Symbolism in The Long Rain

A detailed Summary of Symbolism in The Long Rain

I think that the setting in the short story "The Long Rain" is a parallel to reality. This short story is set on the planet of Venus, where the rain never stops. The scene is pale and bleak. There are dark clouds rumbling across the sky. Everything is colored in a shade of gray, except for the bright blue lightning.

The story begins with a group of men, led by a lieutenant, who are trying to find their way to a sundome. Sundomes are buildings build with a source of light and heat resembling a sun. These are the only dry, safe, and warm places on the rainy planet. I think that the sundomes in the story represent the goal that everyone is trying to achieve. This could be happiness, heaven, or just a moment of peace. Throughout the entire story this is what the men are trying to get to.

Soon the lieutenant's compass is thrown off by a huge e

In the story the rain keeps people awake for weeks and the monotony of the rain and the lack of sleep slowly drives them mad. The men would sometimes try to make hats from the local vegetation, but as is with all plants on Venus the leaves always rotted within seconds. I think the rain symbolizes the hassles that everyone goes through each day which, every once in awhile, catches up to us in the form of workload or stress. Sometimes in life we make efforts to stop these things, but like quickly rotting leaves our plans soon unravel.

I do not think the author intended to make this a parallel to life on Earth, but I do think that all good stories need the references to life to let the reader identify with the protagonist.

As the men get closer to the sun dome they lose more and more men to the madness. Soon there is no one left but the lieutenant, and he has even had to leave

Some common words found in the essay are:
Parallelism Rain, story rain, short story, blue lightning,

Approximate Word count = 599
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

Symbolism in The Long Rain

Related Essays

Professional Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials