J. K. Rowling's Short Story 'Gryphon'

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends - J. K. Rowling. Have you ever heard that you should stand up for what is right? In the short story Gryphon, Tommy unexpectedly defends Ms. Ferenczi at the risk of being expelled, by getting into a fistfight with a fellow classmate. The narrator is an adult Tommy, grown up and looking back. You can tell this from the way he talks. The story starts when Mr. Hibler gets a cough, and needs to go home. The next day, a strange looking substitute called Ms. Ferenczi comes in, she starts up the kids’ motors by skipping the pledge of allegiance, doing regular arithmetic drills, and other boring worksheets. The real trouble begins when Ms. Ferenczi …show more content…
Ferenczi by fighting Wayne in a fistfight after Wayne told on Ms. Ferenczi. He is not afraid of standing up for his thoughts. This is shown on page 69, lines 795-808, “ ‘You told,” I shouted at him. “She was just kidding.” “She shouldn’t have,” he shouted back. “We were supposed to be doing arithmetic.” “She just scared you,” I said, “You’re a chicken, Wayne. You are. Scared of a little card,” I singsonged. Wayne fell at me, his two fists hammering down on my nose, I gave him a good one in the stomach and then I tried for his head. Aiming my fist, I saw that he was crying. I slugged him. “She was right,” I yelled. “She was always right! She told the truth!” Other kids were whooping. “You were just scared, that’s all!’ ” This quote from the story shows how trustful Tommy is in Ms. Ferenczi. He is saying so many direct powerful comments about his thoughts. This shows how he can stand up for his own thoughts, even if they are wrong. At last, he gets into a fistfight with a classmate (Wayne) and punches him in the stomach. Tommy is not afraid to stand up for his own thoughts. He will do whatever it takes to show his emotions, and is more mature and adultlike than the other kids that try to fit in with