One theme in this short story 'Examination Day' is that intelligence is not always valued in society.

In the story the government has a strong grip over the town and does not want anyone to question them. Intelligent people questioned, and so they were eradicated through giving them an examination to test for their intelligence. The unusual thing about this examination is that success was seen as negative. The government in this

story 'Examination Day' was an example of how intelligence is devalued in society. This is evident by a comment made I the text, ' "Why did it have to rain today?" he said, "Why couldn't it rain tomorrow?" His father, now slumped into an armchair with the Government newspaper, rattled the sheets in vexation. "Because it just did, that's all. Rain makes the grass grow." Dickies father was apparently annoyed at his son's intelligent question and gave him a vague incorrect answer. This implies that parents are in this society are conditioned by the government to suppress children's questioning, which is a direct example of the devaluation of intelligence.

A second theme in 'Examination Day' is the control the government has over the individual. Many int

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Approximate Word count = 508
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)