The short story, “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury tells the story of children who live on Venus. On Venus it rains and they rarely see the sun, except for one hour every seven years. One girl within the class, Margot, moved from Earth and remembers the sun. Since she remembers the sun and it is what she always is thinking about, her classmates shun her. She wrote a poem about the sun, describing the sun in detail, which the other students did not believe but were angered over. Before the sun comes out, the other students lock her in the closet; jealous of her superior knowledge of the sun. By the time they remember her in the closet, the rain has already started once again and Margot missed the sun. Margot’s superior knowledge of the sun makes her different than the kids on Venus who never knew the sun.


Margot is an individual who does not conform to her society’s ways. She remembers the sun, and will openly discuss it, even though others despise her for it. She will not change her opinion because others do not agree with her. Since she is an individual and different, Margot is very lonely. No one can relate to her and she is on the “outside looking in.” Bradbury was in a way reflecting how children act today towards one another by discriminating those who act different. The students discriminate Margot due to her knowledge of the sun and her hatred of the rain, which was depicted when she refused to shower due to the water. Discrimination due to individuality is something seen in today’s society from school to extra-curricular activities. People feel if someone is not like them then they should be shunned until they change their opinion. Sometimes students, even Margot, are bullied due to their experience.

In the short story, Bradbury describes Margot as being pale and frail. One can infer Margot is this way because she no longer has the sun and the constant rain has made her pale and feel weak, as she does not have the nutrients from the sun or the immune system like the children on Venus who have adapted without the sun. Her appearance makes her appear weak and she does not fight back when a boy named William pushes her, but lets him do so to her. Due to her appearance, it may be another leading factor to why the students bully her, which again relates to today’s society. In schools across the country, kids are bullied for not wearing the “right” brands or looking fragile and weak. Bradbury made Margot experience the same bullying, showing the resemblance to today’s society and even past events in history such as the Holocaust, where Jews were persecuted because they did not have blonde hair and blue eyes to be the “perfect” race. The emphasis of the story is that individuality, due to knowledge or opinions, comes with discrimination or even bullying such as seen in historic events, today’s society, and even in Bradbury’s futuristic Venus’s society in his short story “All Summer in a Day.” This short story was very moving and should be on everybody's to-read list.