Monday, September 27, 2010

What is the moral of the story in Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day"?

Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day" focuses on the cruelty of a bunch of schoolchildren who have moved to Venus and are excited about the clouds clearing for about an hour, which will allow most of them to see the sun for the second time in their lives. However, Margot, one of the students, was born on Earth and has seen the sun before. When she tells them what it is like, they become jealous and lock her in a closet so that she misses the sun.


However, Margot's knowledge of the sun is not the only reason the schoolchildren dislike her. She is different. She moved to Venus, while most of the other children were born there. There might have been something a little mentally wrong with Margot as well because, at one point in the story, "she had refused to shower in the school shower rooms, had clutched her hands to her ears and over her head, screaming the water mustn’t touch her head." Finally, it was possible that Margot's parents would be taking the girl back to Earth in the next year.


So, when the children shove her in the closet and leave her there, albeit accidentally, when the sun comes out, they are demonstrating one of the most universal of all human traits: fear of the other. That's what Margot is: an "other." She's not like the children who were born on Venus and she's a little bit sickly. While it's easy to say that this story is about children and that children can be cruel, this fear of those who are different is a universal human trait in all civilizations. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

How does the choice of details set the tone of the sermon?

Edwards is remembered for his choice of details, particularly in this classic sermon. His goal was not to tell people about his beliefs; he ...