All Summer in a Day Comprehension Questions

How do the children feel about Margot during the rising action of this story?

• They are concerned for her.

• They are curious about her.

• They are suspicious of her.

• They are jealous and dislike her.

How does the line, "She was an old photograph dusted from an album" represent the author's use of figurative language?

• The author uses this line to show he has taken a photo of Margot.

• The author uses this line to reveal to the reader that Margot is very, very old.

• The author uses this metaphor to appeal to our sense of sight to help us imagine Margot's pale appearance.

How does the constant rain on Venus affect the children in the story?

• The constant rain has made the children sensitive to sunlight.

• Venus has changed the way humans think and the children have lost their imaginations.

• The constant rain has put the children in a bad mood and made them sleepy.

• The constant rain has made the children doubtful that the sun will even appear.

How does the figurative language in this sentence impact the meaning?

"But then they always awoke to the tattering drum."

• Bradbury appeals to the reader’s sense of smell to emphasize the scent of morning rain.

• Bradbury appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing to emphasize the endless sound of rain.

• Bradbury appeals to the reader’s sense of sight to emphasize the gathering of drummers.

• Bradbury appeals to the reader’s sense of touch to emphasize the children’s amazement.

Identify the figurative language used by the author in this sentence.

“A boom of thunder startled them, and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumbled upon each other and ran.”

• metaphor

• personification

• simile

How do the children feel at the end of the story?

• The children are unsure if Margot will believe that they saw the sun.

• The children are afraid that Margot will never speak to them again.

• The children are glad that Margot did not see the sun.

• The children are ashamed of locking Margot in a closet.

A theme of this story is that children are . . .

• kind to those who need help.

• happy when they are playing with their friends.

• cruel to people who are different.

• unwilling to admit a mistake.

How did the children's perspective change from the beginning of the story to the end?

• The children love the rain and thunder. They do not remember the sun, but they are afraid of it. They lock Margot in the closet to protect her. When it appears, they run around like animals trying to avoid it. At the end, they feel proud of keeping Margot safe from the dangers of the sun.

• The children are too young to remember the sun, so they do not know what to expect. They are jealous of Margot, so they lock her in the closet to keep her from seeing the sun. At the end, they are happy and celebrate that Margot missed seeing the sun.

• The children cannot remember the sun like Margot, so they have difficulty relating to her. They have doubts that the sun will appear, but when it does, they realize how wonderful it is to feel its warmth and to play outside. They realize how cruel they had been to lock Margot in a closet causing her to miss seeing the sun.

What does the following excerpt reveal about the kids' perspective?

Everyone stopped. The girl, standing in the open, held out her hand. "Oh, look, look," she said, trembling. They came slowly to look at her opened palm. In the center of it, cupped and huge, was a single raindrop. She began to cry, looking at it. They glanced quietly at the sun. "Oh. Oh."

A few cold drops fell on their noses and their cheeks and their mouths. The sun faded behind a stir of mist. A wind blew cold around them. They turned and started to walk back toward the underground house, their hands at their sides, their smiles vanishing away.

• The kids do not enjoy the rain, but they understand that it is important.

• The kids are ready to return to the underground house.

• The kids realize that the rain is less enjoyable than the sun.

• The kids are afraid of the dangerous weather that is approaching.

How does the phrase "They looked at everything and savored everything" contribute to the narrator's tone? The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them resilient and alive. They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces; they put their hands up to that yellowness and that amazing blueness and they breathed of the fresh, fresh air and listened and listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion. They looked at everything and savored everything. Then, wildly, like animals escaped from their caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles. They ran for an hour and did not stop running.

• It creates an intense tone because the children are focused on remembering the moment instead of enjoying it.

• It creates an urgent tone because the children are rushing since they know the rain will soon return.

• It creates a light-hearted tone because the children do not believe the sun is really shining.

• It creates a celebratory tone because the children feel freed by the appearance of the sun.