Perspectives

Literary movement

The short story “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury belongs to the science fiction genre. This is indicated by the setting of a futuristic society in which people rely excessively on advanced technology, which ultimately proves harmful rather than helpful. Note that the Hadleys misuse this technology by letting it replace them as parents, leading their children to develop hateful and cruel feelings, which they then enact by killing their parents. Therefore, we can say that “The Veldt” also subtly depicts a dystopian society characterized by dehumanization through technology. 

Since the Happylife Home is designed to make the Hadleys happy but ends up killing them, we can say that “The Veldt” uses irony as a narrative technique, which is often found in dystopian works. The use of irony highlights the potential negative effects of depending too much on technology: dehumanization, addiction, loss of interpersonal relationships, and even using technology to do harm. 

Current issues

It is worth mentioning that the depiction of Africa in Ray Bradbury’s “The Veldt” could be considered problematic from a contemporary perspective. Even though the veldt is a landscape specifically associated with Southern Africa, the sto...