SEARCHING FOR SUMMER

CHARACTER

Lily and Tom are the main character of the story, they are a new couple that went on their
honeymoon right after their wedding. The author made them the main character to depict a nave
and inexperienced situation of finding the sunshine. They are the generation of no more sunshine
and green grass and blue sky. Two young people that just got married, full with faith and hopes
of their lives, however, have to face the fact that the dim world is coming.
Tom was short-tempered with frustration. When the engine coughed and died on them, but the
main reason was that he couldnt achieve what hed promised to give Lily. He loved Lily very
much. Have to stop here for the night, suppose. said Tom, as they went to find the owner of a
pub, Mr. Noakes.
Mr. Noakes was a repulsive-looking individual, but when he heard that Tom and Lily wanted a
room for the night, he changed completely and gave them a leer that was of false goodwill.
He was a big, red-faced man with wet, full lips, bulging pale-gray bloodshot eyes, and
a crop of stiff greasy hair. He wore tennis shoes. A very detailed description about
how Mr. Noakes looks like, and his behavior showed he was a man that could change
quickly if hed found something that benefits him.
Mr. Noakes wasnt a polite man, he gave Lily a pinch on her arm because of her beauty. He
counted his money very carefully, and he would grab every chance to make money if he could.
That was why, when Tom and Lily came back with their brown arms, Mr. Noakes was so eager
to learn where theyd been to. Whered you get is, eh? That wasnt all got in half an hour, I
know. Come on, this means money to you and me; tell us the big secret. Remember what I said;
land around these parts is dirt cheap, shouted Mr.Noakes.
Because of Mr. Noakess terrible personality, Tom and Lily insisted to return the bag Mrs.
Hatching lost several hours ago on the bus road.
Eh, my dear! It was the old lady, old Mrs. Hatching, who opened the door, her exclamation
was along-drawn gasp of pleasure and astonishment. Mrs. Hatching was an enthusiastic lady,
she treated Tom and Lily very well, she helped to bandage Lilys blistered feet, she gave them a
lovely room to sleep through the night, and she also talked to them nicely. Even in the midst of
Mrs. Hatchings voluble welcome the strangeness of these words struck the two young people,
and they fell quiet, each of them pondering, while Mrs. Hatching thanked and commiserated, all
in a breath, and asked them to take a seat on the sofa and fetched a basin of water from the
scullery.
Lily was one of the main character, she was very weak in the beginning, and she was often
sad, and lacking smile on her face. Maybe it was because that the sun wasnt shining anymore.
Meanwhile Tom and Lily buzzed on hopefully across the gray countryside, with Lilys veil like
a gilt banner floating behind. It was chilly going for her in her wedding things, her fingers were
blue to the knuckles. Also, Lily was likely to burst into tears with only a little trouble.
But after they discover the sunshine of Mrs. Hatching house, Lily became peaceful in her
mind. She wore a face on her face as she leaned lightly on Toms arm, and smoothly,
she asked Tom whether they could stay at Mrs. Hatchings house for a night. When
they were picking up beans in Mrs. Hatchings garden, Tom took off his shirt, and the
sun gleamed on his brown back. Lily was wearing an old cotton print which Mrs.
Hatching had shortened to fit her, and Lily was beautiful, smiling and chuckling.
The shift between the emotions of the characters also influence the readers mood, if a story
moved on only on the plot but not the characters emotions, readers wouldnt be able to feel the
turning point profoundly.
The relationship between all of the characters wasnt very tight in this particular story while
most of the stories did, but they did influence each other by their talking and behaviors. With
different characters appearing and shifting, authors could make sure not to bored the readers.
MOOD
The story was kind of sad in the beginning of the story, the atmosphere was old, dark and chilly
since there was no sunshine in the town anymore. Blue sky and green grass was weird for the
characters.
On the road where the couple went on a honeymoon, it was gray and gritty, freezing wind blew
on their faces on the scooter, making Lilys knuckles all blue. When their scooter broke down on
the road, they didnt even see a blink of sunshine, nor did they find a good place to sleep in
through the night. Tears burst out of Lilys eyes and Tom was out of temper because of all the
frustrating conflicts happening around.
The depressed mood last so long, similar to the weather and atmosphere of the story. Just after
the climax of the story, when they found sunshine in Mrs. Hatchings house, the color changed
into a warm and charming hue. Both the value and the saturation of the depiction of the scene
turned into something comfortable, and the main characters started to feel happy and excited.
How elsell beans set, tell me that? Fine things if sun were to stop shining. Chuckling to
Mrs. Hatching herself she set out a Crown Derby tea set, gorgeously colored in red and gold, and
a baking of saffron buns. Then she sat down and, drinking her own tea, began to question the two
of them about where they had come from, where they were going. The tea was tawny and sweet;
the clocks tick was like a bird chirping; every now and then a log settled in the grate; Lily
looked sleepily around the little room, so rich and peaceful.
They did some tasks they've never done before, working in a garden under a warm sunshine.
They surely did have a great honeymoon.
The author might want us to feel how depress it would be if there wasnt any sunshine anymore
in the world we are living, he wrote out all the bad effects and the cold relationship between
human and human in the future world. The author might want us to really stop and think about it,
did we take everything we have for granted? Like the sun or water? Yes, those are something
constant in nature, but if we didnt even care about it, they might disappear someday. By leaving
a vivid contrast between no sunshine and discover the sunshine again, the readers mood
changed as the first blink of sunlight shined into the house, the sunshine to us became so
valuable and rare to see, it was now something we retrieved after losing it for a long time.

I chose this image because it was dark and cold in front, but there is sun shining at the
edge of the mountains, this atmosphere, pretty like what Tom and Lily where searching
for. Though it is chilly around here, we can see warm far far away from here.
NARRATION
The narration of this story is third-person, and the narrator is telling the story in an pretty
objective way. By describing details of the behaviors and situation, the characters traits were
shown clearly. Because the narrator didnt give any judgments when telling the story, I
considered this as a story with little bias.
It was years since the bombs had been banned, but still the cloud never lifted. Whitish gray,
day after day, sometimes darkening to a weeping slate color or, at the end of an evening, turning
to smoky copper, the sky endlessly, secretively brooded. Depicting the scene before the story
started, not only did it show the condition, but also the dark and cold mood of the story. The lack
of sunshine also made the story with a dim mood, but comparing to the tone, the way that the
narrator was telling the story was like she was just a person out of the story. It made the readers
feel safe and calm while watching the wind blowing and the sky darkening with a scary mood.
But they came to the hills and passed them, and a new range shouldered up ahead and then slid
away behind, and still there was no flicker or patch of sunshine to be seen anywhere in the gray,
winter-ridden landscape. Lily began to get discouraged, so they stopped for a cup of tea at a
drive-in. It is obviously an omniscient third person point of view; she also knows how the
characters feel in their minds. The narrator didnt need to tell by showing every time, instead, she
just wrote their emotion down.
It is a short story with impressive style conveyed by the narrator. She tried to make the mood
depressed at the beginning, and rose it up suddenly at the turning point when the first sunshine
lightened the house. Characters other than Tom and Lily were speaking in fast and no grammar
way, seems like they were from different places, but the enthusiasm made the characters
communicate with each other without strange feelings.
With the two young couple as the main characters, I felt that I am also a nave teenager trying to
find the sunshine with them in the story while reading it. The tone of this story caught me in and
got me involved with the plot, it made me want to carry on reading and find out the ending.
Though it is not necessary to be written in a third person point of view, readers are able to know
about the situation more efficiently of the future time. Since it was an imagined scene that
doesnt exist in todays life, the narrator has to depict the background quickly first and focus
more on the details happening while the story changes and turns and progresses. Because the
readers see the detail through the narrators eye, we are reading objective and without bias.
PERSONAL REACTION
Good that I spent a long time understanding the first page before I carry on reading the
remainder of the story. Knowing the scene and background helped me get involve to the story
more, otherwise I wouldnt understand why there wasnt any more sunshine, why the sky wasnt
blue anymoreand so on, I like the text, it gave a different perspective about the world we are
living in. We often take things for granted, and death is far away to us, lacking of ambitions and
determinations was a common situation for teenagers nowadays. Though sunshine is not like
dreams that we should chase for, we should learn to appreciate.
The author depicted the sunshine like jewelries, like great presents. It made me have an
immediate feeling about the sun not shining anymore, things wouldnt grow, people wouldnt
smile, and life wouldnt have hope. What would the world be like? I suddenly became aware of
all the constant things around us, water, sunshine, green grassesmaybe, I started to think,
maybe those might disappear someday, and we couldnt play basketball and sweat under the sun
anymore, we would have to go beside the small draining pound to get only a little water to drink,
deserts everywhere, no grasses, no green trees with comfortable shades. So I took a grasp on
everything in my life, and I found myself that, when I started to appreciate, mistakes and troubles
in life turned into something that are no longer necessary to worry about. If things are precious,
we would be satisfied.
Though feeling strange and weird talking about something that wasnt real, it was still a great
caution. I think in the story, Tom and Lily will go back to their house and tell their family and
friends about the sunshine, how good and how beautiful it was. People might then work out how
to blow the clouds away with their technology, and let the sun shine again, but it must start from
the love and appreciation of nature first.
PLOT
The story started with the wedding of Tom and Lily, and at the beginning of the story, it was said
that the sunshine was no longer able to be seen so commonly in the world, and it was the first
conflict.
The couple set off to find a place with sunshine for their honeymoon. But things didnt go well,
they were not like what Tom has expected. Tom was looking forward to having a wonderful ride
and finding a good place to live in. After a ride, in the afternoon, their motorcycles engine broke
down, more and more conflicts adding up. So they decided to find a pub and be done for the day.
They came up to Mr. Noakes, a very rude man. He was busying driving Mrs. Hatching and her
blind son home on his bus, and he was out of patient. Later, he came up to the couple and gave
them a leer that was full of false goodwill, he pinched on Lily and had a very evil smile on his
face.
They sat in the terrible pub and talked with Mr. Noakes, Lily unwisely told him that they were
finding the sunshine, Mr. Noakes laughed at them and said that if there was sunshine, he
wouldnt want to open a pub here, there would be many chance to make money with the
sunshine. Very uncomfortable, Lily stood up and asked Tom if they should take Mrs. Hatchings
bag back to her, because she had lost it on the road when she was getting down from the bus. Mr.
Noakes said Mrs. Hatching would just come to find her bag in the morning and he suggest Tom
and Lily to stay. But Tom and Lily said they would probably just go for a walk and get a chance
to look around.
They followed the direction Mr. Noakes had just pointed out, they walked into the woods, and
there was a long way to go. Lilys feet were blistered because she was wearing the wedding
sandals. Struggling, they arrived at Mrs. Hatchings house. Mrs. Hatching welcome them with a
very kind and enthusiastic mood. They sat down and talked to Mr. Hatching, during the
conversation, because Mrs. Hatching said that it was hot, they noticed the sunshine shining down
from the window to the fireplace.
Everything then just seemed so peaceful and warm after theyd discovered the sunshine, it
brought out the climax of the story. They settled in Mrs. Hatchings house for three days and
help her pick the beans in their garden. They enjoyed the blue sky in the night, which they had
missed for a long time.
Going back to the village, they soon picked their scooter up from repairing and quickly left Mr.
Noakes, who were asking them where theyd found the sunshine. At that moment, Tom and Lily
were satisfied, theyd found the sun. Now, they too, would be able to tell their grandchildren,
when beginning a story, Long, long time ago, when they were young, in the days when the sky
was blue
SETTINGS
The time was probably several years from today, it took place somewhere in England, the author
had mentioned several sights of England. Tom and Lily were from a town that doesnt have
sunshine anymore, and they will have to search from the sunshine somewhere out of their town.
The news in the TV kept on reporting about where the sun has just shine for ten minutes and
where the tourists can go for a vocation.
Sunshine became something precious, the sky was no longer blue, and the grass that was green
seems weird for the people in the future. The color yellow of Lilys wedding dress represented
the sun and it was something fortunate.
The story started from Tom and Lilys wedding, they went on for a honeymoon and search for a
place with sun shining there, they rode their scooter for a day and stopped at a pub. Lily was so
depressed and frustrated, things didnt turn out like what she had expected, and neither did Tom.
There wasnt a blink of sunshine, and their scooter engine just broke down. Well find the
sunshine, and well come back as brown asthis grass! Tom said to Lily, trying to make her
feel better about their terrible trip. The road was gray and gritty, the chilly wind made Lilys
knuckles became blue, and every color was so dark and cold.
They went through a path in the wood, because they wanted to give Mrs. Hatchings bag back
to her, which she had left by the bus. Under the lowering sky they walked forward endlessly
among trees that carried only tiny and rudimentary leaves, wizened and poverty-stricken.
The story started to have a warmer and brighter image after they found a slide of sunlight
shining into Mrs. Hatchings house. Then it was true, it was not their imagination, that a great
dusty golden square of sunshine lay on the fireplace wall, where the brass pendulum of the clock
at every swing blinked into sudden brilliance? That the blazing geraniums on the windowsill
housed a drove of murmuring bees? That, through the window, the glean of linen hung in the sun
to whiten suddenly dazzled their eyes?
A sight of the spare room settled any doubts. The great white bed, huge as a prairie, built up
with layer upon solid layer of matress, blanket, and quilt, alomost filled the little shadowy room
in which it stood. Brass rails shone in the green dimness. They didnt stay at Mr. Noakess
terrible pub, they settled in Mrs. Hatchings house with her son. They picked beans in her
garden, and watch the stars shining in the night sky.
When they came back to Mr. Noakess pub, they retrieved their scooter, and theyve got smiles
on their face, shining. Everything then was just all right.

Is the world like this if the sun stops shining?

THEME
Finding the sunshine, this must be the main theme of the story. Lilys father prodded the dour
and withered grass on a grave- although it was August, the leaves were hardly out yet-and said,
Well, Tom, what are you aiming to do now, eh? Going to find a bit of sun and have our
honeymoon in it, said Tom. There was a general laugh from the wedding party.
Hard task was it to find even a bit of sunshine in the country at their time, but because it was
Tom and Lilys lovely honeymoon, Tom wanted to leave some good memories in it.
After a struggle on the way to find the sunshine, they met Mr. Noakes, a rude man. They were
going to stay at his terrible pub, but fortunately they went to Mrs. Hatchings house to give her
bag back to her, and there was where they accidently found the sunshine they were longing for
throughout their trip. Then it was true, it was not their imagination, that a great dusty golden
square of sunshine lay on the fireplace wall, where the brass pendulum of the clock at every
swing blinked into sudden brilliance? That the blazing geraniums on the windowsill housed a
drove of murmuring bees? That, through the window, the gleam of linen hung in the sun to
whiten suddenly dazzled their eyes? This quote showed astonishment and question of
unbelievable thoughts pounding on Toms mind. They had found the sun, and different from
other paragraphs, there are bright and warm colors popping out from here, there are prompt
adjectives describing this one second.
I agree with the theme, because it was what the author and the readers are both searching for.
People are normally looking for something beautiful and something that makes one feel happy
by the end of a story, and finding the sunshine is pretty much like this. With a depressed feeling
at the beginning, to the turning point of finally seeing the sunlight, leading to the highest point of
the story. It is a good idea to put the climax in the center of a storys theme.