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Tommy
The County Inspector is a mechanic who fixes Margie’s mechanical teacher when the lessons are too difficult for her. He is described as a “round little man with a red face and whole box of tools with dials and wires.” Although he is just the repairman, he has a level of empathy and understanding that the mechanical teacher does not and actually seems to be exactly what Margie needs in an educator. He understands that the lesson is too difficult for Margie and adjusts it accordingly to the appropriate level, making sure to still encourage Margie so that she doesn’t feel like a failure. He also has an emotional warmth that Margie’s computerized teacher lacks. While the mechanical teacher—which is a “large and black and ugly” screen—just bombards Margie with test after test, the County Inspector smiles pleasantly, pats Margie on the head, and communicates with both Margie and her mother about Margie’s work in the classroom. Besides showing the drawbacks of technological progress on a social and emotional level, the role of the County Inspector also suggests that even though the story’s futuristic society relies on computers, these machines are not autonomous and are still maintained by humans.
County Inspector Quotes in The Fun They Had
The The Fun They Had quotes below are all either spoken by County Inspector or refer to County Inspector. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Fun They Had
Quotes
“School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school. Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector. “
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The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.”
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County Inspector Quotes in The Fun They Had
The The Fun They Had quotes below are all either spoken by County Inspector or refer to County Inspector. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Fun They Had
Quotes
“School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school. Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector. “
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
