The Veldt

Infobox short story |
name = The Veldt
title_orig =
translator =
author = Ray Bradbury
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction short story
published_in = "The Saturday Evening Post"
publication_type = Periodical
publisher =
media_type = Print (Magazine)
pub_date = 23 September, 1950
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Veldt" is a short story written by Ray Bradbury that was published in the anthology "The Illustrated Man" in 1951. The anthology is a collection of short stories that were mostly published individually in magazines beforehand.

Background

The rise in the popularity of televisions had a direct influence on "The Veldt" and Bradbury. At the time this short story was written many families were buying television sets and no one was certain how this would impact the family and the relationships they had. The fear that watching too much television would bring about a breakdown of the family unit was reflected greatly in The Veldt.

Plot summary

A family of four installs the latest technology in their house. The house does everything for the family from clothing them to feeding them to rocking them to sleep at night. They called the new technology the “Happylife Home” and it cost the family thirty thousand dollars to install. The most advanced technology was the nursery and was designed to show the children whatever they wanted to see. The children loved the nursery and spent a great deal of time in there.

As the short story unfolds it is clear that the family unit does not work as it should. The parents have very little control over their children and the children call the shots. It is made clear that the children identify too much with their nursery and they become less than human. They show no guilt, remorse or regret when the technology destroys their family. The children have become cold and emotionless just like the machines that control their house.

Literary Elements and Devices

Foreshadowing: "When I punished him a month ago by locking the nursery for even a few hours - the tantrum he threw! And Wendy too. They live for the nursery."

Major themes

Domestic Gothic fiction is bound up with the ideas of the house, gender and the family. Some famous authors such as Edgar Allan Poe focus on tales of domestic nightmares. Bradbury also focuses on the domestic nightmare in the short story "The Veldt" in order to bring about a warning to those who are focusing too much on technology.

The house in this short story can be classified as a gothic haunted house. Instead of having the poltergeists or other ghosts this house is haunted with the technology that lives in it. “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” (275 Oates). This quote shows that the house has an eerie almost haunted feel about it as soon as the father turns the house off.

Gender is another aspect that is focused on in the novel. The father is the head of the house and makes the decisions while the mother minds the house and the children. However, when these roles are relaxed the family unit collapses and roles are mixed up. The character David McClean tells the father that he, "let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children's affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents." This failure of parental responsibility sets the children up to become psychologically attached to the nursery. The children step into their own roles and instead of the father being in charge the son puts himself in charge.

Family is another aspect that gothic fiction and this short story focus on. The family unit in this case is very messed up. The parents have no control, but the children do. This helps lead to a gothic nightmare in which the parents are destroyed by the technology. The disaster gives the message of the need for parents to never give up control and to keep technology from taking away normalcy in the household.

Criticism

Many argue the fact that technology has a good impact on the family unit and people in general. There are many authors who believe differently when it comes to technology. Science fiction writers tend to use the future as a favorite setting in their writings. Most of these future events focus on a place with advanced technology that helps those who are living in it. George Lucas who wrote and directed the famous Star Wars series that focuses on a future with advanced technology. The main characters of these films struggle to maintain balance between the dark forces that attempt to take over the galaxy. The advanced technology helps in times of crisis to help these characters as they battle. When Luke Skywalker loses a limb in battle he is able to regain the limb because technology is so advanced that robotic limbs are useable.

Not all agree with science fiction writers when it comes to technology. John Cheever is an American novelist and short story writer who is most remembered for his short stories including "The Enormous Radio". This is a short story about a family who buys a new radio and becomes obsessed with listening to what is going on in the apartments around them. The short story turns into a gothic nightmare when money becomes tight after the purchase. The once perfect marriage becomes strained and unhappy and it can all be blamed on the radio and the need to spend money on technology.

References From Other Works

Film:

"The Veldt" was also adapted into a stage production by Bradbury and was called "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit & Other Plays" in 1972.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" was adapted into a movie by Bradbury in 1983 and directed by Jack Clayton. It is a story about a small American town that is visited by a carnival that isn’t what it seems.

"The Ray Bradbury Theater" was directed by Chris Bailey and Allan Kroeker in 1985. It was a Canadian produced anthology series scripted by Bradbury. Episode number twenty-nine was in fact "The Veldt".

TV:

"Smart House" is similar to "The Veldt" in the fact that the house takes care of the entire family, but things become messed up when the son gets upset that his father is dating again. This 1999 production has a similar message.

References In The Text

*Oates, Joyce Carol. American Gothic Tales. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Tarcher, 1996.

External links

* [http://www.answers.com/The%20Veldt] - An overview of "The Veldt"
* [http://www.raybradbury.com/] - Ray Bradbury’s official web page
* [http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000917.html] - A discussion board for those who want to bounce ideas off of each other.
* [http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2008/02/21/the-veldt-by-ray-bradbury/ The Veldt at BestScienceFictionStories.com] - a short review of the story with resources for finding it.

=References=raybradbury.com;

www.multikulti.ru/files/file00000564.pdf;

http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm