“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury (1950)
Chaz Fernandez, Shane Raymond, James Stevens
Author
Ray Bradbury was a 20th century fantasy and science fiction writer. He was born on August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. In his early years of writing, one of his greatest influences was Edgar Allen Poe. As time progressed, some even greater influences came about, including Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Carter. Among his many works, Ray Bradbury wrote plays and short stories like The Veldt and The Martian Chronicles, as well as novels, like Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury died June 5, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
Historical/Cultural Context and Genre/Literary Movement
Setting
When: Sometime in the future with extreme technological advancement
Where: In the Hadley
Household, somewhere
in the United States
Text to Text & Text to Society/World
Ray Bradbury was, in typical fashion, criticizing the way in which society has become so dependent on impersonal electronic devices. The nursery is an example of this. George Hadley is doing the right thing in Bradbury’s mind by deciding to leave the house. Bradbury would recommend many in society do the same. Fahrenheit 451 also had this same theme.
Text to Text & Text to Society/World
The names Wendy and Peter are references to Peter Pan. The children want to, in a way, stay young forever by refusing to live forever. They live in a fantasy world.
Vocabulary
Veldt: an area of grassy land
with few trees or shrubs,
especially in southern Africa
Noun
“Now, as George and Lydia Hadley stood in the center of the room, the walls began to purr and recede into crystalline distance, it seemed, and presently an African veldt appeared, in three dimensions, on all sides, in color reproduced to the final pebble and bit of straw.”
Vocabulary
Emanations: an abstract but perceptible thing that issues or originates from a source
Noun
“Remarkable how the nursery caught the telepathic emanations of the children's minds and created life to fill their every desire.”
Vocabulary
Neurosis: a relatively mild mental illness that is
not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms
of stress (depression, anxiety, obsessive behavior,
hypochondria) but not a radical loss of touch with reality
Adjective - neurotic
“‘If children are neurotic at all, a room like that -’�‘It's supposed to help them work off their neuroses in a healthful�way.’”
Vocabulary
Agate: an ornamental stone consisting of a hard
variety of chalcedony, typically banded in appearance
Attributive Noun
“Wendy and Peter were coming in the front door, cheeks
like peppermint candy, eyes like bright blue agate marbles,
a smell of ozone on their jumpers from their trip in the helicopter.”
Vocabulary
Spoor: the track or scent of an animal
Noun
"Paranoia is thick around here today," said
David McClean. "You can follow it like a
spoor. Hello."
Vocabulary
Navel: the central point of any thing or place
Noun
“We've been contemplating our mechanical,
electronic navels for too long. My God, how
we need a breath of honest air!"
Vocabulary
Flue: a duct for smoke and waste gases produced
by a fire, a gas heater, a power station, or other
fuel-burning installation
Noun
“And the three of them went babbling off while he let
himself be vacuumed upstairs through the air flue and
set about dressing himself.”
Vocabulary
Crystalline: clear; transparent
Adjective
“The walls were blank and two dimensional. Now, as George and Lydia Hadley stood in the center of the room, the walls began to purr and recede into crystalline distance, it seemed, and presently an African veldt appeared, in three dimensions, on all sides, in color reproduced to the final pebble and bit of straw.”
Vocabulary
Clinical: efficient and unemotional; coldly detached
Adjective
“Oh, occasionally they frightened you with their clinical accuracy, they startled you, gave you a twinge, but most of the time what fun for everyone, not only your own son and daughter, but for yourself when you felt like a quick jaunt to a foreign land, a quick change of scenery.”
Vocabulary
Jaunt: a short excursion or journey for pleasure
Noun
“Oh, occasionally they frightened you with
their clinical accuracy, they startled you,
gave you a twinge, but most of the time what
fun for everyone, not only your own son and
daughter, but for yourself when you felt like a quick jaunt to a foreign land, a quick change of scenery.”
Question 1
What is a veldt?
Question 1 Answer
This is a veldt. It’s an African plain! Very pretty. 10/10
Question 2
Who wrote this story?
A. Brad Raybury
B. Ayn Rand
C. Wendy?
D. Ray Bradbury
Question 2 Answer
Ray Bradbury
Question 3
What is the name of the daughter?
A. Bendy
B. Wendy
C. Dedede
D. Samarisa
Question 3 Answer
Wendy
Question 4
What happens to the parents?
A. They re-mortgage their house and go live in Pensacola, Florida.
B.They get eaten by digital lions in a digital world who become digital champions
C. The mom is actually a lion all along.
D. The Great Ghostby haunts them away from the house.
Question 4 Answer
They get eaten by lions.
Question 5
Who is David McClean?
A. The father
B. The mother
C. The psychologist called to inspect the room
D. A tribesmen that appears in the veldt
Question 5 Answer
Answer: C
He is the psychologist.
Question 6
Considering the story, what do you think Ray Bradbury thinks about technology?
Question 6 Answer
Ray Bradbury could be a bit old-fashioned when it came to technology, hence the somewhat anti-tech theme of the story.
“We have too many cellphones. We've got too many Internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.”-Ray Bradbury
Question 7
How many times does the word “lion” show up in the story?
A. 38 times
B. 39 times
C. What’s a lion?
D. 41 times.
Question 7 Answer
A-38 times. Wendy and Peter think a lot about the veldt and its lions.
Question 8
Essay portion: Would you have your parents mauled by lions over a videogame? Explain your answer.
Question 8 Answer
No, you probably shouldn’t want your parents to be eaten. Wendy and Peter have serious mental development issues. Good job!
Question 9
According to the story, which style of parenting would Ray Bradbury most likely believe in?
�A. Spoil ‘em rotten.
B. Beat ‘em till they respect you
Question 9 Answer
Ray Bradbury ain’t takin none of your smart mouth.
The answer is B. As in “Bendy”, “Big Bertha”, or “Battletoads”
Question 10
What were the original screams most likely?
A. A stray raccoon.
B. A pet raccoon.
C. Wendy and Peter imagining lions mauling their parents.
D. SOMEONE SAID THE WORD OF THE DAY!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
?
Question 10 Answer
The answer is C. By thinking of the death of their parents so much, Wendy and Peter have programmed the room to be murderously hostile to their parents
Visual
Things to consider
1. What is Ray Bradbury trying to say about society through this story?
"Matter of fact, we're thinking of
turning the whole house off for
about a month. Live sort of a
carefree one-for-all existence."
“You can feel it coming out of the sky. Feel that sun. George, you'll have to change your life. Like too many others, you've built it around creature comforts.”
Things to consider
2. How much should be worry about new technologies and entertainment corrupting young people?
“But now, is yellow hot Africa, this bake oven with murder in the heat. Perhaps Lydia was right. Perhaps they needed a little vacation from the fantasy which was�growing a bit too real for ten-year-old children. It was all right to exercise one's mind with gymnastic fantasies, but when the lively child mind settled on one pattern... ?”
Things to consider
3. Why does an African veldt symbolize death and anger?
“And the smell of blood. Remarkable how�the nursery caught the telepathic emanations of the children's minds and created life to fill their every desire. The children thought lions, and there were lions. The children thought zebras, and there were zebras. Sun -�sun. Giraffes - giraffes. Death and death.”
Things to consider
4. Does technology often take the place of humans in ways that it should not?
"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. And it isn't just me. It's you. You've been awfully nervous lately."
“You've 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.”
Things to consider
Are the parents at fault for allowing the children to spend so much time in the nursery?
“We've never lifted a hand. They're insufferable - let's admit it. They come and go when they like; they treat us as if we were offspring. They're spoiled and we're spoiled."
Works Cited
-Bradbury , R. (1950). The veldt.
-(2012, June 25). The Veldt [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_esYONwdKuw
-(n.d.). Ray Bradbury, Retrieved from http://www.raybradbury.com/
-(2013). Ray bradbury. Biography, Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/ray-bradbury-9223240
-(2010). Planetary pariah: Bradbury and the influence of edgar allan poe, Retrieved from http://fanarchist.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/planetary-pariahs-bradbury-and-the-influence-of-edgar-allan-poe/
-Bradbury obit [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/tdy-120606-bradbury-obit-01.grid-6x2.jpg
-Ray Bradbury [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://media.wbur.org/wordpress/11/files/2012/06/0606_ray-bradbury21-e1339009882419.jpg
-lions [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://evansheline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/lion-love-700x603.jpg
-Namibia desert [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://globaltableadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Namibia-desert.jpg