Students Compare Their Experience
of U. T. to that of Alice in Wonderland:
a thematic summary
- The hedge maze as a parody of the freshmanÕs view of the campus: "Is
this the campus? But it's so huge? How do I know which paths to take?" (Lauren).
- AliceÕs life-sized chess board as a parody of Òthe crowded lawns
and free-spirited student bodyÓ at U. T. (Dawn).
- The White RabbitÕs frenzied hurrying to an appointment as a parody of
Òthe rush of college life and the necessity of purpose, both of which overwhelmÓ
the freshman (Rania, David).
- AliceÕs fall down the rabbit hole as a parody of the freshmanÕs confusion
at all the building abbreviations: Òshe tried looking at the sides of the
hole and saw a confusing array of maps and abbreviations tacked onto the
wall. "HRC? UGL? SSB? ... and she continued to go
down for what seemed like forty acresÓ (Jamie).
- The doors in the hall at the bottom of the rabbit hole as a parody of
the doors in the classroom buildings: Òwooden doors, that were numbered
in black ink in a rather confusing order. "101 here...110 here...and
102 is at the end of the hallway! What a confusing place!" (Jamie).
- The tiny door Alice encounters at the bottom of the rabbit hole as a
parody of how small the freshman feels on the campus (Dawn).
- The tiny door as a parody of the tiny door that opens onto the PresidentÕs
office in the main building: Òand Jamie got down on her hands and knees
and peered inside. She saw a beautiful rooftop garden full of statues,
and a fancy office with stained glass windows. (10) Jamie wanted
more than anything to leave the hallway and visit the fancy garden, but
she was too big. "I guess that garden isn't meant for average
students like me," she surmisedÓ (Jamie).
- ÒÕIt was much pleasanter at home,Õ thought poor Alice, Ôwhen one wasnÕt
always growing larger and smallerÉI almost wish I hadnÕt gone down that
rabbit-holeÓ as a parody of the homesickness of the freshman (xx, Jamie).
- AliceÕs encounters with radically different situations as a parody of
the freshmanÕs encounters with other freshmen at U.T.: ÒDuring my first
semester at UT, I experienced different races, different political views,
and different religions first hand. I walked through campus much like Alice
trekked through Wonderland, attempting to adapt and adjust to all of the
new situationsÓ (Dawn). The Òqueer looking partyÓ of animalsÓ Alice meets
after her pool of tears as a parody of the crowd the new freshman joins:
ÒWhile many of my new friends were much different from myself, I learned
about their backgrounds and personalities and soon felt much more at ease.Ó
(xx). Alice smothered under the pile of card-men as a parody of the freshman
buried in exams, projects, and responsibility (Dawn).
- AliceÕs Pool of Tears as a parody of (1) Òthe loneliness and feeling
overwhelmed at exclusion from college lifeÓ of a freshman (Rania) and (2)
a freshmanÕs feelings upon discovering that she was late to class and the
class was not meeting in the usual room (Eve).
- The Dodo as a parody of a student who misses a lot of class (Rania).
- Following the white rabbit/albino squirrel as a parody of following distractions
instead of studying (Robin).
- ÒDrink MeÓ episode used to parody various temptations, including
alcohol consumption at U. T. (Ada, Khoa), the temptation of the live music
capital of the world (Courtney), the temptation of the outdoors, esp. kayaking
on Town Lake, riding a bike on the Hike and Bike Trail, etc. (Courtney),
the temptation of hanging out with friends (Courtney, Rahim)
- ÒEat MeÓ episode used to parody the temptation of LSD (Khoa, Jefferson
Airplane).
- The Lobster Quadrille dance of the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle as a parody
for Sixth Street (Rahim).
- Following the white rabbit as a parody of following a boyfriend or girlfriend
to U.T. without thinking about it (Dawn).
- Pig and Pepper episode used to parody food in Kinsolving dormitory (Ada,
Rania)
- Search for the white rabbit/longhorn as a parody of the search for knowledge
at U.T. (Courtney, David, Jamie)
- The queen yelling ÒOff with her headÓ as a parody of professors and their
grading systems at U. T. (Dawn, Eve).
- Humpty Dumpty as a parody of an English professor at U.T. (Frances, Rania).
- The trail scene, ÒWho Stole the Tarts?Ó as a parody of (1) a freshman
English class at U.T. ; (2) the justice system in general (Robin).
- The army of cards as a parody of the football team.
- AliceÕs Adventures in Wonderland as a parody of a class in logic at U.T.
(Erin).
- Mad HatterÕs Tea Party used to parody (1) a freshman English class at
U. T. (Brette, Eve, Nick); (2) a first-semester Biology class (Dawn); (3)
a fraternity (Robin); and (4) a student conversation (Rahim).
- ÒThe Pool of TearsÓ as a parody of the feelings of freshmen trying
to move all their stuff into their rooms (Jessica)
- ÒThe Pool of TearsÓ and ÒA Caucus-Race and a Long Tale.Ó Used to parody
a freshman English class at U. T. (Ada) Assorted Wonderland characters
used to parody an English class at U. T. (Courtney, David)
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee as a parody of (1) two fraternity members (Jessica);
(2) a professor and his teaching assistant ÒConstantly quarrelling with
each other and the students over classroom protocol and work proceduresÓ
(Dawn).
- AliceÕs recitation of boring poetry in order to get dry after the pool
of tears as a parody of studying Greek pastoral verse in a freshman English
class (Eve), or a parody of a reading aloud a selection from Ruskin in
a course anthology for an English class (Jamie).
- The Cheshire Cat as a parody of an Advisor who was Òweird, elusive, and
frustrating; and told me that all options were crazyÓ (Robin).
- The CaterpillarÕs question ÒWho are you?Ó as a parody of (1) Advisers
who donÕt have time listen to the studentÕs answer (Jessica, Rania, Robin);
(2) Leslie, the transvestite who hangs out around Sixth St. (Robin); (3)
Prof. BumpÕs class modeled on the Baird Freshman English class at Amherst
College: Ò[I] do not exist to give you the answers. [My function] is to
ask the questions,Ó (3) he repliedÓ (Erin, Jamie).
- (The
CaterpillarÕs question ÒWho are you?Ó and AliceÕs changing sizes as a parody
of the bewildering identity changes in college: ÒLike Alice, I did not
know how to reply. One spends four years in high school creating a persona,
routine, and niche in their surroundings, only to have each of those things
overturned in collegeÓ (Dawn). Like the CaterpillarÕs ÒWho are you?Ó this
is a question meant to provoke some deeper thought in the reader and myself. Just
why are we at the University of Texas? Education? Future Careers?
Or is there another reason we are overlooking?Ó (Elizabeth, Jamie).
- AliceÕs mastery of how much food to eat to achieve a certain size as
a parody of the freshman learning the amount of time needed to study in
order to achieve a desired grade (Dawn).
- AliceÕs growing larger as a parody
of the freshmanÕs growth: ÒI grew larger with each test I passed, with
each friend I made, and with each trek across campus I successfully completedÓ
(Dawn).
References are to student papers written for Prof. Bump and collected on
the web at http://www.la.utexas.edu/users/bump/VSA/Texas.html