4 Dialectical Journal

#4 Dialectical Journal - The Fun They Had This is the story about Margie and Tommy, the children who live in the future in the year of 2155. They have all the facilities and robots, which is the telebook, and they are curious about a real book that Tommy finds. They talk about it and wonder how their grandfather’s grandfather lives in the past. They talk about how students were taught in the past by teachers in real person, not mechanical ones and how people got to meet friends when they went to school. In the end, Margie has to get back to study with her mechanical teacher and feels that the school might have been more enjoyable to those who lived in the old days. In Isaac Asimov(1951)’s science fiction short story, “​The Fun They Had,”​ Asimov illuminates the atmosphere of the old schools by using imagery. The author starts the story with how the children, Margie and Tommy, find the real book in which they do not normally use, instead they use telebooks. The story continues with how the children are curious about the past technology of school, since they find nowadays’ boring. The children are born in the era that the technology is extremely advanced that they never experience studying with teachers in real life with classmates. Margie gets into her mechanical school and keeps wondering about what it would be if she experienced the real live session of lesson with the classmates who could help her get through all the homework. According to the text, the author describes the way Margie’s mind is busy with the thoughts of school in the past, “All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the school yard, 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” (Asimov, 1951). The author points out the way students did in the past as they gathered together and spent time together at school. It evokes the sense of childishness as the author uses “laughing and shouting” to create the children sound in the reader’s mind. It allows the reader to feel the school vibes with classmates and how they coped through each semester together. Contrastingly, Margie never feels that way due to the fact that she has her mechanical teachers and her school is just the room next to her bedroom. This indicates how the advancement of technology has been developed dramatically until humans are replaced with robots and scientific facilities. Write about any personal connections you have with the reading: After I read the whole short story, I found it relatable to my life nowadays in this civilized world. Sometimes, I feel that if I could turn back time to the old days that they wrote letters to talk with someone they loved instead of texting online like how people do now. I think despite all the obstacles and long time it takes, it is a classic and romantic way to talk to someone. Writing letters shows the effort they put in trying to have a conversation with someone, and also they can reveal their unique handwritings. I never really write any paper letter to my friends before due to the fact that it takes longer time, but I would like to try and just like Margie, I really wonder about how excited and sick people could feel when they waited for somebody to reply their mails. Thinking about how my grandfather and grandmother

communicated when they were younger, my grandmother said that he wrote her a song on the letter and she fell in love with him. She could see his effort he made to win her heart, and I think it is absolutely admirable. References: Asimov, I. (1951). ​The fun they had​. (n.p.): The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.