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What is the resolution to Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day"?

The resolution of a story comes right after the climax. After the climax when the outcome of the conflict is revealed, the resolution usually shows how the characters move forward or react afterward. For Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day," the conflict is person vs. society as one little girl is bullied by her classmates because she has seen the sun before and they haven't. At first, the conflict revolves around Margot and William. Margot believes the sun will shine that day as the scientists predict; however, William dispenses negativity and doubt in the classroom. All of the children want to see the sunshine because they have never experienced it—or at least they don't remember it. Margot probably wants to see it shine more because she misses it. 


When the kids shove Margot into a closet before the sun shines, the reader wonders if she will escape in time to enjoy the rays of the sun. Maybe someone will remember Margot in the closet and free her in time to play in the sun. Unfortunately, the climax of the story comes when the clouds cover up the sun again, and a little girl remembers her and screams, "Margot!" It is at this point that everyone knows Margot's fate and that she won't be able to see the sun that day or for another seven years. The resolution, then, is when the class goes back into the building to free Margot from the closet after the sun goes away. The text seems to suggest that the kids know they have done something wrong to Margot because it says the following: 



They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of the cold rain. . . They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it. Behind the closed door was only silence. They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.



The fact that the children proceed very slowly when freeing Margot suggests that they know what they did is wrong. They are not happy, joyful, skipping, or shouting because of a fun day in the sun. The moment is diminished because of their hateful actions toward a classmate. Therefore, the resolution is that Margot is freed, but she doesn't get to enjoy the sun; sadly, the children recognize that they did something they can never take back, change, or rectify.

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