Structured Questions Answers from All Summer in a Day by Ray Douglas Bradbury
QUESTION AND ANSWERS from All Summer in a Day
Read the extract and answer the following questions:
1. 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 civilization and live out their lives. "It's stopping, it's stopping!" "Yes, yes!"
1. Why were the children so excited?
Answer
The children had been living on the planet Venus where the sun shone once in seven years and it was the day when the sun was about to shine. Thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water with sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands.
2. What was the impact of the rain?
Answer
The impact of the rain was very severe under which thousand forests had been crushed and many more grown thousand times to be crushed again. This was the way of life on the planet Venus forever. Also, heavy concussion of storms led the tidal waves to come over the islands. The continuous downpour changed the air of the atmosphere that made everybody look dull and pale
3. Why didn't the children remember the sun?
Answer
The children had been living on the planet where the sun shone only once in seven years and that day the rain was stopping. These children did not remember a day when there wasn't rain. They were all nine years old but there had been a day, seven years ago when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the shocking world, but they could not remember this as at that time they were only two years old.
4. What did the children dream about the sun?
Answer
The children had almost lost the remembrance of the sun. Sometimes at night, they dreamt and remembered gold or yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. They thought they remembered blushing in the face, and warmness in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands.
5. How was their dream shattered?
Answer
The children dreamt about the sun but their dream came to an end and they awoke to the sound of the drum. The endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces in the form of rain upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests and their dreams were shattered. The day before, they had read about the sun in the class. Its appearance was like lemon and it was hot. They had even written small stories, essays or poems also about it. It was like a flower that bloomed for just one hour.
2. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows. And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio.
1. What was the impact of rain on Margot?
Answer
Margot was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes, the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She had an appearance of an old photograph dusted from an album and her voice was like a ghost.
2. How did children tease Margot?
Answer
When she used to stare at the rain, William targeted her saying "What are you looking at?" and when she replied nothing, he asked her to speak forcibly. He gave her a rough push. The children isolated her from the group and did not look at her.
3. Why did the children do so?
Answer
The children teased her just because she did not play any games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. If they tagged her and ran away, she would not follow and stood there blinking after them. She hardly accompanied them when the class sang songs about happiness and life and games. She only sang when the children sing about the sun and the summer.
4. What was her biggest crime?
Answer
The children did not mix up with Margot as she was a bit different from them. Her biggest crime was that she had come on their planet only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was only four in Ohio. And those children had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out. They had long since forgotten the colour and heat of it but Margot remembered everything
5. What is meant by "the loud wet world beyond the huge glass"?
Answer
The story is a Science fiction which is about the life on planet Venus where it had been raining constantly for the past seven years and the children who were born on that planet were only two years old when they had last seen the sunshine. They were confined in the thick glass windows from which they could hear the loud noise of rain and it was so wet outside that there were rubber and ash colored jungle of weeds, flowers and huge trees that covered the planet.
3. There was tall that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family. And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future.
1. What did Margot tell about the sun to the children and what was their reaction?
Answer
Once she had told the children that it was like a penny with her eyes closed as if she was telling or remembering some wonderful thing or event. But children refused to accept it. Then she said that it was like a fire in the stove and that also was not accepted by the children and they told her that she was lying. But she remembered very well and stood quietly apart from all of them.
2. What did Margot refuse to do in the schoolroom? Why?
OR
How did Margot realize that she was different from other children on the planet?Answer
Once she had also refused to take shower in the school shower rooms and clutched her hands to her ears and over her head screaming. She had fond memories of sun and it appeared that she was totally distressed by the relentless rains, she wanted to go back. Since then she realized that she was different from other children and kept away.
3. Which rumour was spread among children in connection with Margot?
Answer
There was a rumour on the planet that she would be taken back to earth by her parents the following year and it was important also for her. Although it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family but that was true. And that's why the children hated her for all these reasons. They hated her pale snow face, her silence, her thinness and her possible future.
4. How did the children make fun of Margot?
Answer
The boy pushed her by saying "getaway". For the first time, she turned and looked at him. The boy shouted savagely not to wait around here and told her that she won't be able to say anything as nothing was going to happen that day. The other children blinked at him and then they understood his taunt and laughed and shook their heads. Margot was helpless still she told them that it was predicted by the scientists. But the boy said that it was a joke and seized her roughly.
5. What was the reason behind the children's indifferent attitude towards Margot?
Answer
The children were jealous and cruel towards Margot. It was due to the natural tendency of human beings that when one is devoid of something that other gets, he or she feels indifference. The same thing happened to them. Since Margot had recently shifted to the planet Venus and she had all the memories of Earth, the children felt jealous of her. They could not accept the fact that Margot had the experience of living under the sun that was why they confronted and bullied her.
4. The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them resilient and alive. They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces; they put their hands up to that yellowness and that amazing blueness and they breathed of the fresh, fresh air and listened and listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion.
1. In what way children showed their anger towards Margot?
OR
Which idea did they conceive in mind for Margot?Answer
Because Margot knew and remembered much about the sun than the other children, they were jealous of her. They thought of shutting her up in a closet. They caught her up forcibly and while she protested and pleaded and cried, they showed no sign of sympathy. They pushed her into a room, a closet and slammed and locked her. They stood outside looking at the door trembling from her beating and throwing herself against it. They could hear her muffled cries.
2. What caused silence on the planet?
Answer
No sooner did the children come back to tunnel after locking Margot, the rain had stopped and their teacher asked them to be ready for viewing the sun. The whole crowd gathered near the door. It seemed as if in the midst of a film concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus cutting off all noise of the blasts and repercussions and thunders. The world ground to a standstill.
3. How did the sun look like to them when it appeared after seven years?
Answer
The sun was the colour of flaming bronze and it was very large. The sky around it was a blazing blue sky colour. The jungle seemed to be burned with sunlight and the children rushed out shrieking into the springtime as if released from their long cast spell. Although it was a common sight for a common man but to them, it was like a blessing that only showered for a while after a span of a long period.
4. The ecstatic joy felt by the children is very well depicted in the story. Describe.
Answer
The joy on the faces of the children on seeing the yellow sun is indescribable. When the sun came out all of them rushed out yelling into the springtime. Even after teacher's instruction and warning, they started running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron. They took off their jackets so that the sun could burn their arms. They found it better than sun lamps.
5. How did Venus look like?
Answer
Venus was covered by a huge jungle which never stopped growing as there was excessive rain always. It was just like octopi, clustering up great arms of flesh like a weed, wavering, flowering in that brief spring when the sun appeared. Its colour was the colour of rubber and ash as it was without sun for many years. It was the colour of stones and white cheeses and ink; it was the colour of the moon. There were no vibrant colours due to the absence of the sun.
5. They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily. They could not meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down. "Margot." One of the girls said, "Well... ?
1. Who told the children about the sun's retreat?
OR
Why did the girl wail?Answer
In the midst of their running, children didn't realize that the sun was retreating. Suddenly a girl wailed and everyone stopped. She was standing in the open and as soon as she held her hand out she asked everyone to look at it. There was a single raindrop which meant that it was the time for the sun to retreat. The girl began to cry because the long-awaited moment came to an end very soon. Few cold drops fell on their noses and cheeks and their mouths. A cold wind began to blow and the sky darkened.
2. How did the weather change after the sun vanished?
Answer
After the sun retreated, it faded behind the mist and few cold drops fell on the children's noses and cheeks and their mouths. A cold wind blew around them. The sky darkened into midnight in a flash. A boom of thunder startled the children and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumbled upon each other and ran.
3. What were the feelings of the children when it rained?
OR
"Will it be seven more years"? Explain. Who asked this question?Answer
The children were standing in the doorway of the underground for a moment until it was raining hard. Their happiness, excitement, merriment and laughter all came to an end soon. Lightning struck ten miles away, five miles away, a mile and a half-mile. They closed the door and again heard the same common gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches everywhere and forever which meant that again for seven more years they had to wait to catch a beautiful yellow glimpse of the sun. This question was asked by one of the students.
4. How did the children feel about Margot when the sun was gone?
OR
Why couldn't children meet each other's glances?Answer
When the sun had gone and it started raining again, one of the children reminded of Margot to others. They remembered that she was still in the closet in which they had captured her. They stood as if someone had driven them. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced at the world that was raining and couldn't meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They felt ashamed of their action and realized how much Margot sacrificed when she moved from earth to Venus.
5. Where had the Margot been captured? Who did it? Finally, how did she come out of that place?
Answer
Margot had been hidden in the closet in a room into the tunnel. She had been captured by the children of the Venus planet. The children, who criticized Margot, now began to understand her situation of what she had been feeling since her arrival on Venus. They did not understand the depression under which she was living on Venus. It was not until they spend time in the sun and then they realized their mistake and walked back slowly down the hall to the closet where they had captured Margot and opened it slowly and let the Margot out.
Compound Questions and Answers
1. (a) Bring out the anxiety of children before the great event. What are they waiting for?
Answer
The children had been living on the planet Venus where the sun shone once in seven years and it was the day when the sun was about to shine. Thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water with sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they looked as though tidal waves had come over the islands. The previous day, they all had studied about the sun and wrote about it, about how like a lemon it was and how hot. They had written small stories or essays or poems about it. They imagined it to be a flower that blooms for just one hour.
A group of school children was crowding around a window of their classroom and waiting anxiously for the heavy downpour to slacken and the sun to rise.
(b) Describe the life in Venus.
Answer
The story is a Science fiction about the life on planet Venus where it had been raining constantly for the past seven years and the children who were born on that planet were only two years old when they had last seen the sunshine. They were confined in the thick glass windows from which they could hear the loud noise of the rain and it was so wet outside that there was rubber and ash coloured jungle of weeds, flowers and huge trees that covered the planet.
(c) What happened when the sun rose?
Answer
When the sun rose, the children came out shouting and laughing on the jungle mattresses. The joy on the faces of the children on seeing the yellow sun was indescribable. Even after the teacher's instructions and warning, they started running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron. They took off their jackets so that the sun could burn their arms. They found it better than sun lamps. The children living on planet Venus were so happy to welcome the sun as if a child feels when he or she gets a new toy. They turned their faces up to the sky again and again to feel the warmth of the sun. They ran among the trees and for the slipped and fell, pushed each other and played hide and seek. It seemed as if they got the life in real sense. They put their hands up to the yellowness of the sun and tried to feel it on their faces. They breathed the fresh air and listened to the silence which took them to the soundless and motionless sea.
2. (a) How does the story 'All Summer in a Day' starts with the darker side of human nature and ends on a note of hope?
Answer
That humans are a complex lot, with varied emotions is conveyed through the story, "All in a Summer Day'. Margot is different from the rest of them as she has come from the earth and has seen the splendour of Sun. They tease her, treat her like a stranger; especially William, even calling her a liar for saying that she wrote a poem on Sun. They shove her, leave her alone, would not even look at her because she will not play games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. She is made to feel different. They want to take revenge, so they lock her up in a dark tunnel and forget all about her till the sun appears and disappears. However, after rejoicing in the sun, the malice seems to wash away. They feel remorse and shame and slowly lets her out. We can feel there will be a better understanding among the children in future and Margot will be accepted as one of them.
(b) How does the writer contrast the scene of rain and darkness and the scene of Sun and brightness in the story?
Answer
The story begins with the eagerness and excitement of the children to see the Sun that appears in the sky once in seven years. It had been raining all those seven years, thousands of days, from one end to the other compounded with rain the drum and gush of water, crystal fall of showers, concussion of storms and the tidal waves towering over them. The author says that a thousand forests had been crushed under the rain, sprouted again, only to be crushed again by the rain. In contrast, when the Sun came out, it was the colour of flaming bronze against a blazing blue sky. The forests came to lie, unfurling their tendrils and the children laughed, shouted in joy and fell on the grass and ran among the trees. It was as though a new life was flowing through their veins. The two hours of joy acted as a miracle in their hearts, wiping away all malice and bringing a new understanding towards their fellow student Margot whom they had hitherto considered as a stranger and a liar.
(c) Explore the feelings of Margot as portrayed by the writer.
Answer
Margot, a nine-year-old girl feels like a stranger amidst the other children of her class. She is kept away by the others as they fell she is not like them. The main difference is that she has come from the earth where she had experienced the splendour of the sun, its warmth and brightness. She does not feel at ease with the cold climate and the incessant rain in Venus. She does not want to run and play with others in the corridors of the school, does not like to take a bath in the cold waters. Nobody believes her she has seen the Sun which comes only in seven years on the planet. When she writes poetic lines on the sun, others call her liar. So we see a little girl, who is shoved about, shunned by the children of her age, completely alone, sad and even locked up in a dark tunnel by the insensitive ones.