Summary

Set in the futuristic world of 2157, ‘The Fun They Had’ explores the theme of the advancement of technology and its impact. The story revolves around two children, Margie, aged 11, and Tommy, aged 13, living in a world where technology has eliminated communal schools and human teachers.

In the beginning, Tommy discovers a rare printed book from the attic in their home, an old and dusty book with yellowed, wrinkled pages and fixed letters, unlike their telebook with millions of books and moving letters. Margie had previously heard about printed books from their grandfather, but it was her first time seeing one. The book introduced them to traditional schools where children studied together in a physical building with a human instructor or teacher, which fascinated Margie with the idea of a conventional school different from her fully automated yet monotonous virtual school.

She feels isolated imagining what fun the children had in the century-old school. Their instructor is an advanced robot. It is a mechanical device with a special configuration which caters to their individual pace and needs, yet it does not dissuade her dissatisfaction with her school. She imagines how entertaining the old schools must have been.

Although advanced schooling enhances efficiency and accommodates personalised education, it diminishes the human experience – the social and emotional aspects of learning. The story ends with little Margie reluctantly returning to her studies while daydreaming about a past she can never return to.

Analysis

Asimov made a bold prediction about the transformative impact of computers and technologies in 1951. He sets his short story in a futuristic 2157 and narrates how the world has changed. Mechanical devices have replaced institutional schools and teachers. Advanced, efficient technology caters to the needs of learners. The books are no longer printed on paper but rather shown on screen.

Margie, the narrator of our story, however, despises her school. She finds her lessons monotonous and boring. The antique book from the attic provided her a concept of the past traditional school. Thereafter, she started idealising the concept of human teachers, school buildings, and classmates. She fantasised about the children having fun, which cleverly instigates us to probe the purpose of schooling and education. Virtual classrooms strip away the social and emotional aspects of education. She feels isolated from her peers, and her longing reflects a universal desire for communication, which ultimately proves that technology, although progressive, can dehumanise human experiences.

The title reflects the ironic human nature of romanticising the past. Tommy and Margie envision the old schools through the dusty pages of the antique book, revealing our nostalgic nature of looking at the past with rose-coloured glasses. The traditional schools are not without their shortcomings, and they were not always exciting, as suggested by the title. Asimov subtly compares the old school with the new advanced schools but refrains from overly criticising the technology. He warns us of our overindulgence in it.

Answer the questions.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

In the short story Margie, our protagonist, is 11 years old, and her friend Tommy is 13 years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Margie wrote in her diary about a rare book Tommy found in the attic.

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

No, Margie had never seen a book before. She lives in the futuristic 2157, when physical books are no longer printed and have been replaced by telebooks.

4. What things about the book did she find strange?

Margie finds traditional communal schools strange. She lives in 2157, when school is a room inside the house, not a separate building, and receives education from a robot instead of humans. The usage of physical books is anomalous to her, as she has been taught with telebooks since childhood. The concept of attending school and classes with her peers and receiving education from a human teacher is unimaginable to her.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

In the context of Isaac Asimov’s short story The Fun They Had, ‘telebook’ refers to a digital or electronic book displayed on a computer or television screen.

6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

Margie lives in 2157. Her school is a room beside her bedroom. She did not have any classmates.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Margie and Tommy’s education was highly individualised and automated. The mechanical teacher was configured to teach according to the child’s pace and needs and seemed to cover a curriculum similar to traditional school – arithmetic, geography, history, and language skills.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story from the text The Fun They Had

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

Tommy.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

It refers to the dusty, wrinkled, century-old book he found in the attic.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

The old traditional paper book is being compared to a telebook.

2. “Sure, they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

They refer to children who went to traditional schools, mentioned in the century-old book.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

‘Regular’ means ‘normal’, in this case, a human teacher.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

The human teacher is being compared to a robotic teacher.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words) from the text The Fun They Had

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have in the story The Fun They Had?

Margie and Tommy had a big black robotic teacher. It was customised to teach according to the child’s pace and needs. It is described as a big black box-like device with a screen, a slot for inserting homework, and a mechanical voice for delivering lessons.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the county inspector?

Margie, our protagonist, lives in 2157 and is instructed by an automated big black box-like device, a robot. It kept giving her more and more advanced geography papers to solve. Suspecting that something was wrong with the device, her mother sent for the county inspector to inspect the machine.

3. What did the county inspector do in the story The Fun They Had?

The county inspector gave Margie an apple and disassembled the robot to inspect malfunctions. He assured Margie’s mother of her satisfactory progress in her studies and clarified that the geography sector of the device was geared a bit too advanced for an average 10-year-old. He slowed down the pace at which the geography sector operated, adjusting it to Margie’s learning ability.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography?

The robot was malfunctioning and giving her advanced geography papers to solve, which resulted in Margie’s consecutive poor performance.

a) What did the county inspector do to help her?

The county inspector adjusted the robot’s geography sector to fit Margie’s learning ability and assured her mother of her satisfactory progress. He also gave her an apple and patted her head.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Tommy’s robot malfunctioned once. The geography sector blanked out completely. It took almost a month to repair the device.

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Yes, Margie had regular hours of school. The story mentions that the mechanical teacher was there at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday. Margie’s mother believed that little girls learn better if they learn at regular hours.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school in the story The Fun They Had?

Tommy envisions traditional schools through the dusty pages of the old book. The book describes how human teachers taught students of the same age group in a shared classroom.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

Old kinds of teachers are the human teachers from the 20th century in Isaac Asimov’s The Fun They Had. They are real people and not machines. They taught groups of students together in a physical building.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the school rooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?

Margie and Tommy live in the futuristic world of 2157 in the context of Asimov’s short story The Fun They Had, a world where education is highly individualistic and automated.

Advanced technology has eliminated traditional schools and teachers. Printed books are considered a waste and are no longer printed. Telebooks, or digital books displayed on a screen, are in use. Their instructor is a big black box-like robot with a screen for showing information, a mechanical voice for imparting lessons, and a slot for inserting homework and test papers written in punch code. Robots are customised to teach according to the child’s learning ability and pace. They study in a room inside their home at a fixed time every day of the week except Saturday and Sunday. Their curriculum seemed to mirror traditional school and taught history, geography, arithmetic, and language skills.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?

Margie, the narrator of our story, despises her school. She finds her lessons monotonous and boring. The rare book gave her a glimpse of the past traditional school, and she started to idealise the concept of human teachers, school buildings, and fellow students, daydreaming about the children having fun, cleverly instigating us to probe the purpose of schooling and education.

Virtual classrooms strip away the social and emotional aspects of education. She feels confined and isolated from her peers. Her longing reflects a universal desire for communication, proving technology, while progressive, can dehumanise human experiences. The title suggests the ironical human nature of romanticising the past. Tommy and Margie envision the old schools through the dusty old book, reflecting our nostalgic nature of looking at the past with rose-coloured glasses.