The Fun They Had

“Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2155, she wrote ‘Today Tommy found a real book!’”

This sentence establishes the setting, contextualizing it as occurring far into the future. It also implies the young age of the narrator via the phrasing of the diary entry. Margie’s excitement paired with the word choice “real” sets the foundation for the story’s thematic exploration of The Consequences of Technological Advancement.

“Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.”

The presence of the book, which is a key symbol, introduces the thematic development of Nostalgia for the Past. Margie’s newly acquired knowledge via the book informs the sense of nostalgia she develops over the story’s course. The book is something removed from Margie’s experience by several generations, hinting at the significance of the juxtaposition between past and present from Margie’s perspective.

“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.”

The irony of depicting a physical book as the “funny” thing, and not the computer screen, would have been clear and amusing to readers in the 1950s when this story was originally published. This description sets the tone for subtle irony further in the story. Additionally, it is an example of Asimov’s commitment to Margie’s close third