тот самый анализ, который я-таки родил под утро =___"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. The story has been collected in many anthologies.
The story is taken place in an unusual environment – people try to set up civilization on the planet Venus. The local peculiarity of living is that all time it rains and rains without stopping and the sun comes out only once in seven years and only for an hour. The story begins with the description of excited children in the class. They are nine year old and when the sun appears for the last time they were too small to remember. Now they are eagerly awaiting to see it today. There is also a girl in the class – Margot. Before Venus she has lived for four years on the Earth, she remembers the sun clearly, which is very unusual for other children. She is different from them, it irritates them and that’s why they don’t like her. When the teacher leaves for a few minutes they decide to play a cruel joke with Margot – they locked her into the cupboard so that she couldn’t see the sun.
Author draws two completely appositive images: the image of a person, lonely in her distinction and the image of the crowd, foolish and cruel. In the beginning author characterize the crowd: «like so many roses, so many weeds» and compares them with feverish wheel. It seems that Margot raised above the crowd. It is stressed more than once that Margot always «stood apart from them», never took part in their games. Perhaps even her name is not accidental. Margot is the name of the queen, which symbolizes her distinction from others – she has a privilege to remember what the sun is – unlike other children. However at the same time her appearance makes us take pity on her. She is a «frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain». Author compares her with «an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away». She almost had a nervous breakdown because she got so sick of living with the permanent unfinished rain - 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."
In the story Bradbury combines both imaginary and realistic elements.
The environment is unrealistic and of course people can’t live on Venus. However, the situation in the class is quite realistic and familiar to many people. At the same time unusual environment gives author possibility to express his ideas more expressive. The state of nature reflects the state of people’s souls. Gloomy cheerless rain all the time and it seems that it will never end. No wonder that people’s mind is “sleeping”. But despite everything in nature – as well as in children’s souls lives hope. We can see it in the description of the forest: «A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again..». Happiness is transient but perhaps this hour of excitement and gladness took in their mind as much place as 7 years of rain. After an hour of sun and happiness when they remember about Margot and realize their deed, the description weather outside again reflects their mood: «They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible». They are ashamed for what they had done and this will leave a hard aftertaste in their souls.
In the story we can see a definite external conflict: the collision of two different worlds. The conflict caused by misunderstanding and jealousy. The theme of the story is people’s cruelty. Their action rouse in us hate to children’s action. But at the same time this story includes some philosophical items. Their cruel deed was caused by ignorance, they were not conscious what exactly they were doing. But when they learn the happiness, when they understand the feelings she also has, they “forgive” her distinction from others. Probably the sun here is something biblical, the embodiment of kindness, forgiveness, love. As sun shines and give out warmth to everyone. Perhaps the term of waiting for the sun is not accidental - number seven is very symbolical.
The story is a bright example of Bradbury’s creative work. He doesn’t imposes his attitude to the situation, doesn’t suggest us the moral of the story. He just gives us opportunity to judge ourselves, to make our own conclusions.