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Margie is the 11-year-old protagonist of the story and a friend of Tommy’s. The third-person-limited point of view is filtered through her childlike innocence and curiosity. Margie is a curious girl who is constantly asking questions and wanting to be around other people. This personality may account for her recent poor performance in her fact-based and passive geography lessons; Margie seems to crave an education that is interactive, engaging, and involved other people, but this vision is incompatible with her computerized and individualized model of education. In particular, she longs to be around other children her age—hence her constantly hanging around Tommy and dreaming of how fun it would have been to attend school with a whole neighborhood of children—but instead she’s forced to sit alone in the schoolroom in her house, day after day, watching a computer screen talk at her. Margie is also a highly imaginative child, as evidenced by her ability to picture historical scenes from Tommy’s old book about schools from many centuries ago. After reading through the ancient book and learning about the ways of the past, Margie loses herself in her imagination, envisioning what it would be like to be a student hundreds of years ago and dreaming of “the fun they had.”
Margie Quotes in The Fun They Had
The The Fun They Had quotes below are all either spoken by Margie or refer to Margie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Fun They Had Quotes
Margie even wrote it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2155, she wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”
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The story opens with Margie writing in her diary which allows for the description of the story’s setting. The story clearly takes place in the future, leading immediately to the conclusion that real books must not exist in this futuristic society. This is ironic, considering that the reader of “The Fun They Had” is likely encountering the story on a printed page. By stating the year (over a century after the story was first published) and by making such a common object for the reader, Asimov immediately creates a sense of separation between the contemporary reader and the futuristic world Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo min
It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him there was a time all stories were printed on paper.
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The book that Tommy finds in his attic is very old—so old that Margie has only heard about printed books from her grandfather who heard it from his grandfather. Tommy’s book is from a different time when all of the stories were printed on paper and not read on computer screens. Although the story’s society relies on computer technology for education and stories, the fact that Margie’s grandfather told her about the past highlights the lasting relevance of oral storytelling and the passing of stories and memories from one family member to the next in order to preserve history. The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperi
They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to—on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
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The children look at the book Tommy finds in his attic in more detail, realizing that it is very different from the computerized “telebooks” to which they’re accustomed. The tactile nature of pages is imbued with age—not only is the book itself a historical artifact with “yellow and crinkly” pages that have clearly been well-worn by time and use, but its content has preserved the past by recording a single, unchanging story. Unlike the eBooks that are constantly moving on the screen and have infinite information and possibilities, the immobility of the words on the pages highlight the book’s power Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipi
“School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school. Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector. “
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The old book Tommy’s finds in his attic is about school. Margie cannot believe why anyone would write about school because she hates it. In the story, the children do not go to traditional school, but rather have mechanical teachers that instruct them individually from home. Although the education is specialized for each student, their education is based solely on facts and information—there are no social, emotional, or creative dimensions to the work they do. The children do not play and learn from other kids or human teachers, so their education is extremely impersonal. Margie hates school because the geography Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque om
The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.”
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Margie and the other children in her world are taught individually by mechanical teachers rather than going to school. When her mechanical teacher breaks, the County Inspector comes to fix Margie’s mechanical teacher. Even though society is driven by computers and artificial intelligence, the computers are controlled and adjusted by humans. The County Inspector shows empathy and support towards Margie whereas the mechanical teacher does not show any emotion towards her. Although he is presumably a stranger to the Jones family, there is still an effortless human connection between Margie and the County Inspector that does not exist between her Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occa
Tommy looked at her with very superior eye. “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
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Although Margie and Tommy are friends that enjoy reading the book together, Tommy constantly gets aggravated by Margie’s naiveté. Margie is 11 and Tommy is 13, he and believes that he knows a lot more than she does. He looks down on her when she asks questions that he believes are stupid like when Margie asks, “why anyone would write about school.” He explains to her that it is a different type of school because the book is from centuries ago. Tommy’s lofty attitude and matter-of-fact interest in the book contrasts with Margie’s deep curiosity and imagination. In this sense, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas
“A man? How could a man be a teacher?”
“Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.”
“A man isn’t smart enough.”
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Reading the book in more detail, Tommy and Margie learn that in the ancient schools, men used to be a teacher instead of computers. Margie is unable to believe this and that a man could be smart enough to teach children. Her inability to believe the book demonstrates how her society is extremely saturated in information, which has ultimately conditioned Margie to be unable to imagine anything other than a machine being able to be a teacher and provide students with enough information and knowledge. Additionally, it is difficult for the children to understand how a man can teach multiple Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatib
She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it […] Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.
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The story ends with Margie thinking about the old schools from Tommy’s book while she is in school learning about fractions. Margie does not pay attention to her mechanical teacher and instead drifts off to the world of the book. The book incites her imagination causing her to daydream of the old days when kids would learn and play together. This daydream expresses her desire for an education that not only puts emphasis on facts and information, but also on social and emotional development. By ending the story with Margie’s yearning, Asimov shows the reader the importance of socialization and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. H
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Margie Character Timeline in The Fun They Had
The timeline below shows where the character Margie appears in The Fun They Had. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fun They Had
On the page dated May 17, 2157, Margie writes excitedly in her journal about an amazing discovery: “Today Tommy found a real book!”...
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It’s especially bewildering to Tommy and Margie that when they turn to back to a page that they’ve already read, it still...
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Margie asks Tommy where he found the book. Engrossed in his reading, Tommy points to his...
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At first, Margie can’t imagine anyone wanting to write a book about school because she hates it so...
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At the time, Margie had hoped that the County Inspector wouldn’t be able to put her mechanical teacher back...
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When he was done fixing the mechanical teacher, the County Inspector smiled at Margie again and patted her on the head. Understanding Margie’s trouble with the lessons, the County...
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Margie asks Tommy why anyone would want to write about school. Tommy calls Margie stupid and...
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Margie is baffled and doesn’t understand how a man could be a teacher, believing that a...
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...students in the old days learned the same things if they were the same age. Margie finds this confusing because her mother always tells her that “a teacher has to be...
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Before Tommy and Margie are even halfway through the book, Mrs. Jones calls her daughter inside for school. Margie...
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Margie goes into her schoolroom, which is right next to her bedroom. The mechanical teacher is...
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Sighing, Margie puts her homework in, but she isn’t thinking about fractions at all. She’s too busy...
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Meanwhile, the mechanical teacher drones on about fractions, but Margie still isn’t paying attention—she is too busy “thinking about how the kids must have loved...
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