Character Sketch of Teacher in All Summer in a Day
Her Playing Insignificant Role
In the story, the teacher who is an unnamed character does not have any significant role. She performs the role of teacher but does not seem to be aware of a teacher’s duties and responsibilities. She is not efficient to maintain discipline in the class. She is not so much strict towards her students as she should be. It is right to say that the teacher should be liberal and friendly towards his or her students, but it is absolutely wrong not to intervene in any chaotic situation among the student.
The Inaccessible Authority
The teacher is neither named nor described by Bradbury, making her more of a token outside authority than a true part of the children’s world. She performs the teacher’s duties, reprimanding William for being cruel to Margot, but only in a limited capacity. This is why William crosses all the limits of a tyrannical attitude and succeeds in ruling over the minds of the other children. He begins to fill his own thoughts in their minds. He creates a chaotic situation among the students against Margot.
The teacher does not see or understand what is happening with the children. The children than might be seen as governing themselves despite the seeming presence of authority. There is an instance of children’s disobeying their teacher. When the sun appears, the teacher warns them not to spend more than two hours outside. But the children do not pay any heed to her warning and cross the time limit during their play. Even, while sending the children out, she forgets to count them and cannot come to know that Margot, one of the students is missing.
Her Being Flat and Static
The teacher is not really an antagonist or a protagonist. She is a flat character because we do not know about her at all. She is also static because she does not show any change in the story. She remains the same from beginning to end. She neither becomes more harsh nor lenient.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers