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The Veldt | Ray Bradbury | Summary and Questions & Answers | Neb English Support
The Veldt
ABOUT THE STORY
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
This short story "The Veldt" is in the genre of science fiction. It was written by an American writer, Ray Bradbury. This story originally appeared as 'The World the Children Made' in the September 23, 1950, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. It was again published under its current name in 1951 in an anthology called 'The Illustrated Man'. This story is about George and Lydia, who struggle with their technologically advanced home taking over their role as parents. Due to their lack of discipline, their children become uncooperative. The main theme of the story is overdependence on technology.
FULL PLOT SUMMARY
Summary Full Plot Summary
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
Both George and Lydia Hadley live in a state-of-the-art dwelling called a Happylife Home. They have two ten-year-old children, Peter and Wendy. In the beginning of the story, Lydia asks George to look at the nursery. According to her the nursery is different than it was. Lydia wonders if they ought to call a psychiatrist to come and have a look. Both husband and wife walk down a soundproof hall with motion-sensor lights that illuminate their path to the nursery.
Their nursery is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, like other rooms in the house. As both George and Lydia stand in the centre of the room, the walls of the nursery begin to move back, and an African veldt or grassland comes into view. The ceiling of the nursery becomes the sky, and there is bright sunlight overhead. Smells and whistling sounds also start coming from the nursery room. They can smell the grass, hear the sound of an antelope's hooves, and see vultures flying above them. George comments that it all feels a little too real. Lydia sees a pack of lions eating. Both see a carcass of cleaned bones and wonder what animal the lions have killed.
A bit later, a pack of lions approaches the couple. They stood fifteen feet away and stared at them. The lions suddenly start running towards George and Lydia. Both of them run out of the room and close the door behind them. Lydia cries, being fearful, while George laughs. George reminds Lydia that the entire thing in the nursery is artificial. He tells her about the effect that is created by the nursery's "odorophonics", the sound system, and visual projections. But still, Lydia is scared and worried about the nursery and her children. She tells George that he should not let the children read any more about Africa, and she also asks him to lock the nursery for a while. George knows very well how upset this will be for the children, but he agrees to close the nursery for a few days until Lydia's panic has subsided.
Later, Lydia sits in an automatic chair, which begins to move and comfort her. She thinks out loud about her home. She wonders whether their house leaves them with little to do, making them feel obsolete. George sarcastically asks if Lydia wants to do all household tasks herself. Lydia enthusiastically replies that she will. She explains that George has been unusually nervous lately—smoking more, drinking more, and requiring sedatives to sleep at night. Lydia suggests that they should close the house for a few days and take a vacation. Lydia then worries that the lions might escape, but George assures her that this is impossible.
In the evening, when George and Lydia are eating their dinner prepared by their mechanical dining room table, George starts thinking about the nursery. He is amazed that the nursery is able to understand what children are thinking and create a world around them according to their wishes. He thinks of the nursery scene and the presence of death on the veld. He feels uneasy thinking about his young children, who do not have much idea about death. He decides to close the nursery for a while for the betterment of the children. George then gets up from his table and goes to the nursery. As he enters the nursery, he hears a scream and a lion's roar. He can see the lions eating a fresh carcass. He realises that the nursery has been African veldt for the last month and is concerned about the minds of children in this pattern. George shouts at the lions and orders them to leave, but they do not listen to him.
George makes his commands to change the scene of the nursery into a different scene, but there is no change. He again demands, but there is no response. In the dining room, George again tells Lydia about the nursery room and its unresponsive activity. Lydia thinks it may be because her children are obsessed with the veldt. George even wonders whether Peter, a clever child, may have tampered with the machinery. Just after that, the children come inside. George asks the children to join him and tell them about Africa and the Veldt, but Peter denies having any knowledge of them. Peter tells his sister Wendy to go see if there is any African veldt in the nursery, and she runs down the hall. When Wendy reports back that it's not Africa, George moves there to inspect himself. Of course, the scene in the nursery is different this time: a tranquil, lush forest. George asks the children to go to bed, and the children leave. George finds his old wallet in one of the corners of the room. There is blood on it, and it smells as if a lion has chewed it.
That night, both George and Lydia lie awake in bed talking about their children and the nursery. They think Wendy may have turned the veldt into a green forest, but they don't know why. George regrets that he got the nursery in the first place. He feels that they have spoiled the children and that they themselves have been spoiled with all the leisure they get at home and in the nursery. Lydia notes that the children have been indifferent to them ever since George told them they could not get to New York via rocket alone. George announces that he will call David McLean, a psychologist, to visit the nursery the next day. A moment later, the couple hears screaming coming from the nursery. The sound of screaming is familiar to them. George guessed that the children had broken into the locked nursery.
The next day, Peter asks his father if he wants to close the nursery forever. George explains that he won’t do so until Peter and Wendy explore locations other than the African veldt. George also tells Peter that they are considering closing the entire house for a month. Peter expresses surprise at this idea of closing. He says that he hated it when George closed down the picture painter. George does this so that Peter can learn to paint himself. But Peter says that he wants to do nothing but see, hear, and smell. George asks him to go and play in the nursery. Before leaving, Peter warns his father not to close the house.
After some time, David McClean arrives at the house. George greets and asks him to have a look at the nursery. As they approach the door of the nursery, they hear the familiar screams of the lion hunting victims. Both of them enter the nursery, which is again an African veldt, and ask the children to leave. The two men watch the lions eating and George tries to see what the lions have caught.
McClean isn't feeling well at the nursery. He tells George that he has a bad feeling there. He wants George to tear down the nursery and have the children come and see him every day for a year for their psychological treatment. Maclean explains that the nursery has become a medium for children's destructive thoughts. He also scolds George for spoiling his children. He says that the nursery has replaced George and Lydia as the children's parents, and the threat of taking it away is causing the children to feel hatred towards them. McClean encourages George to change his life and take more responsibility. As they watch the lions finish their meal, George wonders if the lions might be real. Just before leaving the room, McClean finds Lydia's blood-soaked scarf lying near the door. Two men walk towards the fuse box and turn off the nursery.
Later, the children become extremely upset when George tells them that they are closing down the house and going on vacation. Lydia asks George to turn the nursery on for a few minutes to calm the children, but George refuses, saying that David McLean is coming in thirty minutes to help them pack, and then they are going. George starts turning off all the appliances in the house and tells the family that they have lost their way. Peter begins pleading not to let George stop everything in the house. Peter then yells at his father. He hates his father and wants him to die. The children continuously beg and plead to turn on the nursery, and Lydia tells George that there's no harm in granting their wish for a minute. George eventually relents and agrees to turn on the nursery for just a minute while he finishes dressing for the trip. The children celebrate and run away to the nursery with their mother.
George moves upstairs to dress, and a few minutes later, Lydia also joins him. They talk for a moment, and their conversation is interrupted by the children calling from downstairs for their parents to come quickly. George and Lydia hurried to the nursery, worried. They don't see the children there, and the lions are right there, staring at them. Suddenly, the nursery door slams shut. Both George and Lydia are locked inside.
George shouts at Peter to open the door. He hears Peter telling someone on the other side not to let them close the nursery and the house. As George tries to reason with the children, the couple hears lions coming towards them. They turn back and see the herd surrounding them, growling. As the animals pounce, George and Lydia's screams become similar to those they have been hearing from the nursery for the past month.
After some time, David McCleann arrives at the door of the nursery. He sees both Wendy and Peter eating a picnic lunch by the water hole on the Veldt. McClean asks the children about their parents, and the children say they will be here soon. MaClean observes lions eating fresh prey from a close distance. Vultures are flying overhead. At last, Wendy offers McClean a cup of tea.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
George:
George is a father who lives in a technologically advanced home. He struggles a lot with the consequences of overdependence on technology. He shows concern for his children's well-being but is also intrigued by the capabilities of the nursery.
Lydia:
Lydia is George's wife and the mother of their two children. She becomes increasingly worried about the impact of the advanced technology on their family, expressing concerns about the nursery's influence on their children.
Peter:
Peter is the ten-year-old son of George and Lydia. He shows a fascination with the African veldt setting in the nursery and becomes resistant to his parents' attempts to control its influence on him.
Wendy:
Wendy is the ten-year-old daughter of George and Lydia. She, too, is captivated by the nursery's virtual reality settings, and her actions contribute to the story's unsettling developments.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
1. What is the main theme of the story?
Answer:
The main theme of the story is overdependence on technology.
2. What mistakes have George and Lydia made in raising their children? Give examples.
Answer:
George and Lydia made mistakes by indulging their children's fantasies through the technologically advanced nursery. For instance, they allowed the nursery to create realistic, yet disturbing, scenarios that fueled their children's dark imaginations.
3. Who is parenting the children in the story? Explain.
Answer:
The advanced technology in the Happylife Home, particularly the nursery, assumes the role of parenting in the story. It shapes the children's experiences and influences their behavior, leading to a breakdown in the traditional parental role.
4. What message or moral is Ray Bradbury trying to send his readers about technology?
Answer:
Ray Bradbury conveys a cautionary message about the dangers of overreliance on technology, emphasizing the potential negative consequences when it replaces traditional parenting and family dynamics.
5. What conflicts do the characters in the story face? Give examples.
Answer:
The Hadley family faces conflicts related to the children's obsession with the virtual reality settings in the nursery.
George and Lydia conflict over their differing opinions on the impact of technology on their family.
6. Is the Happy-life Home healthy for the family? Explain.
Answer:
The Happylife Home, with its advanced technology, proves detrimental to the family's well-being. It contributes to conflicts and a breakdown in family relationships, ultimately leading to a tragic outcome.
7. How does the nursery work?
Answer:
The nursery creates immersive virtual reality environments based on the children's thoughts and desires. It uses advanced technology such as "odorophonics," sound systems, and visual projections to simulate realistic experiences.
8. Personification is giving nonhuman, inanimate objects human feeling, traits, or actions. Give two examples of personification from the story.
Answer:
The nursery's "odorophonics" system gives the inanimate environment human-like qualities by creating scents that add to the realism.
The mechanical dining room table in the Happylife Home is personified as it prepares and serves dinner, showcasing human-like functionality.
9. How does Lydia feel about the house? Why?
Answer:
Lydia feels that the house may leave them with little to do, making them feel obsolete. She questions whether the advanced technology has made them irrelevant as parents.
10. Describe the scene or setting that the nursery is stuck on.
Answer:
The nursery is stuck on an African veldt setting, where the realistic portrayal of lions, grasslands, and sounds creates an immersive environment that reflects the dark fantasies of the children.
11. What mistakes have George and Lydia made in raising their children? Explain.
Answer:
George and Lydia made mistakes by allowing the nursery to create vivid and disturbing scenarios, neglecting traditional parenting, and underestimating the impact on their children's minds.
12. What is the point of view of this story?
Answer:
The story is presented in the third-person limited point of view, primarily focusing on George's perspective and thoughts.
13. What two items are found in the nursery? To whom do they belong? Describe the condition of the items.
Answer:
George's old wallet is found in the nursery, with blood on it, suggesting a connection to the violent scenes depicted in the virtual reality.
Lydia's blood-soaked scarf is discovered near the nursery door, indicating a disturbing link to the virtual world's events.
14. What advice does David McClean give George and Lydia? Do they follow it?
Answer:
David McClean advises George to tear down the nursery, emphasizing the need for traditional parenting and psychological treatment for the children. The advice encourages George to take more responsibility, but the outcome is tragic.
15. What do you think happened at the end of the story? Why?
Answer:
At the end of the story, it is implied that the children have manipulated the nursery to create a dangerous scenario, leading to the demise of George and Lydia. The exact details are left to the reader's interpretation.
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