Frequently Asked Questions about "Gryphon" Answered!

Charles Baxter is often asked questions about his short story "Gryphon". In order to help students everywhere better understand his story Charles answered some of the most common questions for this site.
Question: What does the title of the story mean? The gryphon doesn't seem very important-- what does the idea of a gryphon bring to the story?
Baxter: Ms. Ferenczi mentions the gryphon as an animal she's actually seen in Egypt. A gryphon, however, is an entirely imaginary creature, half eagle and half lion. In other words, a gryphon is made up of parts from the world, but these parts are…