Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for March 14, 1993

thats alot to learn

Ha! He’s a square peg in a round hole!

always loved Calvin’s parrot face!

what is this it makes no sense

That seems about right.

I think I get it. First he’s rushed to school with other kids like cattle. Then he’s given a bunch of mindless information, like green goop put into a bottle. He has to pay attention or he’ll fail class/ he has to keep running or he’ll trip and fall. Calvin has to keep working hard, like a railroad worker. He has to learn to give out the correct answers, like a robot. He’s laughed at, because his answers are silly and awkward, like a parrot. By the end of the classes, he’s tired and sluggish and just wants to roam around doing his own thing, like a zombie. But he’s forced to be put back in place, like a shape being sent to it’s own hole (??). When he gets home, he’s so close to freedom, like a fish gasping for water. That’s my idea.

I think this is a metaphor for how schools are very mindless, robotic and controlling.