Question

What are examples of simile, metaphor, and personification in “All Summer in a Day”?

Answer 1

Ray Bradbury’s short story “All Summer in a Day” has many different types of figures  of speech. Similes compare two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” Metaphors compare two unlike things using words like “is” or “was.” Finally, personification occurs when an animal or inanimate object is given human traits or qualities. These figures of speech not only help to communicate what the author wants to portray in the story, but also helps readers to connect with something they may have already understood, which then creates more meaning for them in the story. For example, the following is a passage that demonstrates the use of simile and metaphor:

‘All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun. About how like a lemon it was, and how hot.          And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it:
I think the sun is a flower,
That blooms for just one hour.’
The first figure of speech is a simile because it compares the sun to a lemon using the word “like.” Then, a metaphor is used when the sun is compared to a flower using the word “is.”
The next passage has examples of two similes:
‘But Margot remembered.
“It’s like a penny,” she said once, eyes closed.
“No it’s not!” the children cried.
“It’s like a fire,” she said, “in the stove.”
Both figures of speech in this passage are similes because the sun is compared to a penny and then to fire using the word “like.” The next example demonstrates how personification is used in the story:

‘They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it.’

In animate objects do not have the ability to tremble like people do; therefore, this is an example of personification. The door “trembles” because it receives the impact of Margot’s protest and anxiety about being trapped. It also seems as though Bradbury uses personification when Margot is locked in the closet to describe how her emotions powerfully transfer through the door as she pounds on it.