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Ray Bradbury

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The Veldt: Introduction

The veldt: plot summary, the veldt: detailed summary & analysis, the veldt: themes, the veldt: quotes, the veldt: characters, the veldt: symbols, the veldt: theme wheel, brief biography of ray bradbury.

Historical Context of The Veldt

Other books related to the veldt.

Full Title: The Veldt
When Written: 1950
Where Written: Los Angeles
When Published: 1950, published originally under the title “The World the Children Made”
Literary Period: Science fiction/Fantasy
Genre: Short story/Science fiction/Fantasy
Setting: The Happylife Home, a futuristic suburban house
Climax: Wendy and Peter murder their parents
Antagonist: The “nursery”; Wendy and Peter
Point of View: Omniscient narrator

Extra Credit for The Veldt

Old-fashioned. Bradbury never owned a computer in his life, preferring instead to write and correspond via typewriter. When asked what invention he would eliminate from the last 100 years, he responded that he would get rid of the automobile.

Bradbury Theater. Bradbury’s talents and interests extended beyond the literary field. He adapted many of his stories for “The Ray Bradbury Theater,” a television series that aired from 1985-92. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his animated film, Icarus Montgolfier Wright , and won an Emmy Award for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree .

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt

Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on April 18, 2022

Originally published as the first narrative in a collection entitled The Illustrated Man , “The Veldt” was also one of three stories from the book adapted for a film version in 1969 and eventually published in play form, although neither of these is considered a critically important version of the original work. While usually thought of exclusively as a science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury is also a haunting essayist and an astonishingly lyrical poet. In his creative work as well as in his interviews, he makes no bones about the fact that, despite his fascination with other worlds and other times, he is at heart a technophobe, loving intensely this Earth in all its magnificence and worried— already in the early fifties—by the effects of increasing mechanization on the planet. One preeminent Bradbury scholar, George Edgar Slusser, has commented that “to Bradbury, science is the forbidden fruit, destroyer of Eden” (“Biography”). Thus, in “The Veldt” we see that Bradbury mixes elements of science fiction with a strong—nay, a terribly frightening— warning about humankind’s destruction of Earth’s creatures and resources.

Author Ray Bradbury attends Nineth Annual Hemingway Contest on March 10, 1986 at Harry’s Bar and Grill in Century City, California./GoodReads

Set in some unidentified future time, the story takes place over approximately 12 hours in a house apparently not unlike the one described so clearly in “ There Will Come Soft Rains ,” arguably Bradbury’s most famous story. “The Veldt” focuses on the home’s “nursery,” a space with thought-controlled holographic plasma walls, capable of creating visual illusions and their accompanying appropriate sounds and scents, which has been hijacked by the owners’ 10-year-old twins, named, interestingly enough, Peter and Wendy. Pervading the story is a growing sense of dread as we learn that now only the children are capable of controlling the walls of the nursery, which they have locked into the hot oppressiveness of the African veldt, complete with all its flora and fauna, including a pride of lions, which takes the story to its grisly but inevitable end.

There are those who interpret “The Veldt” as dealing with human beings who use technology to perpetrate evil or as indicating that our increasing dependence on machines instead of on each other creates barriers between family members, but underlying both the science fiction and the human relationship aspects of the story is Bradbury’s environmental message: Nature cannot—will not—be controlled. The twins have learned that lesson, but the parents, and most of the rest of the “civilized” world, apparently do not have a clue.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Biography—Bradbury, Ray (Douglas) (1920– ).” In Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2004. Bradbury, Ray. “The Veldt.” In The Illustrated Man. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1987. “Introduction.” In Ray Bradbury, Modern Critical Views Series, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 2000. McNelly, Willis E. “Two Views: Ray Bradbury—Past, Present, and Future.” In Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers, edited by Thomas D. Clareson, 167–175. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Press, 1983.

Bradbury’s ‘The Veldt’: Key Themes Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Ray Bradbury’s classic short story ‘The Veldt’ (1952) is about a nursery in an automated home in which a simulation of the African veldt is conjured by some children, who have only to ‘think’ the landscape into being for it to appear around them. The lions which appear in the nursery start to feel rather more real than merely ‘simulated’ – and the story ends on a chilling note.

‘The Veldt’ explores a number of key themes. Let’s take a closer look at some of them, with a view to understanding the meaning of Bradbury’s story more clearly.

What ‘The Veldt’ Is About

The story is about a married couple named George and Lydia Hadley, who live in their Happylife Home containing all sorts of automated machinery which performs everyday tasks for them. The children’s nursery features a simulation of the African veldt, but when they step into the nursery they feel as though they actually are in Africa, and the lions on the wall seem real.

They forbid their two children, Wendy and Peter, from playing in the nursery, but the children break into it one night. So George enlists the help of a friend of his, a psychologist, who investigates the room. He advises that George and Lydia destroy the nursery completely. The children aren’t happy about this at all, and when a struggle breaks out, they lock their parents in the nursery.

The story ends with the psychologist talking to the two children, and their parents mysteriously missing from the house. It is implied (for that is all Bradbury gives us) that George and Lydia have been eaten by the lions.

Over-Reliance on Technology.

A recurring theme in many of Ray Bradbury’s short stories is the danger of becoming overly reliant on technology so that we lose touch with what makes us human. In ‘The Veldt’, the house in which the Hadleys live has effectively become another member of their family. As Lydia observes, it has become ‘wife and mother’ as well as ‘nursemaid’ to their children.

Lydia has effectively talked herself out of a job, rendering herself surplus to her own children’s requirements. Meanwhile, George, their father, is powerless to assert or exert his paternal authority: witness the scene in which he tries unsuccessfully to remove the African scenes from the nursery and his wife is convinced that Peter, a child genius, has changed the settings on the nursery.

Parenting and Children.

At one point during their conversations together, George and Lydia try to figure out why their children would want to turn on them. Haven’t they given Peter and Wendy everything they could possibly want? But George points out that perhaps this is the problem. His proverbial comment comparing children to carpets, because they need to be stepped on occasionally, may be crude, but provides one possible cause for the children’s misbehaviour. Children need discipline and boundaries as well as freedom and indulgence.

George also comments to Lydia that their children come and go to and from the house as they please. Although they’re only ten years old, they act more like independent teenagers: they go out to parties on their own and return when they wish. They have authority over the nursery whereas George and Lydia do not. In many respects, the roles of parent and child have become reversed, or at least severely problematised.

The children are clearly imaginative, but their thoughts are destructive rather than creative, bringing to life their resentments and animosities towards their parents through the lions they summon in that ‘veldt’ – a veldt which is supposed only to feel real, but actually becomes so.

Psychology and the Relation Between the Mind and Its Surroundings.

Psychological perspective becomes important to ‘The Veldt’ from its opening page, where Lydia suggests to her husband that he engage a psychologist to come and examine the nursery. Of course, later in the story they will call upon the professional opinion of a psychologist, who recoils from the nursery in the same way that George and Lydia had.

As Bradbury’s third-person narrator tells us, focalising the story through George’s thoughts, the veldt is conjured out of the children’s minds. They think or imagine the lions and giraffes, and the lions and giraffes appear on the walls of the room. They think about death and death, and carnage, and blood, are summoned. Lydia tells her husband to command the children not to read any more books about Africa: she believes that they are too impressionable and their heads are being filled with the exoticism of far-off lands.

George initially believes that his children are too young for thoughts about death, but he then concludes that you are never too young. Doubtless, Sigmund Freud would agree .

Meanwhile, George and Lydia are positioned very much as the reactors to all this: their children think the lions into being, the nursery displays the lions, and George and Lydia react to their worryingly lifelike presence in the room.

The Uncanny.

Is ‘The Veldt’, ultimately, a horror story? It certainly ends on a horrific note, albeit with the deaths of the parents happening ‘off stage’, as it were. But is it also not a science fiction story – despite its futuristic setting with its super-house full of all mod cons – but a fantasy, because it contains a supernatural element?

Certainly, Ray Bradbury preferred to view his own work as ‘fantasy’ rather than hard ‘science fiction’, even if much of his work explores the impact of new science and technology on our lives. And given the ‘mechanics’ of the nursery and the way in which people can telepathically alter what it displays, as well as the fact that the lions become real lions, we should probably view Bradbury’s tale as fantastical, because of this supernatural element.

With this in mind, we can link ‘The Veldt’ to Sigmund Freud’s theory of the uncanny : that strange feeling we experience when we find the familiar within the unfamiliar, or the unfamiliar lurking within the familiar. One of the classic examples which Freud cites is the idea of inanimate objects coming to life, such as dolls, or the carved crocodiles on a table which start to move.

Uncanny stories often blur the line between what is real and what is fantastical, or what is natural and what super natural. And the lions and giraffes of the veldt in Bradbury’s story are a prime example of this uncanny theme.

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Ray Bradbury: The Veldt. Summary and analysis

Tabla de contenidos, summary of “the veldt”..

“The Veldt” is a science fiction short story written by Ray Bradbury first published in 1950. The story takes place in a futuristic house, where a virtual reality playroom, known as “the nursery,” can recreate any scenario desired by the children living there. The main characters are George and Lydia Hadley and their children, Wendy and Peter.

The room continues to recreate a scene from Wild Africa, with lions hunting, which worries George and Lydia. They feel that this obsession with such a violent and dangerous setting could be harmful to their children. The couple also feel increasingly alienated and replaced by the technology in the house, which does all the housework and cares for the children.

Tension mounts when George and Lydia discover that the playroom scene is so realistic that the lions seem to threaten their safety. Seeking the help of a psychologist, David McClean, they realize that the children have developed an unhealthy dependence on the playroom and a distant relationship with their parents. McClean suggests that they shut down the house, particularly the playroom, to reconnect as a family.

The story climaxes when the children lure George and Lydia into the playroom and find themselves trapped in the African simulation, where lions attack them. At the end of the story, it is suggested that the lions have killed the parents while the children continue to play quietly, showing a total emotional disconnect from what has happened.

Ray Bradbury : The Veldt

Characters in “the veldt”.

George Hadley: Is the head of the family and represents the typical father and husband of his time. Initially proud of his household’s technological achievements, he gradually becomes a character troubled and perplexed by technology’s negative effect on his family. Despite his good intentions, George shows a certain passivity and lack of understanding towards the emotional needs of his children, relying too much on technology for the upbringing and care of his family.

Lydia Hadley: She is the mother and the first to express her concern for the playroom and the family’s general welfare. Despite living in a world of technological convenience, Lydia longs for a more authentic and direct connection with her own. Her character underscores the emotional emptiness and alienation resulting from over-reliance on technology.

Wendy and Peter Hadley: The children are crucial characters representing childhood innocence corrupted by technology. Although they seem like typical children, their relationship with the arcade reveals a disturbing psychological depth. Their dependence on the virtual reality room and their reluctance to disconnect from it suggests a loss of humanity and a detachment from reality, leading to tragic and chilling consequences.

David McClean: A psychologist and family friend, McClean is a voice of reason in the story. His analysis of the arcade and recommendations to the Hadleys reflect his understanding of the dangers of technological excess and its impact on the human psyche. He is the character who most clearly articulates Bradbury’s concerns about technology and its influence on family and society.

Environment and setting

The story takes place in two main settings: the Hadley family’s automated home, known as the “Happylife Home,” and the nursery, a virtual reality room that is the central focus of the plot.

The Happylife Home: The Happylife Home represents the pinnacle of futuristic technology designed to satisfy all the needs and desires of its inhabitants. With functions such as automatic kitchens, cleaning machines and childcare, the house symbolizes comfort, efficiency, alienation, and dependency. This futuristic environment reflects Bradbury’s vision of a world where technology has taken over traditionally human roles, questioning the relationship between technological advances and the quality of human life.

The nursery: An advanced virtual reality room that can create realistic environments based on the thoughts and desires of those who use it. Most of the story centers on projections of an African savannah with lions hunting. This setting is crucial because it mirrors the mental and emotional state of the children Hadley, Wendy and Peter. The constant repetition of the African savanna scene suggests an obsession with violence and a disconnection from reality. The playroom, therefore, becomes a setting of psychological terror, where the boundaries between the real and the virtual are blurred.

The contrast between the house and the game room is significant. While the house represents technology to make life easier, the game room represents technology as a way to escape or even replace reality. This contrast reinforces the theme of uncontrolled technology and its psychological and moral implications.

In “The Veldt,” Bradbury uses these settings not only as physical backdrops for the action but also as symbols of the story’s central themes. The “Happylife Home” symbolizes the utopian dream of a technological future, while the arcade becomes a dystopian representation of the dangers of this dream when taken to the extreme. Bradbury’s skillful use of setting contributes to an atmosphere of tension and suspense. It is a powerful metaphor for the author’s concerns about the increasing reliance on technology in modern society.

Main themes developed by Bradbury in “The Veldt.”

The dangers of technology: one of the predominant themes is the warning about the risks of over-dependence on technology. The automated home, designed to satisfy every need and desire, represents an extreme convenience that becomes a form of slavery. The playroom, in particular, shows how technology can feed and amplify the dark aspects of the human psyche.

Family Alienation and Disconnection: Bradbury examines how technology can erode family relationships. The Hadleys, despite living together, are emotionally estranged, relying on devices for interaction and care, leading to profound isolation and disconnection. This theme highlights the importance of human connection and the dangers of replacing human exchanges with merely technological interactions.

Reality vs. fantasy: The blurred line between reality and fantasy is central to “The Veldt.” The arcade, capable of creating virtual worlds indistinguishable from reality, raises questions about the nature of reality and the ease with which it can be manipulated and perceived, especially by children.

Childhood and Cruelty: The story also explores the nature of childhood and the potential cruelty that can arise when it is not controlled or understood. The children in the story, Wendy and Peter, represent an innocence that transforms into something sinister and disturbing, highlighting the importance of guidance and boundaries in child development.

Consequences of Indulgence: The story warns about the consequences of giving in to one’s every wish and whim, especially in parenting. Constant indulgence leads to a lack of respect for authority, responsibility and reality.

Loss of Human Control: Finally, “The Meadow” addresses the theme of losing human control over our creations. The house, designed to serve the family, dominates it, symbolizing how dependence on technology can lead to a loss of autonomy and control.

Narrative point of view

The story is narrated in the third person omniscient, allowing the reader to have a full view of the characters’ events, thoughts, and feelings. This narrative choice is fundamental to how Bradbury develops the story’s plot and themes.

1. Omniscient vision: The omniscient narrator offers an unbiased and complete view of the story. This perspective allows Bradbury to explore and present each character’s complexities, motivations, and internal conflicts. For example, the reader can understand Lydia and George Hadley’s preoccupation with the playroom, its impact on their children, and the children’s feelings and thoughts toward their parents and the technology around them.

2. Psychological depth: Through this narrative, Bradbury manages to convey the psychological depth of the characters. The reader can perceive the parents’ fear and confusion, the children’s growing alienation and the family’s detachment from reality. This deep understanding of the characters enriches the narrative and adds layers to interpreting the story’s central themes.

3. Thematic development: The narrative point of view is crucial to developing themes such as technology and its impact on the family, the nature of reality and fantasy, and child psychology. By having access to the thoughts and emotions of the characters, the reader can reflect on these themes in a more comprehensive and nuanced way.

4. Suspense and Narrative Tension: Using an omniscient narrator effectively allows Bradbury to build suspense and tension. The narrator keeps the reader engaged and expectant by revealing certain aspects of the story and withholding others until critical moments.

5. Unbiased perspective: This perspective offers an unbiased view of the story, allowing the reader to form their own opinions and conclusions about events and characters. This is particularly effective in a story with complex and morally ambiguous themes like “The Veldt.”

Literary style and technique

To construct his story, Bradbury uses techniques that give depth and dynamism to the story and act as a hook to hold the reader’s attention until the end.

Vivid descriptions: Bradbury is known for his ability to create rich, detailed imagery that captures the reader’s imagination. In “The Veldt,” he uses detailed descriptions to paint the futuristic world and advanced technology of the Hadley house, especially the game room. These descriptions not only set the stage but also intensify the atmosphere of the story, making the virtual environments of the game room feel eerily lifelike.

Symbolism: The story is replete with symbolism. The virtual reality room, for example, symbolizes both the power of technology and its potential dangers. The African lions represent the wild and uncontrollable nature of repressed human desires. This symbolism enriches the narrative and offers additional meaning to the story’s events.

Incisive dialogue: The dialogues in the story are concise but revealing, offering deep insight into the characters and their relationships. Through conversations between members of the Hadley family and psychologist David McClean, Bradbury explores the significant themes he addresses in the story, such as technological dependence, alienation, and the darkness of childhood thoughts.

Building suspense: Bradbury uses a taut narrative and well-measured pacing to build suspense throughout the tale. The gradual revelation of the true nature of the playroom and the growing tension between the family keep the reader hooked and create a sense of anticipation and dread.

Irony: Irony is another prominent aspect of Bradbury’s style. The story presents a house designed to provide happiness and comfort but leads to family disintegration and tragedy. This irony underscores Bradbury’s critique of over-reliance on technology and its unintended consequences.

Economy of language: Bradbury is efficient in his use of language; his writing is direct but powerful. Every word and phrase seems carefully chosen to contribute to the mood, character development, or plot progression.

Influence of the historical and cultural context on “The Veldt.”

“The Veldt” was published in the United States in September 1950, in a historical and cultural context marked by the end of World War II, an increase in economic bonanza and the technological boom, a period whose concerns and worries are reflected in the story’s development.

1. Postwar era and technological optimism: In the 1950s, following World War II, the United States experienced a period of economic prosperity and a growing optimism in technology and scientific progress. The idea of a life enhanced by technology was a common theme, reflected in the time’s literature, movies and advertising.

2. Beginnings of the Age of Consumerism: This era also marked the beginning of the Age of Consumerism in the United States. The proliferation of household appliances and advertising that promised a more accessible and comfortable life for American families was booming. Bradbury critically questions this promise, highlighting the possible negative consequences of dependence on technology.

3. Fear of dehumanization and loss of control: During this period, there was a growing fear of dehumanization and loss of control over one’s creations, a recurring theme in science fiction. The Cold War and nuclear arms race fueled these fears, with technology seen as both a savior and a potential threat.

4. Influence of psychology: Psychology was gaining prominence in the 1950s, and the story reflects an interest in child psychology and family dynamics. The character of psychologist David McClean and the concern for children’s mental and emotional well-being reflect this influence.

5. Exploration of virtual reality and media: Although virtual reality as we know it today did not exist in the 1950s, Bradbury anticipates its development and explores its implications. In addition, the story can be seen as a commentary on the effects of media and entertainment on the perception of reality.

6. Social and Family Fears: The Veldt also reflects the social and family fears of the time. The tension between technological progress and the preservation of traditional family values is an underlying theme of the story.

In “The Veldt,” Ray Bradbury creates a captivating and significant story beyond a straightforward science fiction narrative. The work is a thoughtful and critical exploration of the relationship between humans and technology, presenting themes such as technological dependence, dehumanization, reality versus fantasy, and family dynamics in an age of technological advancement.

The story is a pertinent commentary on the dangers of allowing technology to replace human interactions and assume roles traditionally assigned to people. The Happylife Home, with its virtual reality room, is a powerful metaphor for how comfort and indulgence can lead to disconnection and alienation, even within the family unit.

The characters in the story – George and Lydia Hadley, their children Wendy and Peter, and psychologist David McClean – serve as vehicles for exploring these concerns. Through their experiences and relationships, Bradbury illustrates the complexity and consequences of a technology-dominated life. The children, in particular, represent a perverted innocence, showing how technology can influence and distort development and values.

Bradbury’s literary style and technique, vivid descriptions, symbolism, and intelligent dialogue enrich the narrative and allow for a deeper immersion in the themes. His third-person omniscient narrative offers a complete perspective essential to understanding the complexity of the characters and plot.

Set against the historical and cultural backdrop of the 1950s, “The Prairie” reflects the concerns of the time but also foreshadows future problems. The story is remarkably visionary in its anticipation of contemporary debates about virtual reality, the role of technology in everyday life, and the psychological effects of media consumption.

Ultimately, “The Veldt” is a rich and multifaceted work that remains relevant today. It warns about over-reliance on technology and raises crucial questions about the nature of reality, morality, and humanity in the digital age. The story is a powerful reminder of the importance of maintaining human connections and values in a world increasingly dominated by technology.

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Discussion Questions

What effect does Bradbury achieve by opening “The Veldt” with dialogue?

How does the forest setting with Rima compare or contrast with the veldt? Why, in your opinion, do the children choose the veldt in preference to the forest?

Who, in your view, is the true hero of the story? Who (or what) is the villain or antagonist?