George Saunders & Lane Smith The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip

UPDATE: Maruyama-san at the International Student Center has black-and-white copies for anyone who wants one. The generosity of their copy-budget is bottomless! I have the original still for anybody who wants to borrow it as well.

Form and Genre: What did you think about reading a so-called children's book? Did it make you laugh? Did you like the art work or was it too strange for you? What were some of your responses to the story and the style of writing? We could call this story a fable, which is a simple story with a clear moral (or several). What did you think of the moral(s) of the story?

Content of the story: The book portrays a small community that is reluctant to change; in other words, it is "socially conservative." The girl, Capable, is the only one willing to think about doing things differently, which we call socially progressive.

Some questions and observations to consider before, during, and after your reading:

• Consider the gappers and their love for goats, and later fences--what does the book teach readers about love?
• Capable's father likes things to stay the same and gets angry when they change. Why? What makes him change his attitude?
• The neighbors see the gappers suddenly concentrating on Capable's goats and interpret that as a judgment from God. What does this book imply about the uses of religion?
  
• If you think about this book as a comment on the American Dream and/or the Protestant work ethic, what conclusion does it lead you to?

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