All Summer in a Day
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| "All Summer in a Day" | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Published in | The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction |
| Media type | Magazine |
| Publication date | 1954 |
"All Summer in a Day" is a short story by science fiction author Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in the March 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot Summary
The story is about a class of school children on Venus. The thick atmosphere of Venus still exists at this time, and it is constantly raining. The sun is only visible for two hours every seven years on the planet.
Margot is a little girl who moved to Venus from Earth just five years before the story takes place, so she is the only one in her class to remember sunshine. She is an outcast because of her sensitivity and the fact that it is rumored that she may return to Earth next year.
The kids are jealous of Margot because she remembers the sun from her time on Earth. They were only two years old when it was last visible from Venus and do not remember it. She almost has a nervous breakdown because she got so sick of living with the relentless rain. For example, once when she was supposed to take a shower at school in the locker room, she refused to get wet. "She clutched her hands over her head and screamed that the water must not touch her head."
Margot writes a poem about the sun:
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- "I think the sun is a flower,
- That blooms for just one hour."
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She also describes it as "a penny," or "like a fire in the stove." The other children do not believe that she wrote the poem. The students bully her because she is from earth. While the teacher is out of the room, a boy convinces the other children to lock Margot in the closet.
The teacher takes the other children outside to enjoy the one hour of sunshine. In their astonishment and joy, they all forget about Margot. They run and play, skip jump and prance about, savoring every second of their newly found freedom.
All at once, a girl starts to cry because she feels a raindrop in her hand. She sadly realizes the rain is returning. The thunder sounds, and the children run back inside. Suddenly, one of the children remembers Margot, still locked in the closet. They stand frozen realizing what they have done. The children walk slowly towards the closet and let Margot out. The precious sun has come and gone, leaving Margot still pale in gloom and darkness.
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Television Episode
A 30 minute adaptation was originally broadcast on the PBS children's series "Wonderworks" in 1982. It was directed by Ed Kaplan from a screenplay by S. Murdock Donaldson [2]. In the adaptation, Margot has one friend and is never emotionally distraught. The ending is expanded to show the children atoning for their horrible act by giving Margot flowers that they picked while the sun was out.
[edit] Pop Culture
In the episode, "Wooldoor Sockbat's Giggle Wiggle Funny Tickle Non-Traditional Progressive Multicultural Roundtable!" of Drawn Together (Season 3, Episode 2) Ling Ling and Foxy Brown lock Toots in the closet with a weiner-mobile parks outside of the house. In the the joy and merriment of enjoying free weiners, they forget that Toots is locked away.
[edit] External links
- All Summer in a Day at BestScienceFictionStories.com - A review of the story with resources for finding it.
- [1] - The story in a printable Word document.
