In March 1954, Ray Bradbury’s All Summer in A Day was published in The Magazine of

Fantasy & Science Fiction, though, he claimed that he is not a science fiction writer despite of
his science-related, futuristic, and horror stories created – which he deemed it more likely as a
“myth” of human nature. This contemporary literature does not only revolve on the world of
fantasy wherein people live in another planet, but it portrays the tendency of humans to be
discontented, isolated, and naturally linked with the environment.

The image above represents the school children inside the underground school who are
looking outside the rainy planet, Venus, waiting for the sun to comes out that lasts for only two
hours every seven years. The girl farther, named Margot, unlike those children who grew up in
Venus and only encountered the sun when they were two years old, was born on Ohio from Earth
and leaved the planet when she was four years old. Consequently, she was bullied by the
children, mostly William, because she has a vivid memory about the sun in which she explained
as a penny, a fire in the stove, and a flower that blooms for just one hour. She also has a privilege
to go back to Earth – which means that her family, despite how much expense would it cost, is
willing to take her back to Earth as she displays gloominess due to inability to see the sun and
alienation on environment. As Bradbury introduced the setting at the beginning of the story, we
can infer that it is a non-realistic story and events with realistic characters. It might be a futuristic
story, narrating the possibility of the planet Venus to support life and the inability of the planet
Earth to sustain more life due to overpopulation and pollution. The story can serve as a
“cautionary tale” indicating how life in Earth would be at risk when the human population
expands and keeps on abusing the environment. The underground school, the rainy environment,
and their quirky environment enough could evoke the readers’ feeling of discomfort – the reason
why this story traumatizes the readers, especially the younger ones. They might not think of the
rain the same way before reading the story.

When the most awaited day comes, as predicted by the scientists that the sun will shine,
the children waited. As the time passes by, they lost hope and vent their frustration to Margot by
locking her in the underground closet when their teacher was away. The rain got heavier, and
they went back to their classroom when the teacher returned. Then, Bradbury used ‘Deus ex
machina’ as an artistic unity when the children noticed that the rain had finally stopped. They
went outside and devoured the sunlight and their chance to play on the jungle – feeling alive and
mesmerized. After two hours, they noticed that the rain began to pour, and they immediately
went back to the underground school. At this part, the students asked if the fun is over, that the
sun will come out again after seven years, which is such a long period of waiting. The most
anticipated event was over, and it probably made the children feeling empty. They finally knew
how Margot felt as someone who was longing to the sun, and Bradbury used a situational irony
as it was expected that Margot would be able, and would be the first one to see the sun, but it did
not happen because the children forgot that she was locked in.

The story has an indeterminate ending as the last thing that happened was Margot being
unlocked and going outside the underground closet. It was a sad ending because not only
Margot who was repressed on seeing the sun, but the children might feel guilty on their actions
and felt discontented in life as they experienced a brief period of happiness – something that they
can only experience after seven years, and an occurrence that they might be uncertain if it would
be happening or if they can encounter it again. Moreover, All Summer in A Day is a suspense
story due to its intriguing ending. When Bradbury narrated that they let Margot out, it ended, and
her situation was not explained. There is speculation that she might be discovered dead because
she is a frail girl who were emotionally distressed, and Bradbury described her as “an old
photograph” which indicates how unalive she looks – with extreme paleness and passiveness.
The occurrence might trigger her health which might led to death. Another speculation is she
might not just an outsider, but also a ghost that could interact with everyone due to her paleness,
reservedness, and her tendency to isolate herself instead having fun with the children.

Bradbury’s All Summer in A Day is categorized as a commercial fiction due to its

‘scientific’ nature, and it becomes a mainstream fiction as it was read by hundreds of audiences,
and there are adaptations created, including the 1982 short film directed by Ed Kaplan, and the
one created by students in partial fulfillment for their course requirement. The students even
perform a stage play of this story in their classes – this is how impactful it is. The story could
also be considered as a literary fiction because even if it is a science-fiction, the story is not full
of plots, and it revolves mainly on the characters’ behavior and the following themes that
explains human nature. “The weak is maltreated by the stronger”, we can see Margot not only
frail, but is mentally unstable. Due to her discontentment and distress, she does not want to
associate with other people, she might feel unalive due to her longingness. By this reason, the
children, led by William, bullied her, knowing that she is not in a condition to retaliate.
Otherwise, William’s tendency to bully Margot was driven by jealousy because they do not have
a vivid memory about a sun as they only encountered it when they were two years old, they do
not have an idea on what life is with the presence of sun. “People who cannot move on could not
move forward”, like Margot, she is holding her precious past, her life when she was not in
Venus. The anticipation to the experience the same thing prompts her to be stuck on her present
life. All the time, she is preoccupied with the mourning of her past, and she only participates on
their class when they talk about the sun. She might not enjoy and accept her life as a resident of
the planet Venus due to nostalgia, and she might hope that the rain stops, and experience the
same life she had on Earth.
The dystopic story has a conflict of man vs. nature because as humans aim to survive,
they went to an intense measure of risking their life going to another planet for the sake of their
welfare and continuation of civilization. If humans have a balanced relationship with nature, they
will not endure the life of being locked up in a world with endless raining. The planet Earth
might be deteriorating – with extreme climate change and global warming, rising sea level, and
urbanization or rural areas due to overpopulation that increased the severeness of natural
calamities. The story also portrays man vs. man as Margot and the children are not in good term
because she was accused of “not writing” the poetry she made about the sun and locking up
inside the underground closet. However, Margot was also hated because she was a snob and
nonchalant when the children tried to interact with her. When William gave her a shove, she did
not move – the reason why she might be deemed as rude.

Despite the brevity of the story, Bradbury was able to plot a change on the traits of the
characters. Using the combination of direct and indirect characterization through Third Person
Omniscient Point of View, he was able to showcase the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the
character through detailed explanations and provided dialogues of the characters. For instance,
we can infer that when antagonist, which is the children, cried and said, "You're lying, you don't
remember!", shows their inferiority complex due to Margot’s experience about the sun, that they
disregard it due to their jealousy and desire of experiencing the same thing. While the brief and
cold responses of the protagonist, which Margot, including “I did” and “No” shows how fragile
and reserved she is. In the end of the story, the children suddenly became empathetic to Margot
while displaying guilt and shame as Bradbury narrated that “They turned through the doorway to
the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible.” It
implies that they became a dynamic character – from the traits of being a bully to being
apologetic. Moreover, Margot portrays a flat and static character – with single trait of being an
“outcast”, she did not undergo changes in characterization, while their teacher portrays a stock
character – as she disciplined and managed the children throughout the stories, with no major
actions executed.

Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a
time when there wasn't rain and rain and rain.
They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then
pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they
slammed and locked the door.

Upon reading Bradbury’s All Summer in A Day, one might realize how it was not difficult
to comprehend, and his diction might be the reason why. He did not use much of high
vocabularies to evoke a mental image that a reader might imagine. The pace of the story may
seem “past-paced” due to his sentence construction, with repetitions and utilization of commas to
separate ideas instead of a full stop. By these reasons, it sounds intense and even the young
readers might be immersed on the story. Bradbury also used vivid images using certain figurative
languages.

At the beginning of the story, Bradbury uses simile to explain how the child looked
outside their underground room. “The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so
many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.” He describes how they look
together – sticking together while talking and being preoccupied on the sun behind those rain and
clouds.

Margot was explained using the metaphor, “She was an old photograph dusted from an
album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost.” Because of it, we can
infer that Margot might be “looking sicked”, frail, quiet, with less energy, unsociable, and giving
an overall “gloomy” appearance – which portrays a stereotypical outcast in every stories.
Bradbury also used the imagery, “They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her
thinness, and her possible future” which does not only describe her privilege, but also her
appearance without the sunlight – which she grew unhealthy, without redness on her light-
complexioned skin.

Using hyperbole, the readers have a mental picture of how Venus looks like with “A
thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed
again.” It portrays the planet’s landscape – with numbers of forests that have never been dried
and grows on an endless and continuous rain. Because of the weather, Bradbury also used
onomatopoeia, “A boom of thunder” or a sudden loud lightning that frightens the children.
Despite the characters being located on a peculiar land, he made the story relatable, not merely
because of the human nature presented, but also through verisimilitude such as “They were
taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms.” It resembles the reality – that
human, after being exposed on the sun, will experience skin burn, especially without the use of
sunblock.

Bradbury used “sun” as a symbolism that represents the connection and dependence of
human toward nature. For instance, Margot grew up being unhealthy due to lack of exposure of
sunlight, which deprived her of Vitamin D, especially that she came from the planet Earth and
her body was not totally fond of endless rainy weather. When the children were exposed on the
sun, they became energetic, they ran on the forest, and they play together. Afterward, it seems
that they had a change of behavior as they realize the impact of their action that could make them
a better person, which implies that sun is a symbol of growth and positivity. Otherwise, the
“rain” symbolizes the opposite of the sun, representing sadness and wickedness of human. Due
to continuous raining, Margot was distressed and isolates herself and it provoked the children to
bully her. Lastly, the title All Summer in A Day briefly summarizes the story – implying that the
summer only occurs briefly within the day, for only two hours, for every seven years, and a hope
that the people of planet Venus hold for the rest of their life.