27 pages 54 minutes read

Isaac Asimov

The Fun They Had

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1951

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

The Book

The dominant symbol in “The Fun They Had” is the book that Tommy finds in his attic, representing key ideas about technology, education, and social connection. To Margie and Tommy, the book is an outdated form of technology that strikes them as both funny and compelling compared to their singular experiences with reading and learning from computers. The book represents a new set of possibilities for storing and accessing knowledge that is integral to Margie’s paradigm shift throughout the story. Further, it represents an educational tool that encourages human connection and socialization rather than preventing it. This is accomplished through the book’s subject matter about the days in which school took place in a schoolhouse with groups of children and human rather than mechanical teachers.

Additionally, the book provides an opportunity for the children to share interests and experience the book together. For Margie, the book is the symbol of a society and model of education that meets her needs for connection. The book’s depiction of past educational practices incentivizes her to learn in a way that the mechanical teacher completely fails to accomplish.

Related Titles

By Isaac Asimov

Study Guide

logo

Foundation and Empire

Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire

Isaac Asimov

Study Guide

logo

Nightfall

Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg

Nightfall

Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg

Study Guide

logo

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Isaac Asimov

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Isaac Asimov

Study Guide

logo

Robot Dreams

Isaac Asimov

Robot Dreams

Isaac Asimov

Study Guide

logo

The Caves of Steel

Isaac Asimov

The Caves of Steel

Isaac Asimov

Plot Summary

logo

The Gods Themselves

Isaac Asimov

The Gods Themselves

Isaac Asimov

Study Guide

logo

The Last Question

Isaac Asimov

The Last Question

Isaac Asimov

Plot Summary

logo

The Ugly Little Boy

Isaac Asimov

The Ugly Little Boy

Isaac Asimov