The English Paper


To conclude the course's segment on science fiction he assigned the
class a paper, on any topic they wished having to do with science
fiction. The next week, after the papers had been turned in, the
professor was grading them and came across this paper:

There once was an Israeli border guard named Isaac. Across the border
from Isaac, Abdul, an Arab border guard, had his post. One night,
Abdul crept over the border and killed Isaac.

When Isaac's commander found out what had transpired the previous
night, he was furious, and the next night, he and his squad staged a
raid in which several Arab border guards, including Abdul, were killed.

This, of course lead to Arab reprisals, which in turn lead to Israeli
reprisals, which in turn...ad infinitum. Eventually, the Arabs and
Israelis were at war.

Well, the professor read this paper, and being utterly confused,
reread it, shook his head in disgust, and wrote a large "F" on it, in
red ink, and then moved on to the next paper.

The next day, at the end of class, he handed back the papers, and as
he was preparing to leave, the student who received the "F" approached
and asked to speak with the professor.

I don't understand why you didn't like my paper," the student said.

"It's very simple," the professor replied. "You were assigned to
write a paper on science fiction. This paper has nothing whatsoever to
do with the assigned subject."

"I must disagree," said the student. . "I think that my paper
examined the very basis of Zion's Friction."