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And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.

This quote from the story’s opening paragraphs, even in its brevity, provides quite a bit of exposition. First, it describes the setting (a schoolroom on the planet Venus) and introduces the major characters or subjects (the students). It also explains how, if not why, all this came to be: that a group of humans traveled through space to come to Venus and establish a settlement. Finally, this quote reveals that the genre of the story is science fiction.

There was talk that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family. And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future.

This quote contributes to the plot’s rising action, establishing conflict between the characters and revealing complications. On the one hand, Margot is despised by her classmates for her weakness, and the revelation of their hatred coupled with her frailty hints that Margot may be taken advantage of. On the other hand, the children are jealous of Margot because she is special and may get to go back to Earth. This quote also sets the stakes for Margot. Though the financial loss for her family would be considerable, Margot believes that returning to Earth is the only way she will be able to continue living.

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. They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it. They heard her muffled cries. Then, smiling, they turned and went out and back down the tunnel, just as the teacher arrived.

This is the inciting event of the story, when the children assault Margot and lock her up in the closet just before the sun is about to appear. Their cruelty is almost unbearable in the face of Margot’s struggles and her deep love for and need of the sun. This event colors the rest of the story, as wherever the plot goes from here, the children will have to eventually face the consequences of their cruelty. Here Margot’s fate also hangs in the balance as her ability to survive much longer without sunlight is questionable.

The sun came out. 

It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling into the springtime.

The sun’s appearance after seven long years of rain is the climax of the story, and this momentous event has been hinted at and longed for from the beginning. The children have been anticipating it for as long as they can remember, and they have spent countless amounts of time trying to conjure memories of the sun and how it looks and feels. This excerpt, which describes the sun’s brilliance in colorful and powerful language, shows that the arrival of the actual sun will become a defining moment in the lives of the children who are experiencing it.

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. 

Behind the closet door was only silence. 

They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.

This quote, which serves as the story’s resolution, is thick with tension. As they approach the door, the children seem to fully appreciate the cruelty of what they have done to Margot. After the epiphany of the sun, they now recognize their behavior as monstrous and savage. This final excerpt shows how terrified they are of themselves and how scared and ashamed they are to face the consequences of their actions. The silence behind the door is anxiety-provoking as the children and readers all wait to learn of Margot’s fate. Though her true destiny isn’t spelled out, the absence of Margot’s steps back through the doorway—or any action on her part at all—after the children slowly open it suggest her ultimate demise.

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