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Margie
Tommy is Margie’s 13-year-old friend who finds an extremely old book in his attic, complete with wrinkly, yellowing pages. Although Tommy shares the book with Margie and helps her understand how the schools of the past functioned, he finds Margie’s extreme enthusiasm and constant questions annoying and naïve. He frequently condescends to her, sometimes going to far as laughing in her face and calling her stupid for not knowing as much as he does about the world. He’s also arrogant: when Margie remarks that a human man couldn’t possibly be a teacher and know as much as their mechanical teachers, Tommy haughtily declares that his father knows “almost as much.” As he’s two years older, he also tries to act nonchalant in front of Margie—like noncommittally answering “Maybe” when Margie asks if they can read together after school—which is a sharp contrast from Margie’s unbridled curiosity and enthusiasm.
Tommy Quotes in The Fun They Had
The The Fun They Had quotes below are all either spoken by Tommy or refer to Tommy. 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
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
“Gee,” said Tommy, “what a waste. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it, and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.”
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Tommy believes that the printed book is a waste because it only contains a single story. He does not understand the book’s power to preserve the past and thinks that once he is done reading, the book is supposed to be thrown away. Although he cannot understand the importance of the printed book, he is grateful for the abundance of books and information on his television screen. The children live in a future that is saturated with information and the power of technology to hold infinite data that is extremely difficult for them to understand why such a thing like 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 con
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
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Tommy Character Timeline in The Fun They Had
The timeline below shows where the character Tommy appears in The Fun They Had. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fun They Had
...dated May 17, 2157, Margie writes excitedly in her journal about an amazing discovery: “Today Tommy found a real book!” The book is exceptionally old—Margie remembers her grandfather telling her once...
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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,...
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Margie asks Tommy where he found the book. Engrossed in his reading, Tommy points to his house without...
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...that the County Inspector would take her teacher away altogether, just like they had taken Tommy’s teacher for almost a month when its “history sector had blanked out completely.”
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Margie asks Tommy why anyone would want to write about school. Tommy calls Margie stupid and arrogantly explains...
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...a man could be a teacher, believing that a man could never be smart enough. Tommy insists that his father knows nearly as much as his teacher. Margie doesn’t want to...
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Tommy explains that students in the old days learned the same things if they were the...
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Before Tommy and Margie are even halfway through the book, Mrs. Jones calls her daughter inside for...
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