Douglas Spaulding, the story’s protagonist, is 12. He’s at the tipping point between childhood and adolescence; his thoughts are in transition, and his feelings are vulnerable to the intensity of new experiences. Early in the story, Douglas has an epiphany and realizes that he is alive, really alive, and he means to enjoy every detail of life’s adventures. Some of them are wondrous, while others are painful, awkward, or sad. With each new experience, Douglas talks over the implications with his brother, Tom, and together, the two boys come to many varied conclusions about the nature of life; some of them are wise, while others are hopelessly naive. As he experiences several significant losses, Douglas struggles to reconcile these experiences, and his growing sadness results in a literal fever fueled by disillusionment and self-doubt: a physical and spiritual illness that almost kills him. When he recovers, he finds himself older, wiser, and more in love with his world.

Douglas gets his first name from the author’s middle name; his last name, Spaulding, is derived from the middle name of Bradbury’s own father. Douglas’s summer turns into a search for a larger meaning among the good and bad things of life, and the summer of 1928 thus becomes his quest to appreciate life’s wonders without succumbing to the heartbreak of its losses.