Analysis Of Ray Bradbury's All Summer In A Day

Imagine being an outsider since you were four. Imagine seeing your whole life change so suddenly, and for the worse. Margot, a nine year old girl, has been emotionally damaged from the atmosphere she lives in. All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury depicts a future in which it is possible for humans to settle on a different planet, specifically Venus. The weather on Venus is a large component of the short story, as it never changes. For as long as the children living there can remember, Venus’ clouds cover the bright yellow sun, and huge droplets fall from the sky. Only once, every seven years for one hour, the sun shines brightly on Venus, revealing itself to the nine year old children living there. The main character, Margot, is the only one
Their tipping point is moments before the sun exposes itself, when they commit an action out of raw jealousy. “They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, then pleading, then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door. They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it. They heard her muffled cries. Then, smiling, they turned and went out and back down the tunnel…” (Bradbury 3). These children believed that tying Margot up would dull their pain and jealousy for her. If acting out of jealousy means that these children have accomplished something, then the story is saying that pain will lead to believing one has achieved something. But in the end, their pain only worsens: “They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it. Behind the door was only silence. They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out” (Bradbury 4). Later on, after these children deprived Margot of her only medicine to cure how damaged she was, they realized the repercussions of their actions. The terrible and blue weather outside reflected their emotions, and the mood of this scene. The
Some people, however, might interpret the “crime” to mean Margot coming from another planet, making her an outsider. Clearly, the children aren’t annoyed of Margot coming later, but because of the things that occurred before she came, specifically her feeling the sun. Bradbury’s tone indicates he wants to emphasize how “they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and the heat of it and the way it really was. But Margot remembered.” With this sentence fragment, the reader can infer that the children envy Margot’s memory, sparking the beginning of the main conflict. Also, every student on Venus was negatively affected by the actions that took place, making them the victim. Certainly it could be said that these children have made Margot the victim, and they only felt remorse due to their own actions. But clearly, the pain these children felt from seeing Margot’s pale face was a reminder that although she’s lost something that had a great impact on her, these children are jealous that Margot even had that in the first place. Everybody was the victim, and everybody made choices they wish they could