The Veldt

This study guide will help you analyze the text “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. You can also find a summary of the text, as well as inspiration for interpreting it.

Presentation of the text

Title: “The Veldt”
Author: Ray Bradbury
Genre: Short Story

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy. His most famous literary works are the dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Illustrated Man”. He is one of the most famous American authors of all times and the writer who has managed to make science fiction more modern and accessible to a larger audience.

The short story “The Veldt” was first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1950 under the title “The World the Children Made”.

Excerpt

Below, you can read an excerpt from our study guide:

Message

In his story “The Veldt”, Roy Bradbury presents a society in which people’s every need can be taken care of through technology. However, this has many negative consequences, leading to feelings of anxiety and a sense of a lack of purpose, a faulty relationship between the Hadleys and their children, addiction to technology and, ultimately, to hatred and murder. Therefore, Ray Bradbury’s story could be a cautionary tale about the potential destructive consequences of relying too much on technology.

Peter and Wendy begin to hate their parents when George abruptly forbids them access to the nursery and to other technology in the house. This suggests that the author also challenges readers to think about the importance – and the difficulty – of finding a balance between allowing freedoms and imposing rules when raising children.

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