Gert Fram

Infobox short story |
name = Gert Fram
title_orig =
translator =
author = Orson Scott Card
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Short story
published_in = "Ensign"
publication_type = Periodical
publisher =
media_type = Print (Magazine)
pub_date = 1977
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Gert Fram" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection "Maps in a Mirror". This short story was the first piece of fiction Card ever published. It originally appeared in the July 1977 fine arts issue of "Ensign" magazine under the pen name Byron Walley.

Plot summary

This story is about a clumsy and imaginative thirteen year old girl named Susan Parker who is having a very bad day. At school she pokes one of her classmates with a pencil and breaks her teacher's fishbowl. When Susan gets home things go from bad to worse. She continues to make mistakes, knock things over and get into trouble. Although her parents are patient and try not to lose their temper with Susan, she becomes convinced that they and everyone else hates her. Upset with herself, Susan begins writing a short novel called "Susan the Jerk" using her pen name Gert Fram. Later in the day when Susan’s father goes up to her room to talk to her, she gives him "Susan the Jerk" to read. Realizing how badly she feels her father tells her how much she is loved and that she is not a “jerk”. When Susan says that she is having a hard time believing this, her father begins to cry and she realizes how much he loves her. Feeling better she gives her novel a happier ending and goes to bed.

Characters

*Susan Parker – Main character
*Gert Fram - Susan’s pseudonym
*Susan’s Father - unnamed
*Susan’s Mother - unnamed
*Jonathan - Susan’s brother
*Annabelle - Susan’s sister
*Vanessa - Susan’s sister
*Raymond - Vanessa’s boyfriend

Byron Walley

In the Question and Answer section of his website Orson Scott Card said that he published the short story "Gert Fram" under the name Byron Walley because he had a non-fiction article “Family Art”, a poem “Looking West” and a short play "The Rag Mission" (published under the name Brian Green) appearing in the same issue of "Ensign" magazine. [http://www.hatrack.com/research/questions/q0081.shtml Pseudonyms] "Orson Scott Card's website The Hatrack".]

Origins of Gert Fram

In his short story collection "Maps in a Mirror" Orson Scott Card said that Gert Fram was the childhood pen name of his sister-in-law, Nancy Allen Black, and that while the idea for the story was his own, the character Gert Fram and all the "novels" she wrote (except "Susan the Jerk") were created by his sister-in-law as a child. [cite book
first = Orson Scott
last = Card
title = Maps in a Mirror
location = New York, NY
publisher = Tor Books
year = 1990
pages = pp 674-675
id = ISBN 0-312-85047-6 ]

Relationship to "Gert Fram" by Nancy Allen Black

According to Orson Scott Card, although his short story "Gert Fram" was based his sister-in-law Nancy Allen Black, her young adult book "Gert Fram - A Kid's Book for Grown-ups" (1991) ISBN 0-962-40494-2 is not based on his short story but on her own childhood experiences. [http://www.hatrack.com/research/questions/q0081.shtml Nancy Allen Black] "Orson Scott Card's website The Hatrack".]

Footnotes

ee also

*List of works by Orson Scott Card
*Orson Scott Card

External links

* [http://www.hatrack.com The official Orson Scott Card website]
* [http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=de701f26d596b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 "Gert Fram"] - available online from "Ensign" magazine.