Ray Bradbury is an award-winning author widely known for his descriptive writing style in American literature. Characterized by careful construction of ordinary details and use of figurative language, he demonstrated great success in the use of symbolism in his works (contributors to the New World Encyclopedia). "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, is a short science fiction story published in 1951. It is one of a collection of eighteen other similar stories in the book "The Illustrated Man". The story is particularly thought-provoking: the writer uses a number of themes to address problems resulting from over-reliance on technology. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssaySummaryBradbury writes about a family living in a technology-enhanced home. George Hadley and Lydia Hadley are the parents of Wendy and Peter. Their automated house accomplishes supernatural things like feeding and clothing its inhabitants. The disturbing story begins when Lydia asks her husband if he noticed anything unusual in the nursery. As it turns out, the children's room is one of the most unique and exciting rooms in the entire house. Its glass walls are capable of recreating scenes and sounds evoked by the thoughts of its occupants. When the couple visits the room, they find themselves in the middle of an African veldt and can hear the papery rustling of vultures and the sound of lions feasting on their prey. The sounds and images are so incredibly believable that they force them to run out of the room. While George wants to believe that their children aren't into violence and blood, Lydia worries that they might be. In any case, the room was designed to allow children to exercise their minds with unusual fantasies and, in turn, provide this information to their parents. George plans to turn off all electronics and lead a simple life; an idea that Lydia welcomes with open arms. For a while she felt as if the house had absorbed all her duties as a wife. When George returns to kindergarten a second time and tries to change the situation, nothing changes. Now he is inclined to think that his children ignored the nursery's response. Concerns about their psychological health begin to creep into his mind and he decides to ask them about daycare when they return home from a carnival. After the children deny knowing the veldt and Wendy goes to the nursery, she returns with the information that the scenery has changed. The apparent secrecy and disobedience shown by the two children forces George to invite a psychologist to come and establish the problem. It is established that the veldt suggests the hostile attitude that children have towards their parents. This is finally demonstrated at the end of the story, when the children lock their parents away to be eaten by lions. Analysis In the Veldt, the family is replaced by technology. George and Lydia want the best for their children. They spend a fortune to buy “Happylife Home”, a house designed to make their children's lives useful. In fact the house has achieved the purpose for which it was conceived. But it does it so well that their parents start to feel like they're being phased out by technology. This is seen when David McClean says “…This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents…” (Bradbury 15). In a typical family setting, such problems would be easily resolved, but the Hadley children would rather kill their parents than cause the daycare to close. Peter is seen shouting at his father at the top of his lungs "I hate you!" when George closes the nursery (Bradbury 16). It couldargue that George and Lydia are not great parents. One could even argue that technology is powerful enough to cause addiction. Bradbury's story describes very well today's culture where we see family members texting using the phone during dinner. We would rather be distracted by technology than another family member. According to the author of this story, the supremacy of technology marks the end of family relationships. Bradbury successfully demonstrates how technology leads to identity conflict within the family. In several instances we find George and Lydia struggling to establish their identity as parents while simultaneously struggling with their personal identity. As a confession to her husband, Lydia says “I don't know, I don't know…Maybe I don't have enough to do…” (Bradbury 8). Everything, including bathing the children, is done by the house. Likewise, George feels as if he has been deprived of his parental duties and cannot establish a proper communication platform with his children. This is highlighted when George tells Lydia how their children would throw tantrums after receiving mild punishments (Bradbury 8). We can infer that he is afraid that he does not have the right to punish them for any wrong actions. Their concern with finding relevance highlights the natural human desire to find importance in everyday activities and the need to feel that one is having a positive impact on society. According to Bradbury, even with advances in technology, this basic need does not cease. In his story, Bradbury does a good job of using metaphors to capture the imagination of his audience. He uses his characters to describe implied conditions using metaphors. For example, George often describes the virtual sun in the African veldt as “like a warm paw” (Bradbury 8). This comment is intended to spark memories of the existence of lions in the African Sahara. Another example is when George describes the lion's eye as “like the yellow of an exquisite French tapestry” (Bradbury 6). This observation is reminiscent of the panoramic view of lions and their beauty. In any case the lions in this context are artificial just like the tapestries. The author appropriately uses metaphors to heighten his descriptive passages and provide clear mental images that highlight the theme of danger. The choice of words used to describe how the automated house performs various tasks is important to understanding Bradbury's use of personification in relation to his main theme. of technology. At the beginning of the story, we see the narrator's words that "His wife stood in the middle of the kitchen and looked at the stove busy humming to herself, preparing dinner for four" (Bradbury 5) and "This house that clothed, fed, and he rocked them to sleep, he played and sang and was good to them” (Bradbury 5). He is interested in showing how the actions that humans should be performed by technology. The artistic element evident throughout the story is that of the point Of view. The story is told from a third-person point of view. This would mean that he or she does not actively take part in the story. It is important to note, however, that the narrator is very closely aligned with the character of George Hadley who follows George through all the scenes and does not leave to go and report something that happens away from George This pattern only breaks with the deaths of George and Lydia The narrator proceeds to the scene involving David McClean, Peter, and Wendy . The author fails to make the reader aware of each character's thoughts and feelings because the narrator is biased. At the end of the story, the audience can't understand what thoughts they have.