Yohan Dinev

10/18/19
Period 1
The Veldt: A Deep Dive In The Characters and Setting

In the short story “The Veldt,” Ray Bradbury use literary devices and figurative

language to add depth to the entire story. This leads to proper character development

which can easily be avoidable by other authors. Bradbury focuses on character’s

emotion and uses strong imagery to make them and the setting feel more real.

George and Lydia Hadley live in a home filled with technology more advanced

than anything people are associated with today. The whole gimmick of the house isn’t a

self-bathing bathtub or “a stove busy humming to itself”(1); it’s what George and Lydia

call “the nursery”. This room is capable of projecting anything and anywhere their kids

think of. The only limit being their own imagination. It is later found out why exactly their

kids think of “yellow hot Africa, this bake oven with murder in the heat”(4).

George believes the lions in the veldt aren’t real. “The sound of the matted lungs

exhaling”(2) and “smell of meat from panting”(2) are details Bradbury uses to make the

lion’s presence more believable. The key details of what the characters smell and hear

are great examples of imagery to make it seem like the reader is right then and there.

He includes these details because it hints at what really happens near the end. The

lions end up being more than just a simulation and eat George and Lydia. If his

description of the lions were plain and boring, readers wouldn’t be as shocked when

they find out about the end.

George and Lydia question why their kids are so disobedient. George believes

it’s the way the children are punished claiming, “We’ve never lifted a hand. They’re
insufferable”(6). Readers begin to understand George and Lydia’s type of parenting and

the children’s reaction by adding, “They treat us as if we’re offspring. They’re spoiled

and we’re spoiled”(6). The children react with pure anger once the thought of their

nursery would be shut down. Bradbury shows readers the impact of this room and all

the technology in it because it highlights that the children have been distracted since the

introduction of the nursery. George and Lydia’s kids are not quite sure what a normal

household would look like. Bradbury expresses character backstory and builds up to

their future actions by making them feel human and not just a regular character in a

fictional story.

Later on, David McClean, a psychologist, meets up with George to talk about “the

nursery”. By saying, “You’ve let this room replace you and your wife in your children’s

affections”(8), the audience has more of an idea of what life is like at the Hadley’s

home. “This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their

real parents”(8) is a significant detail because it clearly explains the children’s motive.

Bradbury focused on what the kids think of their parents and the value they hold for the

room. It gives readers a clear understanding of why the room is an African veldt and

why the screams sounds so familiar to George and Lydia at the end.

In conclusion, “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury is written and oriented properly

because of his talent in character development and motive. The short story is

constructed with literary devices and character emotions to give readers a bigger

understanding of the story setting and meaning. By doing this, the characters feel more

polished and relatable. Bradbury gives readers a glimpse of what a future household

would look like in his own eyes while making it as non-fictional as possible.
 Work Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “The Veldt,” The Illustrated Man, New York: Simon and Schuster

Paperbacks, 1951.