The Veldt Ray Bradbury Summary

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity” ~Albert Einstein. Ray Bradbury, the author of the short story “The Veldt”, mostly wrote science fiction, and launched his career with major works, such as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man. In a biography of Bradbury, Milne mentions, “In his creative works well as in his interviews, he makes no bones about the fact that, despite his fascination neither 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.” Bradbury was not a fan of technology and was more captivated by the world

and its wonders rather than technological outbreaks. In the short story, “The Veldt,” Bradbury uses characterization and imagery to prove that an abundance of technology leads to mental issues and the loss of human interaction.
Bradbury uses characterization numerous times to support his theme. One of these times includes when George is discussing to his wife Lynda about a break from their technology. Bradbury writes, "But I thought that's why we bought this house, so we wouldn't have to do anything.” Through this excerpt, Bradbury expands on George and Lynda's character and explains how much they truly spoil themselves. Their surplus of technology is spoiling their personalities and resulting in them replacing actual human experiences and interactions with machinery. Through a thorough summary, Milne states “George Hadley embodies the theme of consumerism because he believes in providing the best that money can buy for his family. George believes that he can show his family love by buying them things. Allowing material possessions to stand in for direct human interaction and expressions of love, however, is what ultimately sets George up as the enemy to his children.” He believes that having electronics and machines to do everything for them is showing how much he loves them and does not realize that it will have repercussions in the end and will have lead to the children’s violent intentions.
Another example of Bradbury’s use of characterization, is when Lynda is talking to George about a break from the house and a break from all the technology in the house.

“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?.....And it isn't just me. It's you. You've been awfully nervous lately”(Bradbury). She explains that she feels as if the house is taking over her motherly duties and is making her feel unnecessary. All the technology is replacing their parental responsibilities and overwhelming them. George is also becoming more nervous and anxious and is subconsciously also realizing he's being replaced as well. Milne writes, “She (Lynda) is concerned that the high-tech home they are living in is having a negative effect upon the family relationships, and she longs for a return to a more traditional setting.” The negative effect of the electronics in the home is becoming clear to Lynda and she wants to prevent it before it mentally affects them. She notices that the machinery is starting to replace her parental role and realizes a technological alternative cannot be good for the children

mentally.

To fully express the theme of the story, Bradbury also uses imagery to describe the psychiatric results of too much technology. For instance, when Bradbury helps the reader visualize the nursery, Bradbury states, “Now the hidden odorophonics were beginning to blow a wind of odor at the two people in the middle of the baked veldtland. The hot straw smell of lion grass, the cool green smell of the hidden water hole, the great rusty smell of animals, the smell of dust like a red paprika in the hot air. And now the sounds: the thump of distant antelope feet on grassy sod, the papery rustling of vultures…but nothing's too good for our children." This description of the nursery explains each technological detail inferring and telling that they spent half of the cost of their entire house’s cost on just the nursery and it vividly shows the reader the appearance of the room. When describing the way the contraption leads to adverse outcomes, Milne claims, “Whereas he thought the house would make his son and daughter happy and therefore grateful, they have instead turned into vile and spoiled children. This so-called utopian invention is giving them the opposite of what they want.” George thought that with purchasing the children the technological advanced nursery, it would delight them, but instead it had negative effects on the children.

A final example of how imagery suggests the theme of the story would be when George explains the mood after he shuts down the entire house and its appliances.

“The house was full of dead bodies, it seemed. It felt like a mechanical cemetery. So silent. None of the humming hidden energy of machines waiting to function at the tap of a button.” (Bradbury). This section explains how they're so used to the hum of machines waiting to do their every want or need. The visual description explains how odd it is to them to not be surrounded by the sounds of technological servant and also foreshadows or makes the theme clear about death and technology and the side effects. “For example, after George Hadley turns off the house, he writes, "It felt like a mechanical cemetery." This description provides a clear mental image for the reader and also under-scores the themes of technology and death.”(Milne). It clearly describes the theme of too much technology and the mental consequences, which in this story seem to be murderous

actions.

In a final analysis, the technological maids and butlers and high-tech nursery in their $30,000 “Happy-life Home” turns out to result in psychological consequences and murderous motives. As the popular saying goes, money can’t buy happiness.