All Summer in a Day
In All Summer in a Day, Ray Bradbury shows a possible future in which humans by any reason (overpopulation, technology advances) will be forced to go out of Earth to start a civilization on other planets and coexist with other people that might not be as polite as they wish they were. The title of this story is doing reference to a place in which the sun never came out, and when it did, it made the place look so sunny that it was as if summer was there that day.
Throughout the story, I could extract some important elements that the story contains in order to be considered Science Fiction. One of the most fundamental element is the outer space setting. "It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush from water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the island. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up a civilization and live out their lives". This extended quote tells that the story is being told in Venus, which is the second planet of the solar system. One of the characteristics of the genre of Science Fiction is that it may have a setting on the outer space. In this case, the story develops and happens in Venus, which only rain and storms happened every single day. What Ray Bradbury doesn't leave behind, is that even though the story is happening on other planet, he gives comparison and somehow flashbacks of the Earth with the main character, Margot. Since she comes from there, she interrupts in parts of the story to say that on Earth the sun does come out very often and that she have seen it a lot.
The other main element that I chose is the Scientists predictions. Maybe, the author thought it possible that in a future, scientists would be able to predict exactly what could happen on other planets that are civilized. "Ready? Ready? Now? Soon. Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it? Look, look; see for yourself!. The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun". Margot is the only one from the rest of the children who has seen the sun the most due to her past on planet Earth. By the other way, on Venus it had been raining for seven years long and the scientists had predict that the sun was going to come out that day. This prediction needed to be very certain because it is showing how humans rely on them for many things to come. In this case, the children are trusting somehow the scientists because they are really anxious to see the sun, they really want the sun to come out because they haven't seen it in seven years or never in their lives except for Margot. Eventually that day, the scientists were right because the sun did come out.
The story also contains some particular narrative techniques that make it interesting and engaging. One of them are the similes that Ray Bradbury uses for comparing the sun. "The sun is like a penny", she said once, eyes closed. "No it's not!", the children cried. "It's like a fire," she said, "in the stove." "You are lying, you don't remember!" cried the children. The children of venus haven't seen the sun for seven years, so they are speculating on how it looks like because they might not remember how it actually looks. Margot is the only one who has seen it more often so she claims to know exactly how the sun looks. This creates an arguing between the whole classroom because they don't believe Margot and they all think differently about the sun. They don't want to accept the fact that Margot could be right about how she describes the sun because besides loving it, she has seen it the most.
The other narrative technique that makes the story super detailed is the description of every situation. The author does a great job on using many imagery words for the reader to go beyond the text to imagine what is actually happening. "The rain stopped. It was as if, in the midst of a film, concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had, first, gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus muffling and finally cutting up all noise, all of the blasts and repercussions and thunders, and then, second, ripped the film from the projector and inserted in its place a peaceful tropical slide which did not move or tremor. The world ground to a standstill. The silence was so immense and unbelievable that you felt your ears had been stuffed or you had lost your hearing altogether. The children put their hands to their ears. They stood apart. The door slid back and the smell of the silent, waiting world came in to them. The sun came out. It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling into the springtime". The deep description of this situation makes us wonder because the author gives a very important role to the sun inside the story. It tells us about the emotions and anxiety the kids were feeling for that moment to come. Besides, it gives many adjectives for the reader to imagine in many different ways what is happening. In my own perspective, I see this huge explanation as a moment in which only rain happened making a lot of sounds and noises, but then finally, in seven years it stopped and everything on Venus was silent and calm and the setting bright with the sunshine. The children by the other hand, are very happy and the start yelling and playing outside which I think they don't do much often because every day is always raining. They were really waiting for the sun to come out for years based on how they acted when that "dream" came true.
In conclusion, Ray Bradbury shows with All Summer in a Day how humans in a future will live on other planets. Due to the great imagery and similes he uses, we can see how much the kids missed the sun and how happy they were to see it again. It also makes us all reflect on our present and be thankful for how much we get to see the sun, because maybe in a future people will not still live on Earth and they might have less possibilities or chances to see the sun pretty often. By the other way, Bradbury not only shows a possible future and technology advances in his story, but also humanity evolution when he includes the bullying from the other kids towards Margot. He is trying to tell us that it doesn't matter where humans are in a future or how they look like, our moral actions won't change. Humans will still feel how they normally feel about many things. For example, in this case the children living on Venus feel envious about Margot and this made them do things that are not kind, like locking her in a closet and taking away her chance of seeing the sun. This is what makes the story sad, because I think that no one deserves to be treated badly just because you are different. We might evolve in a future, but some particular characteristics inside ourselves will evolve with us making us meaner every time.
In All Summer in a Day, Ray Bradbury shows a possible future in which humans by any reason (overpopulation, technology advances) will be forced to go out of Earth to start a civilization on other planets and coexist with other people that might not be as polite as they wish they were. The title of this story is doing reference to a place in which the sun never came out, and when it did, it made the place look so sunny that it was as if summer was there that day.
Throughout the story, I could extract some important elements that the story contains in order to be considered Science Fiction. One of the most fundamental element is the outer space setting. "It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush from water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the island. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up a civilization and live out their lives". This extended quote tells that the story is being told in Venus, which is the second planet of the solar system. One of the characteristics of the genre of Science Fiction is that it may have a setting on the outer space. In this case, the story develops and happens in Venus, which only rain and storms happened every single day. What Ray Bradbury doesn't leave behind, is that even though the story is happening on other planet, he gives comparison and somehow flashbacks of the Earth with the main character, Margot. Since she comes from there, she interrupts in parts of the story to say that on Earth the sun does come out very often and that she have seen it a lot.
The other main element that I chose is the Scientists predictions. Maybe, the author thought it possible that in a future, scientists would be able to predict exactly what could happen on other planets that are civilized. "Ready? Ready? Now? Soon. Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it? Look, look; see for yourself!. The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun". Margot is the only one from the rest of the children who has seen the sun the most due to her past on planet Earth. By the other way, on Venus it had been raining for seven years long and the scientists had predict that the sun was going to come out that day. This prediction needed to be very certain because it is showing how humans rely on them for many things to come. In this case, the children are trusting somehow the scientists because they are really anxious to see the sun, they really want the sun to come out because they haven't seen it in seven years or never in their lives except for Margot. Eventually that day, the scientists were right because the sun did come out.
The story also contains some particular narrative techniques that make it interesting and engaging. One of them are the similes that Ray Bradbury uses for comparing the sun. "The sun is like a penny", she said once, eyes closed. "No it's not!", the children cried. "It's like a fire," she said, "in the stove." "You are lying, you don't remember!" cried the children. The children of venus haven't seen the sun for seven years, so they are speculating on how it looks like because they might not remember how it actually looks. Margot is the only one who has seen it more often so she claims to know exactly how the sun looks. This creates an arguing between the whole classroom because they don't believe Margot and they all think differently about the sun. They don't want to accept the fact that Margot could be right about how she describes the sun because besides loving it, she has seen it the most.
The other narrative technique that makes the story super detailed is the description of every situation. The author does a great job on using many imagery words for the reader to go beyond the text to imagine what is actually happening. "The rain stopped. It was as if, in the midst of a film, concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had, first, gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus muffling and finally cutting up all noise, all of the blasts and repercussions and thunders, and then, second, ripped the film from the projector and inserted in its place a peaceful tropical slide which did not move or tremor. The world ground to a standstill. The silence was so immense and unbelievable that you felt your ears had been stuffed or you had lost your hearing altogether. The children put their hands to their ears. They stood apart. The door slid back and the smell of the silent, waiting world came in to them. The sun came out. It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling into the springtime". The deep description of this situation makes us wonder because the author gives a very important role to the sun inside the story. It tells us about the emotions and anxiety the kids were feeling for that moment to come. Besides, it gives many adjectives for the reader to imagine in many different ways what is happening. In my own perspective, I see this huge explanation as a moment in which only rain happened making a lot of sounds and noises, but then finally, in seven years it stopped and everything on Venus was silent and calm and the setting bright with the sunshine. The children by the other hand, are very happy and the start yelling and playing outside which I think they don't do much often because every day is always raining. They were really waiting for the sun to come out for years based on how they acted when that "dream" came true.
In conclusion, Ray Bradbury shows with All Summer in a Day how humans in a future will live on other planets. Due to the great imagery and similes he uses, we can see how much the kids missed the sun and how happy they were to see it again. It also makes us all reflect on our present and be thankful for how much we get to see the sun, because maybe in a future people will not still live on Earth and they might have less possibilities or chances to see the sun pretty often. By the other way, Bradbury not only shows a possible future and technology advances in his story, but also humanity evolution when he includes the bullying from the other kids towards Margot. He is trying to tell us that it doesn't matter where humans are in a future or how they look like, our moral actions won't change. Humans will still feel how they normally feel about many things. For example, in this case the children living on Venus feel envious about Margot and this made them do things that are not kind, like locking her in a closet and taking away her chance of seeing the sun. This is what makes the story sad, because I think that no one deserves to be treated badly just because you are different. We might evolve in a future, but some particular characteristics inside ourselves will evolve with us making us meaner every time.