The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury, also known as The World the Children Made, is one of my favorite short stories of all time. It has stood the test of time and is still, to this day, a relevant piece of literature that comments on human attachment to technology and the importance of fulfillment in life. No short story has made me rethink my daily routine and purpose and life more than The Veldt. The story follows a regular nuclear family and the parents' realization about how technology within the house was affecting the kids and making them 'insufferable'. The story surrounds a room called the 'nursery' that is a place where one's imagination can be let go and is reflected within the virtual room. This 'nursery' becomes a replacement of the parents, George and Lydia, for young Peter and Wendy, to the point where they would rather have it than their parents themselves. The kids are specifically imagining an 'African Veldt" throughout the story, with harsh sunny weather and an animal filled savanna.
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| The Nursery http://lauren6thsje.weebly.com/the-veldt.html |
The Veldt is set in a technologically advanced home that performs most tasks, if not all, for the members of the Bradley family. Ray Bradbury's style of writing leaves readers without pieces of the story, allowing readers to interpret the missing pieces. The time period in which this story is set could be anywhere from 50 years in the future to 50 years in the past. It is likely Bradbury was trying to make a comment on the progression in the time that this was written. In the 1950's, women were starting to be heavily employed across all of America. This meant that there was less time for families to do household chores and tasks like cooking and laundry. This need for more automation and convenience brought on a wave of new appliances and technology that are seen around homes to this day. In a newly commercialized society, the microwave, TV, automatic washers and dryers were a regular part of nearly every home in America. Bradbury over emphasizes this trend towards automation by making the story set in a house that does everything for you. He peers into the future, predicting a world where people aren't fulfilled with their lives because of the extreme convenience they are given by technology.
Secondly, in modern society, technology is becoming more and more of a moral issue. With AI on the horizon and robots already replacing the work many humans do, there may come a day when people are unemployed and poor purely because robots are more effective and cheaper to do the job than a human. This problem brings on a whole range of political issues, whether it be supporting humans that can't work higher level and development jobs with guaranteed wage, or create a better education system to give all people a chance to get into these high technologies and thinking jobs. In The Veldt,
technology replaces most tasks that humans would regularly do and has become a dependency for the kids. For example, after George says they are removing all technology from the house, Peter exclaims, "That sounds dreadful! Would I have to tie my own shoes instead of letting the shoe tier do it? And brush my own teeth and comb my hair and give myself a bath?" This line shows just how dependent the kids are on the technology around them. In addition, the parents are unsatisfied with the technology's control over their lives. For example, as both parents recount how unhappy they are with the technology, George says, "That's just it. I feel like I don't belong here. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. Can I compete with an African veldt? Can I give a bath and scrub the children as efficiently or quickly as the automatic scrub bath can? I cannot." This line further proves our need as humans to have a purpose, have a job or task, but with this technology so present in this story and in our lives, the jobs that were once filling our the void inside of us have been replaced and our effort as humans becomes futile.
Finally, as humans, we want to leave an impact on the world. If there is nothing to do, no way or route to impact the world we become dissatisfied with our way of life. Part of the joy in our life is our differences and having everything done for us makes us all the same. Many draw joy from the small things in life, going out for dinner, playing a game with the family, eating a meal with others, having a conversation. In The Veldt, none of this is possible for the Hadley family. It is hard to be fulfilled in a 'perfect' life. This unfulfillment with life is represented by many things in this story. For example, both parents are dissatisfied with how detached they are from their kids and their humanity, as Lydia says, about George, "You look as if you didn't know what to do with yourself in this house, either. You smoke a little more every morning and drink a little more every afternoon and need a little more sedative every night. You're beginning to feel unnecessary too." George is smoking more, taking more sedative, and they are both realizing how little they can do when technology can do it better. This shows both of their dissatisfactions with life and technology. As a writer and artist, Bradbury gives interesting opinions on fulfillment as his entire purpose and fulfillment in life is to tell stories and impact others. He makes comments on this fulfillment in the story when Peter and George speak about the picture painter. Part of our fulfillment as humans is expression and achievement, that by expressing ourselves through art something is filled. This scene comments on the need for creativity in the world. The theme of fulfillment is overarching and is truly Bradbury's main focus. All of the other themes, technology taking over our purpose and the detachment from reality all leave this feeling of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment within the Hadley parents.
All of these themes are incredibly important to the major message of the story. These themes are all supported and made stronger by the strong use of rhetorical and descriptive devices by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury uses personification, metaphors, and symbolism to enhance the themes that are present. First of all, Bradbury ingeniously uses personification across the entire story, adding a feel of life and buzz to the technology inside of the house. For example, when Peter says,"'Don't let them do it!' cried Peter to the ceiling, as if he was talking to the house, the nursery. 'Don't let Father kill everything.'" This line implies that the kids view the technology within the house as a living thing. This allows the kids to seem more dependent on the technology and gives the technology itself an almost evil and all powerful characteristic to it.
Secondly, the symbolism in The Veldt is used to enhance the already ever present themes. There are many symbols in The Veldt that are easy to pass over as they seem like regular parts of the story. For example, the nursery is a key symbol in the story. The nursery represents a mother-like figure for the kids but also can symbolize television, something up and coming at the time of Ray writing this story. There are many parallels that can be drawn between television and the nursery. Parents leave their kids to watch television so they are entertained and are able to 'look and listen' as the parents have time for a break. Both of these are also 'boxes' that allow the kids to escape to another world. This symbol allows for a clearer message about technology to be conveyed and a clear target of the piece of writing to be shown.
Finally, metaphors are used to add emotion and depth to the writing and themes in The Veldt. For example, near the end of the story, George says, "Lord, how did we ever get in this house? What prompted us to buy a nightmare?" This metaphor, comparing the house to a nightmare, gives the reader a clear image of the way George and Lydia are feeling about the house. This metaphor also clearly ties into the theme of Reality vs. Fantasy, comparing the reality they live in to be a nightmare or fantasy.
In conclusion, one can take a lot from this story. How attached are you to technology? How do you keep yourself grounded and stick to reality? How do you get your fulfillment as a human? Ray Bradbury, the prolific American writer, makes us ask all of these in The Veldt. Bradbury is able to effectively contrast a world where our only goal as humans is to experience and live out our fantasies. It is hard to be on either side with the reality of a need for purpose today, as our human nature drives us to experience our fantasies but also lets us finds satisfaction in doing daily tasks. Overall, this short story is one I definitely recommend and one that gives perspective on what our role may be in the future world.
Sources:
Open Culture: http://cdn8.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ray-bradbury-zen.jpg
Lauren6thsje's Blog: http://lauren6thsje.weebly.com/the-veldt.html
Open ClipArt: https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/235220/TelevisionEnglish.png
Bradbury, Ray. "The Veldt." Veddma. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2017. <http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm>.
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| Old Television https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/235220/TelevisionEnglish.png |
Many themes are present within The Veldt that allow Bradbury to make this an impactful and effective commentary on advancement and technology within not only the world today but the world Bradbury lived in back in the 1950's. Firstly, this story presents a theme of reality versus fantasy. Have you ever had a dream so vivid that when you wake up it almost feels as if it really happened? This experience is anywhere from horrific to euphoric but the 'nursery' allows Peter and Wendy to experience whatever they want, their dreams constantly. They have grown up through this system, always entertained and always somehow connected fully and completely to their imagination and creativity. As Peter says in the story, "I don't want to do anything but look and listen and smell; what else is there to do?" This quote shows that Peter's fantasy is nearly as real to him as his reality. His favorite pastime is in the nursery, living his fantasy, as most humans would probably be inclined to do. Peter and Wendy are completely isolated from the rest of society in this nursery. This detaches him from the struggle that humans have to live through and he loses his purpose in life, to impact others in some way.
Secondly, in modern society, technology is becoming more and more of a moral issue. With AI on the horizon and robots already replacing the work many humans do, there may come a day when people are unemployed and poor purely because robots are more effective and cheaper to do the job than a human. This problem brings on a whole range of political issues, whether it be supporting humans that can't work higher level and development jobs with guaranteed wage, or create a better education system to give all people a chance to get into these high technologies and thinking jobs. In The Veldt,
technology replaces most tasks that humans would regularly do and has become a dependency for the kids. For example, after George says they are removing all technology from the house, Peter exclaims, "That sounds dreadful! Would I have to tie my own shoes instead of letting the shoe tier do it? And brush my own teeth and comb my hair and give myself a bath?" This line shows just how dependent the kids are on the technology around them. In addition, the parents are unsatisfied with the technology's control over their lives. For example, as both parents recount how unhappy they are with the technology, George says, "That's just it. I feel like I don't belong here. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. Can I compete with an African veldt? Can I give a bath and scrub the children as efficiently or quickly as the automatic scrub bath can? I cannot." This line further proves our need as humans to have a purpose, have a job or task, but with this technology so present in this story and in our lives, the jobs that were once filling our the void inside of us have been replaced and our effort as humans becomes futile.
Finally, as humans, we want to leave an impact on the world. If there is nothing to do, no way or route to impact the world we become dissatisfied with our way of life. Part of the joy in our life is our differences and having everything done for us makes us all the same. Many draw joy from the small things in life, going out for dinner, playing a game with the family, eating a meal with others, having a conversation. In The Veldt, none of this is possible for the Hadley family. It is hard to be fulfilled in a 'perfect' life. This unfulfillment with life is represented by many things in this story. For example, both parents are dissatisfied with how detached they are from their kids and their humanity, as Lydia says, about George, "You look as if you didn't know what to do with yourself in this house, either. You smoke a little more every morning and drink a little more every afternoon and need a little more sedative every night. You're beginning to feel unnecessary too." George is smoking more, taking more sedative, and they are both realizing how little they can do when technology can do it better. This shows both of their dissatisfactions with life and technology. As a writer and artist, Bradbury gives interesting opinions on fulfillment as his entire purpose and fulfillment in life is to tell stories and impact others. He makes comments on this fulfillment in the story when Peter and George speak about the picture painter. Part of our fulfillment as humans is expression and achievement, that by expressing ourselves through art something is filled. This scene comments on the need for creativity in the world. The theme of fulfillment is overarching and is truly Bradbury's main focus. All of the other themes, technology taking over our purpose and the detachment from reality all leave this feeling of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment within the Hadley parents.
All of these themes are incredibly important to the major message of the story. These themes are all supported and made stronger by the strong use of rhetorical and descriptive devices by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury uses personification, metaphors, and symbolism to enhance the themes that are present. First of all, Bradbury ingeniously uses personification across the entire story, adding a feel of life and buzz to the technology inside of the house. For example, when Peter says,"'Don't let them do it!' cried Peter to the ceiling, as if he was talking to the house, the nursery. 'Don't let Father kill everything.'" This line implies that the kids view the technology within the house as a living thing. This allows the kids to seem more dependent on the technology and gives the technology itself an almost evil and all powerful characteristic to it.
Secondly, the symbolism in The Veldt is used to enhance the already ever present themes. There are many symbols in The Veldt that are easy to pass over as they seem like regular parts of the story. For example, the nursery is a key symbol in the story. The nursery represents a mother-like figure for the kids but also can symbolize television, something up and coming at the time of Ray writing this story. There are many parallels that can be drawn between television and the nursery. Parents leave their kids to watch television so they are entertained and are able to 'look and listen' as the parents have time for a break. Both of these are also 'boxes' that allow the kids to escape to another world. This symbol allows for a clearer message about technology to be conveyed and a clear target of the piece of writing to be shown.
Finally, metaphors are used to add emotion and depth to the writing and themes in The Veldt. For example, near the end of the story, George says, "Lord, how did we ever get in this house? What prompted us to buy a nightmare?" This metaphor, comparing the house to a nightmare, gives the reader a clear image of the way George and Lydia are feeling about the house. This metaphor also clearly ties into the theme of Reality vs. Fantasy, comparing the reality they live in to be a nightmare or fantasy.
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| Ray Bradbury http://cdn8.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ray-bradbury-zen.jpg |
In conclusion, one can take a lot from this story. How attached are you to technology? How do you keep yourself grounded and stick to reality? How do you get your fulfillment as a human? Ray Bradbury, the prolific American writer, makes us ask all of these in The Veldt. Bradbury is able to effectively contrast a world where our only goal as humans is to experience and live out our fantasies. It is hard to be on either side with the reality of a need for purpose today, as our human nature drives us to experience our fantasies but also lets us finds satisfaction in doing daily tasks. Overall, this short story is one I definitely recommend and one that gives perspective on what our role may be in the future world.
Sources:
Open Culture: http://cdn8.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ray-bradbury-zen.jpg
Lauren6thsje's Blog: http://lauren6thsje.weebly.com/the-veldt.html
Open ClipArt: https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/235220/TelevisionEnglish.png
Bradbury, Ray. "The Veldt." Veddma. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2017. <http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm>.
If you have any questions about this story or analysis make sure to ask!
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