All Summer in a Day Story Summary in English and Hindi Pdf. All Summer in a Day is written by Ray Douglas Bradbury.
All Summer in a Day Story Summary in English by Ray Douglas Bradbury
All Summer in a Day About the Author
Ray Douglas Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. He spent his childhood amidst idyllic surroundings which find reflection in his several semi-autobiographical novels and short stories.
Bradbury’s family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1934. As a teenager, he participated in his school’s drama club and occasionally befriended Hollywood celebrities. His first official pay as a writer came for contributing a joke to George Burns’ Burns & Allen Show. After graduation from high school in 1938, Bradbury couldn’t afford to go to college, so he went to the local library instead.
He published his first short story in a fan magazine in 1938, the same year he graduated from high school. The next year, he published four issues of his own fan magazine, Futuria Fantasia. Nearly every piece in the magazine was written by Bradbury himself; he used a variety of pseudonyms to try to hide the fact that the magazine was a virtual one-man show.
All Summer in a Day About the Story
All about the Story :
The story is set on the planet Venus. It gives clear detail of the day when the planet experiences sunshine. The scene is set in a school where the teachers and children await the appearance of the sun. With the appearance of the sun the behaviour of the children undergoes a change. They feel more lively and sympathetic.
The story ”All Summer in a Day” deals with a group of school children who live on the planet Venus with their families. The children are nine years old and they are eagerly waiting for a momentous occasion. It has been continuously raining for seven years and now the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will appear for a brief period of time.
The children have only seen the sun once in their lives when they were two years old, but now they don’t remember how it looks or feels. To prepare for the day, they have read about the sun. This is true of all children but one named Margot. All the children resent her for various reasons. Margot is a thin, pale girl. She had lived in Ohio until she was five. She has many memories of the sun. Margot does not take part in any classroom activity that doesn’t include the sun. In fact, she has been in a depressed state for most of the time on Venus. She looks out of the window, waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other children become upset about her and hide her in a closet while their teacher is gone. Margot resists but they overpower her and lock her in a faraway closet.
After some moments, the rain stops and the sun appears. All the children run, play and enjoy the light of the sun. After some time, the rain clouds appear. The sun retreats and the rain begins to fall. A girl remembers that Margot is locked in the closet. The girls then walk towards the closet where they left Margot. They unlock the door and Margot slowly comes out.
The writer wants to convey that the power of the sun over the children living on Venus is notable. They are pale and colourless. The lack of the sun has washed away their compassion and consideration and empathy for other people. They do not regain this until the sun reappears. The sun is life-giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.
All Summer in a Day Summary in English
Life without the sun
The story “All Summer in a Day” deals with a group of school children who live on the planet Venus with their families. The children are nine years old and they are eagerly waiting for a momentous occasion. It has been continuously raining for seven years and now the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will appear for a brief period of time. The children have seen the sun once in their lives, but then they were two years old and they don’t remember how it looks or feels. To prepare for the day, they have read about the sun and completed classroom activities.
They have also written a poem about the sun. All the children have done this except one named Margot. She is a thin, pale girl whom the other children resent for various reasons. She had lived in Ohio until she was five. She still has many memories of the sun, and the sun continues to fascinate her. Margot does not like to participate in any classroom activity that does not include the sun. In fact, she has been in a depressed state on Venus. It was heard that her parents were planning to take her away from the underground colony on Venus and send her back on Earth.
Margot locked in a closet
Margot looks out of the window, waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other children begin to dislike her and taunt her. One of the boys jokes with her, “It was all a joke, wasn’t it ? Nothing’s happening today.” Suddenly the children decide to hide Margot in a closet while their teacher is gone. Margot resists but is overpowered and locked in a faraway closet.
The sun appears briefly
The teacher returns and they all go to the tunnel’s exit, as she thinks, everyone is present and accounted for from her class. Then, moments later, the rain stops and the sun appears. All the children leave the tunnel and run around and enjoy the sun. It is unlike any thing they could imagine. They are extremely happy and say, “It’s better than the sun lamps, isn’t it ?” as they run around the jungles of Venus. The teacher tells them, “Now don’t go too far, you’ve only two hours, you know. You wouldn’t want to get caught out!” But they were running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron. They were taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms.
Change in the children’s attitude towards Margot
After playing and enjoying the weather, one of the girls cries out because she is carrying a big, fat raindrop in her hand. She says, “oh, look, look”. They come slowly to look at her opened palm. They stand for a moment, thinking about how wonderful the sun feels on their skin. While they do this, the rain clouds move in. They turn and start to walk back towards the underground house. Their smiles vanish. A boom of thunder startles them and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumble upon each other and run. Lightning strikes ten miles away, five miles away, a mile, a half mile.
The sky darkens into midnight in a flash. They stand in the doorway of the underground doorway for a moment until it is raining hard. Then they close the door and hear the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons. They ask their teacher, “Will it be seven more years ?” Then one of them gives a little cry “Margot!” “What ?” “She is still in the closet where we locked her”. They stand as if someone has driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They look at each other and then look away. They glance out at the world that is raining now and raining and raining steadily.
They cannot meet each other’s glances. Their faces are solemn and pale. They look at their hands and feet, their faces down. “Margot”, one of the girls says, “Well – ?” No one moves. “Go on”, whisper the girls. They walk slowly down the hall in the sound of the cold rain. They turn through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walk over to the closet door slowly and stand by it. Behind the door is only silence. They unlock the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.
All Summer in a Day Word Notes and Explanations
weeds – wild plants
peering – looking closely
concussion – a temporary loss of consciousness
spokes – thin bars of metal
drenched – soaked
savagely – brutally
predict – forecast
surged – moved quickly
avalanche – a mass of snow that falls
tornado – a violent storm
muffling – making a soundless clear
yelling – shouting loudly
tumultuously – loudly
resilient – able to feel better quickly
squinted – looked at
savored – relished
wailed – moaned
vanishing – disappearing
hurricane – a violent storm
gigantic – huge
glanced – looked
solemn – serious
whispered – spoke quietly
terrible – very unpleasant
closet – a small room
All Summer in a Day Theme
The story “All Summer in a Day” depicts the significance of the sun for the children who are living with their families on Venus. Before the appearance of the sun, the children are passive both physically and mentally. They have become pale and colourless. The lack of the light of the sun has dried their compassion and consideration for others. They do not gain their humanity until they spend some time in the light of the sun. The sun is life-giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.
The writer illustrates this theme by depicting the life of a group of school children on the planet Venus. The children are nine years old and living with their families. After seven years of continuous rain, the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will come out for a brief period of time. The children have seen the sun once in their lives, but they were two years old then and they don’t remember how it looks or feels. So they are eagerly waiting to see the sun. This is true of all children but one named Margot. She had lived in Ohio until she was five. She has many memories of the sun. So without the sun she has been in a depressed state. She looks out of the window waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other children resent her and lock her in a closet while their teacher is gone. Margot resists but is overpowered and is locked in a faraway closet.
After some moments, the rain stops and the sun appears. All the children run, play and enjoy the light of the sun. After some time, the rain clouds appear. The sun retreats and the rain begins to fall. A girl remembers Margot who is locked in the closet. Then all the children walk towards the closet, unlock the door and let Margot come out. Their attitude towards Margot changes after they have spent some time in the light of the sun.
All Summer in a Day Title
The title of the story ‘All Summer in a Day’ is very apt as the story depicts the life of a group of school children who live on the planet Venus with their families. It has been raining on the planet Venus for the last seven years. The scientists on the planet have predicted that the sun will come out for a brief period of time. When the sun appears, all the children exit the tunnels and begin to run around and enjoy the sun. They exult and say “It’s better than the sun lamps, isn’t it?” as they run around the jungles of Venus.
They run and turn their faces upto the sky and feel the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron. They take off their jackets and let the sun burn their arms. They lie out, run among the trees, slip and fall, push each other and play hide and seek and tag. They look out at everything and savour everything. They realize how wonderful the sun is ! For the children it was ‘all summer in a day’.
All Summer in a Day Message
In this story “All Summer in a Day” Ray Bradbury wants to convey that the appearance of the sun for the children living with their families on Venus is very significant. Before the appearance of the sun the children are pale and colourless. They are passive both physically and mentally. The lack of the light of the sun has dried their compassion and consideration for others. They do not gain their humanity until they spend some time in the light of the sun. The sun is life-giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.
The author conveys this message by depicting the life of a group of school children on the planet Venus. The children are nine years old and living with their families. After seven years of continuous rain, the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will come out for a brief period of time. The children have seen the sun once in their lives, but they were two years old then. So they don’t remember how it looks or feels. They are eagerly waiting to see the sun. This is true of all children but one named Margot. She had lived in Ohio until she was five.
She has many memories of the sun. So without the sun, she has been in a depressed state. She looks out of the window waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other children resent her and lock her in a faraway closet. After some moments, the rain stops and the sun appears. All the children run, play and enjoy the light of the sun. After sometime, the rain clouds appear. The sun retreats and the rain begins to fall. A girl remembers Margot who is locked in the closet. Then all the children walk towards the closet, unlock the door and let Margot come out. Their attitude towards Margot changes after they have spent some time in the light of the sun.
Thus the writer wants to convey that the children regain their compassion and consideration for others after spending sometime in the light of the sun. Thus the sun is life-giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.
All Summer in a Day Character Sketch
MARGOT
- a group of children live at Venus
- raining for seven years
- scientists predict that sun will appear
- children eagerly wait for the occasion
- all children excited but Margot
- Margot, a thin, pale girl
- depressed without sun
- other children resent her for various reasons and lock her in a closet
- Margot had lived in Ohio until she was five
- has memories of the sun
- without sunlight, she feels depressed
- Margot refuses to participate in classroom activity
- the sun appears, all children undergo a change
- the children unlock Margot
A group of school children live on the planet Venus with their families. They are nine years old. After seven years of continuous rain, the scientists have predicted that the sun will come out for a brief period of time. They are eagerly waiting for the occasion. They are all excited but for one girl named Margot. She is a thin, pale girl. The other children resent her for various reasons. She had lived in Ohio until she was five. She still has many memories of the sun and the sun continues to fascinate her. Margot refuses to participate in any classroom activity that doesn’t include the sun. Thus she remains in a depressed state for most of the time on Venus. It is heard that her parents are thinking to take her away from the underground colony on Venus.and send her back to her home on Earth.
Margot looks out of the window, waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other children become upset with her and begin to push and taunt her. Since the other children dislike her, they forcibly hide Margot in a closet while their teacher is gone. She resists and fights back but the other children overpower her and lock her in a faraway closet. She remains in the closet for some time. When the other children spend some time in the light of the sun, their attitude towards Margot undergoes a change. Then all the children walk towards the closet, unlock the door and let Margot come out.
All Summer in a Day Critical Appreciation
Pictorial Quality
The writer possesses an artistic skill to create vivid pictures before our eyes with the help of an illustrative language and appropriate vocabulary.
He has created a beautiful picture of Venus before our eyes. Venus “was the colour of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the colour of the stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the colour of the moon”. Similarly, the writer creates a brilliant picture of the sun : “The sun came out. It was the colour of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was blazing blue tile colour”.
Third Person Narrative
The writer, narrates in the third person the life of a group of school children who live on planet Venus with their families. After seven years of continuous rain, the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will come out for a brief period of time. The narrator describes the effect of rain on the jungle on Venus “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…”.
Language
The writer uses short as well as long sentences to describe the life of a group of school children who live on the planet Venus with their families. The words used in the story are simple and familiar. But the style is neither simple nor lucid. The long sentences are not easily intelligible. For example, the following long sentence “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 off 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 beautiful tropical slide which did not move or tremor” is hardly intelligible. This is a difficult and complex sentence. Students find it difficult to comprehend the meaning easily.
