Question

Answer the following questions with reference to Ray Douglas Bradbury's short story, 'All Summer in a Day'. 
(i) Name the planet on which this story is set. Describe everyday life on this planet. 

(ii) Why was there so much excitement in the schoolroom that morning? What sets Margot apart from the other children?

(iii) Describe how the planet was transformed when the sun came out and shone briefly over it.
Why was Margot not able to witness this phenomenon?
What emotion of you supposes the children experienced when Margot emerged at the end of the story?

Answer 1

(i) The setting of the story is the planet Venus where it keeps on raining for years together. Sunshine occurs only once in seven years. The scene of the story is set in a school where the teachers and children await the appearance of the sun with great curiosity. One sunny day is equal to an earthly summer on this planet.

The children inhabiting this planet are nine years old and living with their families. Seven years of continuous rain have deprived them of the brightness on their faces. They are pale and colorless. They are passive both physically and mentally. The lack of the light of the sun has dried their compassion and consideration for others. They do not gain their humanity until they spend some time in the light of the sun.

(ii) The children were eagerly waiting for a momentous occasion. It had been raining for seven years and now the scientists on Venus had predicted that the sun would appear for a brief period of time. Margot was like a stranger in her class. She had come to this planet (Venus) only five years ago from Earth. She still remembered the sun and the sky and how they looked when she was only four years old in the city of Ohio.

The other children in the school had been on Venus all their lives and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out on Venus. Since they were small at that time, they had now forgotten the colour and heat of the sun and how it looked. When Margot told them that the sun was like a penny or like fire in the stove, nobody was ready to believe her. They thought that she was lying.

(iii) The rain slackened slowly and came to a stop. It was followed by disturbed violence which seemed like a tornado, a hurricane or volcanic eruption. The children put their hands to their ears. Then, all of a sudden, the sun came out. It was flaming bronze in colour and it looked very large. The sky was blazing blue and the whole jungle seemed to bum with sunlight. It was incredible.

The children felt as if they had been released from a spell. They rushed out, yelling into the springtime (which comes only once in 7 years). The teachers warned them not to go too far. The children had only two hours to remain outside. But the children seemed to go out of control. They were running and turning their faces up to the sky. They were feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron. They were letting the sun bum their arms after taking off their jackets.

Margot was not able to witness this phenomenon as she had been locked into a closet by her classmates who did not like Margot to talk about the sun. The phenomenon of the sunshine lasted for a very short, time. The sun started fading off gradually behind a stir of mist. A cold wind began to blow and all the children started walking back. Their smiles had vanished. They could hear a boom of thunder and see the flash of lightning coming nearer and nearer. The sky darkened into midnight in a flash.

Then a girl remembered Margot who was locked in the closet. Then all the children walked towards the closet, unlocked the door and let Margot come out. Their attitude towards Margot changed after they had spent some time in the light of the sun.