Why is finding the old book more than a coincidence in the story?

Correct answer: It begins the whole comparison of education

The governing concept is the old book’s structural and symbolic function in the narrative. Tommy’s discovery gives the children a concrete record of an earlier educational world, so they can compare printed books and telebooks, group classrooms and isolated home lessons, and human teachers and mechanical instruction. The object therefore starts the central discussion rather than merely appearing as background detail. Option A is correct. The book does not end the geography test, replace the mechanical teacher or serve as a prize; instead, it changes the children’s understanding of what school and learning could be.