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All Summer In A Day Short Story

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Comparative Essay: “Examination Day” vs. “All Summer in a Day” There are multiple differences and similarities between the short stories “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar and “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury. “Examination Day” is about a 12-year-old boy named Dickie who takes a government intelligence test and unfortunately exceeds the standard score so he must die. “All Summer in a Day” is about a dejected girl named Margot that gets bullied by others just because they are jealous of what she has: memories of what the sun looked and felt like. Both stories convey strong messages and take place in very alike settings. However, the authors use drastically different craft moves to tell their tales and teach their lessons which lie within the stories. The theme of “Examination Day” is to never to be a follower, or in other words, to be a leader, rather than a follower because followers may never be brave enough to stand up for what he/she thinks is right and may never make a change in the world. We can see this theme appearing when Slesar writes, “Your son, Richard M Jordan, classification 600-115, has completed the Government examination. We regret to inform you that his intelligence quotient is above the Government regulation, according to Rule 84 Section 5 of the new code”(3). This scene not only shows how incredibly unjust the government’s rules are, but also reveals that nobody has been brave enough to take a stand and change them. In other words, they decided to

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