I think it is unfair to compare Oxford to an American college solely through the readings in this section.  Firstly, I think that Wolfe's Dupont is not an accurate assessment of the Platonic form of "American College."  I do think, however, that Dougill's Oxford in English Literature provides an unbiased look at how one experiences Oxford.

That said,  college in these works is supposed to be an awe-inspiring place where young individuals come to learn and to grow.  Dougill's comparison to college life and Alice's trip through Wonderland starts with a person who feels "distraught and disoriented: [s/he] feels lonely...and the first meeting with others takes place in a pool of her own tears" (248).  A freshman with this closed-minded outlook on life will certainly have a difficult time adjusting to college, as it is a place where new experiences are best embraced with a positive attitude.  Wolfe says that college "is like this four-year period you have when you can try anything - and everything - and if it goes wrong, there's no consequence" (221C).  I find that this is untrue as well.  While college certainly is a place to try new things, Laurie is making it sound as though you should try things that you do not necessarily have any interest in just because you can.  I relate more to Charlotte in this case, because, although I have matured much through my college career, I have not really changed many of my opinions or morals.

Dougill's Oxford is an environment that is specifically designed to be conducive to learning.  He declares that, "like a tribe its identity is intimately interwoven with its surroundings--its pictures and its ornaments, its buildings and its gardens" (239).  In other words, the college is almost like a living being that interacts with things that come close to it.  I think that UT has some of these characteristics, but that it is also quite different.  When I cross from West Campus onto the Forty Acres, I feel like there is a defined border; I feel like our campus (south of Dean Keaton) is a beautiful place that permeates oldness and tradition.  On Dean Keaton, however, I feel as though I'm going to class in the middle of a city.  That is, south of Dean Keaton, I feel like the campus is in the city, and north I feel as though the city is in the campus.  I think that the Oxford experience is more like what I feel in the heart of our campus; UT feels like a place to learn instead of a place to get grades south of 26th.

Wolfe seems to almost try too hard to give his "American College" the Oxford feel.  He puts it in a rural setting, makes it old, and says that the architecture is large and impressive.  His Dupont interacts with the surroundings, changing on a moon-lit night or a summer day.  He says that Charles Dupont "had envisioned an actual grove of acedeme through which scholars young and old might take contemplative strolls" (208).  This reflects how Dougill describes a scholar's experience at Oxford.  However, at UT, I feel like I am not completely removed from the city life for my concentration on learning.  UT gives me a constant feeling that I am in a somewhat well-populated city.  This is less true in the heart of campus, but anywhere there is a concrete road, I can not help but make the connection that this must mean that there is a need for large amounts of traffic to move through an area quickly, something I don't think is necessary for learning.

Maybe due to its sheer size(area) in comparison to its size(people), UT does not reflect an Oxford-like place.  Through my interpretations of the readings, Oxford is in a place that's sole purpose is learning.  My experience at UT is that it is a place of learning in the middle of a busy city