts to develop his imagination and Miss Ferenczi begins her ascension as a fictional storyteller. As the story progresses, each character experiences continuous changes such as Tommy’s development of a sense of imagination and Miss Ferenczi’s implantation of fictional storytelling.

Once said by a wise businessman, poet, and humanitarian Samuel Ullman,“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings,”(Samuel Ullman). William Bell successfully shows this in his novel Crabbe. Firstly, Franklin Crabbe is a troublesome teenager who is incapable of understanding emotions. Through the novel, readers see his development of feelings towards people and himself. Secondly, Crabbe develops intellectually when he learns that although he is school smart he is not as smart in the wilderness. Lastly, Crabbe is introduced as an antisocial teenager without many friends, except his ‘pal’ Silent Sam (Vodka). Furthermore, Crabbe opens up to his family and makes friends through his journey. Although Crabbe at first is a selfish person, antisocial, and an imbecile, he develops emotionally, intellectually, and socially as a result of his journey in the bush and meeting mary.

This part of the story also makes a connection between Tommy and Plinio which that is that they both felt as if there dignity was humiliated in front of Mavis and they tried to out do each other but it all got out of hand causing them both to loose all of the respect that they had. For example Tommy's friends all left and Mavis was bewildered at Plinio.

He cannot understand why he would travel back to the past to hand it to himself before being shot. Although normally distrustful of being told to trust himself, he once took a course that happened to contain this exact scenario of a visit from the future, providing mathematical proof that it was possible. In his own handwriting, the book is inscribed with the admonition to read it, and then write it, which will save his life. He puts it in TAMMY's TM-31 Textual Object Analysis Device (TOAD), which allows him to read and simultaneously generate a new version of the book to be held in TAMMY's

Near the end, Griet’s identity has gone through the process of a young maid to a mature lady. At first, Griet’s opinion held no importance. She does not have a say in anything. This is evident when she says, “ ‘ What would I think, madam?’”(157). Griet has certainly developed an opinion, but not the courage to speak it in front of others. She is aware of her status as a maid. This changes throughout the course of the novel. Griet does develop the courage to take the decision of her life as well as carry it out. “ ‘I did not pick up the knife. I turned and walked from the room’”(215). This quote illustrates Griet’s ability to make and carry out decisions. She is not going to tolerate any wrong accusations, and she has learned to take a stand for herself. This change occurs due to Vermeer and his art. Somewhere in between, Griet realizes that she has had enough, and she’s not going to let anyone come and accuse her of doing something she didn’t do. Vermeer and his paintings made Griet feel that she does hold importance, and no one has the right to accuse her wrongfully.

When Lydia does not come down for breakfast, “Marilyn opens her daughter's door and sees the bed unslept in: neat hospital corners still pleated beneath the comforter, pillow still fluffed and convex. Nothing seems out of place” (1-2). The outward appearance of Lydia’s room satisfies Marilyn, as it is organized, with nothing out of place. Like Lydia, the outside seems perfect, but there is much more beneath the surface. Lydia conceals her true nature by presenting a facade that merely mimics what her parents want her to be. After discovering a pack of cigarettes and a box of condoms in Lydia’s backpack, Marilyn “looks down at the two tiny boxes caught in the hammock of her skirt, and the outlines of Lydia’s life--so sharp and clear before--begin to waver” (120). All of Lydia’s life, Marilyn and James pressure her to be perfect, academic, and well-liked. Lydia pretends to be all these things by hiding failed tests, faking phone calls with friends, and feigning an interest in science. Because Lydia cannot be honest with her parents, she begins to make and conceal reckless choices, such as smoking, having sex, and sneaking out of the house. Upon finding these items in her backpack, Marilyn is confronted with the reality that much of Lydia’s life was unknown to

In “Gryphon” by Charles Baxter, a class of fourth grade students gets a substitute teacher. She is very eccentric but knowledgeable and tells the whole class a lot of myths and facts. It is up to the class to decide what is true or not.

The one trait of personality that Teddy and Sibyl share is the kindness. The kindness is evidence in both, Sibyl’s treatment of Seymour and Teddy’s behavior. When Teddy 's sister tells the young boy that he “is the stupidest person [she] ever met” (176), Teddy kindly defends and reassures the young boy. In his journal it is discovered that all Teddy writes about are small kind acts that he wishes to do for other people: he wants to find and wear his father’s dog tags because he thinks it will “please him;” he wants to write a condolence letter to someone who is ill, and he wishes to be “nicer to [the] librarian” (180-1).

When Zooey goes to Seymour and Buddy’s room he reads the quotes on the bulletin board of favorite books. In this room there are many quotes from the spiritual classics the children thrived on. Books of literature and spirituality become a metaphor for the higher life of imagination and seeking that the children shared. Zooey claims that Franny did not get The Way of a Pilgrim from the library, but from Seymour’s desk. This makes Franny upset because these books containing a beautiful world that sustained her and her siblings at home are destroyed in college by academic analysis. The telephone on Buddy’s desk that belonged to

Social standing is central to the plot of George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion”. The portrayal of class identity in Shaw’s play appears to be a criticism of the distinctions between high society and the poorer classes in Victorian England. Shaw’s aim was to portray how the upper-crust of Victorian society viewed the lower classes, as evidenced by Higgins’ treatment of Eliza upon her first visit to his laboratory; Higgins treats her as though she is too stupid to understand that he is insulting her. The assumption is that the wealthy view the lower classes as being somehow lesser. So what is it that Shaw is trying to impart upon the reader? Shaw appeared to show open disdain not just for the upper class of society but for society in general, and Pygmalion may be interpreted as an open criticism of class distinctions in Victorian England.