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Tommy’s book symbolizes the passage of time and the importance of preserving the past. Asimov utilizes the book to demonstrate the ways in which the world of the future differs from that of our present and past. The ancientness of the book is manifested in its physical condition, found in Tommy’s attic, it is old and fragile, and its pages are brittle, yellow, and crinkled. The book, although seemingly worthless and of little value, is extremely special to the children, especially to Margie because she had previously only heard about print books and their use from her grandfather, who heard about them from his grandfather. The children’s computers now hold millions of eBooks (called “telebooks” in the story), and it is unfathomable to them that a print book only holds a single story—making them wonder if people used to throw books away after reading them. The book awakens Margie’s curiosity and imagination as a mysterious, archival object that tells stories about the past and the history of education. Margie’s reading of the book and her new understanding of bygone schools leads her to daydream about the school system of the past that is very different from her own, where there are human teachers and children laugh, learn, and play together. By including the book in the story, Asimov shows how much time has passed and the dramatic social changes that can occur as a result of new technological progress.
Tommy’s Book Quotes in The Fun They Had
The The Fun They Had quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tommy’s Book. 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
“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
“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
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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Tommy’s Book Symbol Timeline in The Fun They Had
The timeline below shows where the symbol Tommy’s Book appears in The Fun They Had. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fun They Had
...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 about how his grandfather...
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...on it as when the children read it the first time. Tommy believes that the book is “a waste,” and that people must have thrown the books away after reading them....
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Margie asks Tommy where he found the book. Engrossed in his reading, Tommy points to his house without looking up, and tells Margie...
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At first, Margie can’t imagine anyone wanting to write a book about school because she hates it so much. A while back, her mechanical teacher was...
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...admits that she doesn’t know what kind of school existed so long ago. Reading the book over Tommy’s shoulder, Margie says that the only thing she knows about school in the...
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...back then, and if she doesn’t like it, she doesn’t have to keep reading the book. Margie quickly replies that she never said that she didn’t like it—she wants to keep...
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Before Tommy and Margie are even halfway through the book, Mrs. Jones calls her daughter inside for school. Margie doesn’t want to go to school,...
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...isn’t thinking about fractions at all. She’s too busy imagining the old schools from the book, wondering what it would have been like to attend school back when her grandfather’s grandfather...
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