From the day he reported in for Plebe Summer, everyone agreed: Philo T. McGiffin was a wimp. The original Philo McGiffin, Class of 1882, was a mythic master of outrageous escapades who became a symbol of subversive individualism to generations of mids. But his namesake seemed unlikely to carry on the tradition. Stoop-shouldered and meek, he nearly buckles under the emotional, physical, and mental stresses that are the lot of every plebe. Yet ultimately ""The Mouse"" triumphs in the grand style of his predecessor.