Figurative Language In Ray Bradbury's 'The Veldt'

First, Bradbury intensifies the negative view on technology’s effects on society through figurative language. Using simile Bradbury advances the idea of the effect of technology. “But now these highways, too, were like streams in a dry season.” Technology leaves the streets empty, as everyone is stuck inside in front of their televisions.

Ray Bradbury wrote a short story called, “The Veldt.” in 1950. Although Ray wrote this story over half a century ago, it contains many accurate estimates of the heights technology would reach in the 21st century. In the story, the Hadley family is spoiled and over-pampered with technology. The parents want to turn their lives around. Unfortunately, the children are too engrossed with technology, their equivalent of a family. Many of Ray’s predictions can accurately be compared with the technology and gadgets we have today.

People often say that parents are unable to control who their kids grow up to be, but Ray Bradbury would disagree. In his story, The Veldt, Bradbury writes about parents, Lydia and George, who struggle to control their spoiled children, Wendy and Peter. It is through Wendy and Peter’s aggressive and rebellious behavior and lack of respect for their parents that Bradbury shows the negative growth in the children Lydia and George have raised. Through the use of allusions, irony, and foreshadowing, Bradbury shows that discipline is vital to a positive growth in children.

Technology is a helpful tool that society has become accustomed to using. However, the overuse of technology can lead to disaster. In “The Veldt” and “There Will Come Soft Rains”, Ray Bradbury explores the power that technology holds through the use of futuristic gadgets. Both stories contain smart homes that provide everything for the humans living in the house and show the destruction caused by it. Through these technological advancements, the reader sees how mankind is being defeated by its own creation in mental and physical ways. Bradbury uses the superior technology of the smart home, the replacement of humans for the newest electronics, and the dependence of technology on humans to explain that overindulgence of these modern appliances can have drastic results.

No matter what day or age parents have always struggled with when and how to discipline their kids. In The Veldt, Ray Bradbury uses this parental dilemma to prove his thought that lack of discipline in children leads to grave consequences. His story was written in the 1950s, parenting was a lot more different then it is now, meaning parents were a lot stricter and more involved in their children’s lives. But, Bradbury started to notice that change in the coming years when it came to raising children. So in The Veldt, Bradbury uses the effect of spoiling children, lack of discipline, and excessive use of technology to help show the consequences when parents do not take an active role in their children’s lives.

In today's culture, people use technology to their advantage all the time. They use it to hack, to learn the latest gossip, or to see breaking news around the world. But, occasionally they get captivated and instead of an accessible apparatus, it becomes a necessity and a lifestyle. In the story, The Veldt, Ray Bradbury uses imagery, symbolism, and internal conflict to express that misuse of technology can lead to unforeseen disadvantages.

Some parents believe that the only way to love and please their children is through giving them whatever they desire. Bradbury, however, contradicts this belief by saying that parents need to discipline their children if they really love them. In his short story, “The Veldt,” he builds upon this statement by creating a story around two permissive parents, Lydia and George, and their kids, Wendy and Peter. The parent’s intentions were to make their children happy, but in the end, all of their pampering only caused the children to turn out impolite and churlish towards their parents. Thus, through the use of irony, allusion, and symbolism, Bradbury conveys the idea that there are serious consequences to spoiling children.

Today, some children have had a tendency to favor materialistic items over respect for parents; however, Ray Bradbury, the author of “The Veldt” disagrees with this concept. Bradbury believes that when children are too involved in items, they become brainwashed and it has a negative effect on society. Mr. and Mrs. Hadley (the parents) from “The Veldt”, struggle to discipline their kids, which results in the children not having a priority to respect them. Through using allusions, setting, and technology, the author warn children that materialistic items should not be valued higher than respect for their parents.

The 1950s is when technology started its raise to power, making its way into our homes. Now a day, something new and improved comes out in the tech market. Post World War II writer, Ray Bradbury creates the worlds of “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “The Veldt”, in which he shows the idea of technology having so much power can be unsettling. In “There Will Come Soft Rains” one house remains after a nuclear holocaust, and it tries to maintain itself, but inevitably is destroyed. “The Veldt” takes place in a 1950s futuristic home, in which husband and wife, George and Lydia, try to save their children from a robotic nursery, but end up killed by it, thereby losing their kids. Not only does technology destroys the connection between parent and child in “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “The Veldt” it also destroy itself which Bradbury develops through Personification, characterization, and symbolism.

Similarities are found throughout Ray Bradbury’s “The Veldt” and the David Pogue's non-fiction article “A Parent's Struggle With a Child’s iPad Addiction”. Both the main themes, and the reactions that occur can be compared in both pieces of text. In “The Veldt”, the parents use technology as a babysitter. The HappyLife Home was specifically made to make the parents’ lives easier: a tool to feed, clothe and watch the children. The HappyLife Home can be compared to the iPad in “A Parents Struggle”. In the article the father uses the iPad to keep his six year-old child entertained and quiet. Both parents also make excuses as to why their children are using an excessive amount of technology. In “The Veldt”, George and Lydia think the nursery is an

A parent, by definition, is a mother or father to their offspring. But in reality, a parent’s role is much more significant. A parent is truly someone who spends time with their offspring, loves their offspring, a caregiver, and a nurturer. In Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Veldt,” Bradbury portrays how meaningful the role of a parent is. Bradbury shows the ups and downs any family may encounter. Bradbury is focuses on the role of the parents, since a parents role can make or break a family’s relationship. Therefore, the author uses the lack of disciplining children, importance of family dynamics, and indulging in material possessions to show the significance of a parent’s role in a family.

In The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, Ray Bradbury shows how technology is controlling people. It is a universal fact that it is hard for middle and high school students to put down their phones, and The Veldt blatantly states that. The Veldt (German for “World”) is about two parents named George and Lydia Hadley that have technology completely running their lives. Besides a shoe tier, massager and bath scrubber, the Hadleys have a room they call the nursery that can change its walls to whatever the person inside is thinking. Their son and daughter -Peter and Wendy- are taken by this virtual world and frequent the land of Aladdin and other magical fantasies.

In The Veldt, Ray Bradbury uses metaphor, personification, and simile to show that children can and will be too spoiled if their parents neglect to discipline their children. Bradbury claims that the main character’s parents aren’t disciplining their children enough because they want everything for them. Parents and children these days are all addicted to their electronics and Bradbury brings that to the reader’s attention. Bradbury uses metaphor to express the need to have parents discipline their children. Bradbury states, “ … where before they had a Santa now they have a scrooge.”

As technology continues to develop throughout time, humanity relies more and more on it. Technology surrounds everyone today from the cars we drive, and the phones we are constantly on. Technology is consuming our lives, and Ray Bradbury worries about our future. He portrays this message in his short story “The Veldt.” Ray Bradbury uses characterization and foreshadowing in “The Veldt,” to show the separation of parents and children because of neglect occurring from the dependence on technology.

The Author uses personification, symbolism, and foreshadowing to convey the deeper meaning of how too much freedom may be bad for kids. This is shown when the author uses Personification to help