Skip to main content

As the story begins, where are the children and what are they doing?

Ray Bradbury's story is set on the planet Venus on a very special day--the one day in every seven years that the rain stops and the sun comes out. The children featured in the story are nine-year-old schoolchildren--children of the "rocket men and women" who have come to build a civilization on Venus. Although most of the settlement the people have built on Venus consists of underground tunnels, the complex the school is in has...

Ray Bradbury's story is set on the planet Venus on a very special day--the one day in every seven years that the rain stops and the sun comes out. The children featured in the story are nine-year-old schoolchildren--children of the "rocket men and women" who have come to build a civilization on Venus. Although most of the settlement the people have built on Venus consists of underground tunnels, the complex the school is in has windows. One can imagine a hallway that slants upwards as it mounts to an observation room with "great thick windows." In this viewing area the children press together to look out on the outer environment that has produced rain for as long as they can remember. This area is described as the children's schoolroom. Whether other areas of the complex have windows or whether there are other schoolrooms like this one, the story does not say. 


On this day the children are all crowded around the window watching the weather. The weather is rainy as it always is, yet the children are pushing and shoving among each other to get close to the window. This is because they are anticipating a change in the weather that will occur this day--a change none of them can remember seeing. The last time the sun came out on Venus, these children were only two years old. Only Margot remembers seeing the sun before, and only Margot does not crowd in to look out the window. That's because Margot came to Venus five years ago and still remembers the sunny Earth, which sets her apart from the other students and makes her a target of their teasing and bullying. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can you analyze the poem "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon?

Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and... Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and the v...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more