The Fun They Had

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 To Margie and Tommy, the book is an outdated form of technology that strikes them as both funny and compelling compared to their singular experiences with reading and learning from computers.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.