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What are the rising and falling actions in the short story "All Summer in a Day"?
Quick answer:
In the short story "All Summer in a Day," the rising action starts when it's revealed that the rain will stop and the sun will shine for the first time in seven years. The tension escalates as Margot, the only student who remembers seeing the sun, is bullied and locked in a closet, missing the brief appearance of the sun. This marks the climax. The falling action begins when the children remember that they've locked Margot in the closet, preventing her from experiencing the brief sunshine. They somberly release her, ending the story.
The rising action of a story is the series of plot events that lead to a climax. In the rising action of a story, tension builds, characters are developed, and the setting is explored. By necessity, the majority of the language in most stories consist of rising action.
In Ray Bradbury's short story "All Summer in a Day," the rising action begins in the opening lines when the reader learns that, for the first time in seven years, the rain will stop and the sun will shine. There is a sense of urgency and tension in the story from the very beginning, as the children peer from the window, shouting,
"It’s stopping, it’s stopping!"
The climax of the story is, inevitably, the brief appearance of the sun in a rain-soaked world. Margot, the nine-year-old protagonist of the story, is unique because she is the only student in her class who remembers seeing the sun. The tension builds as she is bullied and locked in a closet, only to be forgotten as the sun briefly shines through the rain-clouds.
The falling action of a story is any plot details included after the climax. In most short stories, the falling action is particularity short. In "All Summer in a Day," the falling action begins when the children remember they have locked Margot in the closet, preventing her from experiencing the brief respite in the rain.
"Margot!"
"What?"
"She’s still in the closet where we locked her."
The few sentences that follow this realization describe the somber group of children releasing the silent Margot from her captivity in the locked closet.
I hope this helps!
What is the falling action in "All Summer in a Day"?
The falling action in the story happens right after the climax. After the students lock Margot in the closet for her statements about the sun, they actually experience the sunlight. Their teacher takes them outside and they frolic in its radiance. When they have to come back inside after the sun leaves, the falling action is the dawning of reality upon them all as to Margot. In their excitement and zeal or through their deliberate manipulation, Margot was left in the closet and, in the process, the students recognize what had happened and they unlock it. Margot's experience of the sunlight was denied as the cruelty of the majority is exposed for all to see.
Ray Bradbury's short story, "All Summer in a Day," has been a long-time staple in American middle and high school classrooms since shortly after it was published in 1954. Bradbury tells the story of a group of school children living on Venus, where it rains constantly. In fact, the Venutian atmosphere only clears for two hours every seven years, and it is this time that the story focuses. The school children are excited to witness sunshine for the first time, but before the big moment arises, some of the children lock their classmate, Margot, in a closet. They are jealous of Margot, because she is the newest arrival from Earth, and she can remember the sun. When the teacher returns and directs the students to have fun outside until the rains return, they forget to release Margot from the closet, and she misses the two hours of sunshine. The falling action occurs when the sun disappears and the rains resume; upon returning to the classroom, the children discover that Margot has been forgotten, and they sadly release her. The children are ashamed of their act, since all that Margot had told them about the sun's brilliance proved to be true.
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