Discuss Woolf's decision to use the passage of a single day as a metaphor for the varied lives of all six characters in the novel.

The metaphor is an apt one, especially in the way that Woolf employs it. As the sun rises and the natural landscape comes to life, the children wake up and begin their lives. As the sun gets higher, the light gets sharper and defines the objects its touches, just as the characters themselves begin to appear more refined and identifiable. As the sun passes midday, we see that some things do not fare well in the high-heat of midday, and we see that some of the characters struggle, particularly in the wake of Percival's death. As night arrives, the earth cools, and the waves become the dominant image, signaling the humbling and settling of all the characters.