"All Summer in a Day" is a 1954 sci-fi short story by Ray Bradbury.
The story is on Venus with some kids in a classroom, talking about the weather. See, on Venus, it mostly rains but, every 7 years, the sun comes out but that's only for an hour.
One of the kids, Margot, moved from Earth to Venus some time ago and remembers the sun because the weather on Earth isn't rainy all the time. The other kids, who were born on Venus, are jealous of Margo and pick on her. When it's time to go out and play, the other kids, led by William, lock Margot in a closet.
In 1982, a 30-minute live action adaptation was created and broadcasted PBS. One notable difference to this version is that the sun only comes out once every 9 years instead of 7 like in the original short story.
"All Summer in a Day" contains examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: The Teacher isn't a real big help when Margot's classmates pick on her, other than calling out William for what he said about Margot's poem.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the live-action adaptation, but it leans more towards bitter. William attempts to give Margot the flowers he picked during their hour outside but is rebuffed by Margot, which demonstrates that she does not forgive her classmate. She then walks outside and stands in the rain, crying as she looks up at the sky over how she missed the sun. Her classmates then surround her with their flowers, which she relents and then accepts from them. In the end, Margot accepts William's flowers as well, but from her cold stare it is obvious that she won't forgive him for a long while, if at all.
- Cassandra Truth: Margot knows what sunshine is like and composes a poem about it but the other kids don't believe her.
- Creepy Child: They don't really act creepy but they definitely look like it as, in one passage, the kids are so pale that they look gray.
- Death World: Besides nonstop rain, there's tidal waves and the jungle (which isn't green like Earth's) that keeps dying off and regrowing. You'd have to wonder why people decided to colonize Venus at all.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Margot's struggles on Venus could be metaphor for immigrant struggles.
- Downer Ending: The one who really needed the sunshine the most, Margot, was locked in a closet and missed out on the first sunshine in seven years.
- First Snow: Well, it's not snow and it's not winter either but the idea is there, as the kids get to experience the sunshine for the first time.
- Gray Rain of Depression: The weather already makes Venus sounds like a depressing place to be and it really becomes this after the kids experience the sun for the first time since because that was the happiest they've ever been.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: The weather on Venus is usually so violent that, when it's quiet, the kids start to get a little suspicious.
- Jerkass: All the kids are mean to Margot but William stands out the most. His Establishing Character Moment has him shoving Margot and going out of his way to pick on her.
- Kids Are Cruel: The kids are so jealous of Margot seeing the sunshine that they, at William's encouragement, lock her in a closet.
- In the live action adaptation, William tricks Margot into going into the closet by throwing her sunkit into it and locking her inside, all while her classmates do nothing to help or hinder. When Margot's friend later asks where she is, all of the class turns on William and lets him take the fall for everything.
- Jerkass Realization: After experiencing the sun and finding out that Margot was telling the truth about how nice sunshine is, they're so embarrassed by how they treated her that they can't look at her after letting her out of the closet.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Margot is implied to come from a wealthier family, as her family can afford to move back to Earth (and are considering it), and, as we already know, she's not a favorite with her classmates.
- No Name Given: Only Margot and William are named, no one else is.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: A minor one, but it is implied that Margot's parents were thinking about moving back to Earth. Given what happens to their daughter, Margot might be able to go back to Earth and see the sun every day.
- Rule of Symbolism: The choice to set the story on Venus may have been influenced by the fact that the planet's mythic namesake is the Goddess of Love—a fitting choice for a story about the pain of being denied love and compassion.
- Shrinking Violet: Margot, being the new kid, is really shy. During the class activity about the sun, she comes out a little more but it doesn't last long because William just picks on her.
