Rain, Rain, Go Away

“Rain, Rain, Go Away” contains enough foreshadowing that a careful read might predict its ending. Rather than making the story fall flat, however, the instances of foreshadowing help build suspense and tension about whether one’s predictions are correct and how they might be confirmed. The Sakkaros’ own name suggests they’re made of sugar, a reference that might have been more obvious to readers at the time of the story’s initial and later publications, as diet drinks became popular in the 1950s and consumption of artificial sweeteners skyrocketed by 150% in the 1970s.

Beginning with the title and Mrs. Wright’s first observations about the new neighbors, an antipathy toward rain is implicit in the family’s reactions. They run for cover any time they see the smallest cloud. This fear of liquids is also evident in Mrs. Sakkaro’s interactions with Mrs. Wright: Mrs. Sakkaro “held the glass underneath the tap and poured slowly so that not one drop fell in the sink itself. [...] And when she gave me the glass she held it with a clean napkin” (130): “I offered her an orange drink and the way she jumped when she said no, you’d think I’d thrown it in her face” (132).