Themes+-+Gryphon+and+Pirzada


 * Theme Possibilities**

**"Gryphon"**
 * Truth & lies
 * Questioning knowledge and /or adults
 * Loyalty
 * School life
 * Violence
 * Substitutes (conceptually)
 * Parents just don't understand
 * Perspective
 * Individuality (nonconformity)
 * Balance
 * Judgment
 * Communication
 * Classroom environment

**"When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine"**
 * **Home, family life**
 * **cross-cultural communication**
 * **responsible, concerned citizen**
 * **Cultural diversity (including food, etc.)**
 * **Personal bias / your background knowledge / perspective**
 * **Identity**
 * **Historical period**
 * **Political conflict, refugees**
 * **Customs**
 * **Memory/memoir/history**
 * **Tolerance**
 * **Isolation**
 * **Empathy**

**Both short stories**
 * **Child narrators**
 * **Lack of understanding (narrators)**
 * **Perspective / point of view**
 * **Memoir**
 * Newcomer
 * Square pegs in round holes
 * Those crazy grown-ups
 * Curriculum - why certain things are taught
 * Unknown / how we respond to it
 * Relationships w/ authority figures
 * Friendship
 * Culture
 * Being introduced to new things
 * Different kinds of good byes