Margot Character Analysis in All Summer in a Day

We face hardships in life due to the influence of people around us, as well as from the pain we create for ourselves. In Ray Bradbury’s short story, “All Summer in a Day” a young girl is haunted by her memories of a world that no longer exists. This internal conflict is then carried over to the way her classmates treat her. The central idea of injustice is developed through the use of conflict. Margot’s internal pain about her changed environment is revealed,  “And once, a month ago, she had refused to shower in the school shower rooms, had clutched her hands to her ears and over her head, screaming the water mustn’t touch her head.” The water inside is as destructive to her as the constant water that falls from the Venus skies. This demonstrates that her nerves and emotional well-being are shattered by living in this new environment. Margot tries to demonstrate her awareness  about the beauty of the sun by sharing a poem she composed for her classmates, “I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.” While this poem reflects her experience on Earth, it further divides her from the other children. They are angry and jealous that they have not been able to live in a world of sunshine and so they shun her. This external conflict explodes when the children decide to lock her in the closet. “They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door.” The image of Margot’s pain is revealed graphically. Bradbury allows the reader to feel the pushing and hear Margot’s cries of despair. The children’s jealousy consumes them, turning them into monsters, and Margot’s pain goes ignored even by her teacher. The teacher’s lack of control over her class, and her own desire to see the sun creates another conflict for Margot. The teacher, an authority figure, cries out "Are we all here?"  right before she gathers the children to watch for the sun as the rain subsides. The teacher should be there to protect her, yet becomes another antagonist in her life. When the sun has set, and the rains returned, the children realize that Margot has remained locked out of sight. “They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it.” The children now too were conflicted. Bradbury highlights their “walking slowly” which indicates a sense of remorse. The”lightning on their faces” symbolically demonstrates their realization that their actions had serious consequences. Finally, as the children approach the door they now hear,”only silence”. This represents the silence of the children who were bystanders allowing Margot to be bullied. Their deafening silence  mirrors how Margot was treated, because her cries for help went unheard. 

Ray Bradbury explores many layers of conflict in “All Summer in a Day” exposing how our own internal conflicts when layered with the negativity of the outside world leads to injustice. Margot suffers from the injustice of her moving, the abuse of her peers, and by the lack of concern for her overall well-being.