The Veldt Essay

The Future: Good or Bad?
Many people rely on technology and electronics now a days. Although Ray Bradbury wrote his story “The Veldt” in 1950, he would still agree that technology, even beginning technologies that were in the 1950’s can be harmful. “The Veldt” is based on two spoiled children, whose lives depend on electronics. Through foreshadowing, setting, and symbolism, Bradbury is warning society about the dangers of indulging in excessive materialistic objects.
Bradbury uses foreshadowing of George and Lydia’s imminent death to show the children have lost all affection for their own parents and now value the nursery above all else, which Bradbury suggests is due to the kids’ boundless consumption of materialistic possessions. In “The

Veldt” there are “familiar screams” in which the parents recognize (Bradbury 2). These screams present a form of foreshadowing informing the reader that the children have been planning their parent’s murder for a very long time. Also, the “bloody wallet” inside the nursery, that George discovers, indicates that when he dies in the end, his wallet is covered in the blood from his own death and it was all chewed u by the lions (Bradbury 7). Through these uses of foreshadowing, Bradbury alludes to the reader that the children have lost all appreciation and obedience to their parents. As a result to the deep hatred the children obtain for their parents, the children go to the extent of murdering them.
Next, Bradbury uses setting to show how the family’s “Happylife” Home does the majority of their tasks effortlessly for them.

Which allows the children to lose their dependence for their parents nurturing. Also, due to this futuristic and updated home, the family’s reliance on these gadgets causes them to over indulge and depend on these appliances. In “The Veldt” the Hadley’s happy home “…clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them” (Bradbury 1). Their dependence on the home to complete all of these tasks, disconnects the meaning of family and the need for parents; they are too consumed into their fabulous technologic environment, which brings them more harm than good. Not only do the Hadleys seem more like roommates than relatives, but Wendy and Peter are spoiled and the Happy life home replaces Mr. and Mrs. Hadley’s roles as parents. Which is shown through Wendy and Peter’s absence of respect and cherishment for their very own parents. Through Bradbury’s use of setting he establishes the fact that the Hadley’s reliance and overconsumption in their futuristic gadgets extracts the meaning and importance of family in their lives. This “Happylife” home in the end brings more torment and agony rather than

happiness.
Lastly, Bradbury uses the violence and rebellion in the veldt as a symbolic representation of the children’s behavior to suggest that indulging in materialistic items is bad.

The Veldt is a symbolic representation of the children because of the miserable environment and harsh, ruthless animals. The Veldt is described as the “hot air…the smell of hot straw…and filthy creatures” to reflect their filthy attitude, violet, and relentless feelings towards their parents. The children value the nursery far more than their own parents, which is shown through their disrespectful and immature reaction to the parents taking away the nursey from their possession. “The two children were in hysterics. They screamed and pranced and threw things. They yelled and sobbed and swore and jumped at the furniture” (Bradbury 12). Wendy and Peter were so agitated and tempered to the expansion of screaming, kicking, yelling, at their parents with no regards to discipline nor respect. Therefore, this is why the children’s outrageous and excessive disrespectful behavior is entirely due to their over consumption in the nursery, and materialistic

possessions.
All in all, Bradbury makes a timeless social critique about the harms disconnecting from what matters most: family and relationships. Bradbury suggest that we need to remember what is most valuable and important in life rather than relying on and becoming consumed by many objects and possessions.