Chapter 8, University Days Summary and Analysis

Thurber talks about his time at Ohio State University. He fails to graduate because he cannot pass biology, no matter how hard he and his instructor try to adjust the microscope so he can draw plant cells. The unnamed instructor gets so angry at Thurber's failure that he quivers all over like Lionel Barrymore—a second reference to the renowned actor in these stories. Thurber's weak eyesight (John K. Hutchens' "Introduction" discusses the impact of total blindness on Thurber's later writings) becomes a major factor in this story and the following.

Thurber turns next to a timid economics professor, Bassum, who begins making railroad sounds to help the dumb-as-an-ox star tackle, Bolenciecwcz, answer the question that will save his grade: name a mode of transportation. The whole class lends a chorus of sounds. For several pages...