How does the setting of the story (including the weather) serve as a major plot element?

Bradbury uses a variety of metaphors to depict an image of life on Venus, an idea that is foreign to us yet familiar through Bradbury's language. Not only does his language bring us a clear image of Venus, but it also creates the tangible feeling of discovering the pleasures of the sun. Venus "was the color of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the color of stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the color of the moon" (4.) The reader is instantly able to picture Bradbury's Venus landscape with his illustrative language.

The power of the sun over the children living on Venus is notable. They are pale and colorless, not just physically but also emotionally. The lack of the sun has not only washed away the color on their skin but also their compassion and empathy for other people. They do not gain this until they've spent time under the sun's rays. The sun is life giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.