Long+Rain


 * __The Long Rain __**

__Summary __ A group of at least six men crash-landed on the planet Venus, only to find it soaked in a never-ending rain. Two of the men died on impact, but the Lieutenant, Simmons, Pickard, and a few other men remain to sort out the situation. Their bodies and clothes have been bleached white with the rain, and fungus is growing over them. They decide to search for small settlements called Sun Domes, in which a giant sun, warm food, fresh clothes, and a place to stay can be found. The men have gone for weeks with the constant rain pounding on their heads, giving them headaches and driving them insane. So, they take their compass and cross a river in hope of finding one of those buildings. However, once they cross the river they realize that they've been walking in a circle. The Lieutenant believes that an electrical storm has messed up the magnetic field of the compass and that they should wait for it to pass. Soon after, a giant electric blue monster comes out of the jungle and strikes down trees, hits the rocket with lightning, and begins to drive the men even more crazy. One becomes so crazy that he gets up and is killed by the monster. After it passes, they continue walking and eventually stumble upon a Sun Dome. They are so excited that they race to the door, only to find the sun missing and holes poked in the ceiling. Losing hope, they believe that the Venusians, a native people living in the Single Sea, have sabotaged all of the domes. Pickard goes crazy and stands out in the rain, drinking the rain into his lungs and slowly drowning. Simmons shoots him, trying to end the misery and making sure Pickard didn't drag down the group. Simmons also notices that he can no longer feel his body, and his ears have gone out, leaving him deaf. He tells the Lieutenant to go on, and once Simmons can no longer see him, he shoots himself as well. The Lieutenant is now the last one left, feeling completely helpess, but he pushes on and eventually finds the next Sun Dome. This one, however, is not completely destroyed like the last. Here he finds hot chocolate, warm sandwiches, a thick Turkish towel, a change of clothes, heat rays, music, books, a soft cot, and of course, the bright sun.

__**Discussion Questions **__ 1)Why do you think the lieutenant kept moving towards the Dome, unlike the rest of the men? 2) ﻿How would you feel if it rained every single moment of the day all year round? 3)Why do you think that the lieutenant was the only one able to reach the Dome?



__**Setting**__: The setting of __Long Rain__ takes place on the planet Venus where it constantly rains. __**Protagonist**__: The protagonist is the Lieutenant because he attempts to lead his men to the Sun Dome. He doesn't give up and gives the men good direction even though he's the only one that made it to the Sun Dome. __**Antagonist**__: The antagonist of the story is the rain. It makes two of the men go insane and they end up dying. It also creates the monster. **__Forms of technology__**: The forms of technology in this short story are the Sun Dome, the rocketship, and the compass the men use. **__Main conflict and theme__**: The theme of Long Rain is that if you persist and don't give up, you will reach what you are trying to get to. If you persist through obstacles, instead of letting them make you go insane and die like the men did in the story, you will reach your goal. The main conflicts in the story are man vs. self: man vs. the will to go on/ persistance/ courage. The other main conflict is man vs. nature: man vs. rain/ venus. The men had to make it through the constant rain, which made two of them go insane. The rain ended at least three of the mens' lives. They also had to make it through the ruined Sun Domes, which were ruined by the venecians. All the events that happened after they reached the ruined Sun Dome demonstatred how they started to fall apart and give up hope. The men had to persevere the hindrances of Venus, and in the end the Lieutenant was the only one that made it to the Sun Dome.

__ Internet Links __ [|Venus] [|22 Reasons to Never Give Up] [|Life on Venus]

By Gabriela Vogeley, Michelle Abramovich, Amanda Besselman, and Maura Wandling