Discussion Topic
Bradbury's Use of Juxtaposition, Symbolism, and Allusions in "The Veldt"
Summary:
In "The Veldt," Bradbury uses juxtaposition to contrast the children's violent fantasies with the parents' desire for a peaceful home. Symbolism is evident in the nursery, representing the children's subconscious minds. Allusions to Peter Pan emphasize the children's detachment from reality and their parents. These literary devices highlight the dangers of over-reliance on technology and the loss of familial bonds.
Why does Bradbury use numerous allusions in "The Veldt"?
“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury demonstrates the author’s talent for exploring how contemporary trends could play out in future scenarios. This story in particular shows an understanding of how technology can dehumanize people and interfere with psychological and moral development.
The allusions to children’s literature, such as Peter Pan, Green Mansions, and Alice in Wonderland, evoke classic, beloved fantasy worlds and a child’s wish for adventure. The references to these idyllic, old-fashioned worlds then provide a stark contrast with a rogue virtual reality device that takes its cues from the negative aspects of the mind. The Wendy and Peter of Bradbury’s story have created a Neverland, but it’s one based on predators and death, signaling that the classic stories have darker themes running beneath their carefree surfaces.
The children have become addicted to the technology, and George, their father, admits to his wife with emphasis,...
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“Theylive for the nursery.” Lydia in turn asks George to call in a psychologist, not a technician, to look at the nursery, because the problem isn’t mechanical, it’s mental. The children’s psychological development has been captured by a technology which increasingly traps the family.
David, the psychologist, notes this is a situation about feelings, not facts. The problem can’t be solved by logic or mechanics; it’s a matter of the heart and conscience. He offers a succinct diagnosis, placing responsibility on George and Lydia:
“You’ve let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections.”
George and Lydia want to move the family out of the house to get a fresh start. But the nursery, fueled by Peter and Wendy’s dark thoughts, has other plans.
The macabre ending brings the literary allusions to their darkest conclusions. As the Peter in J. M. Barrie’s work states, “To die will be an awfully big adventure.” The Peter and Wendy in Bradbury’s story get their wish to live for the nursery, to hold mad tea parties, and to never grow up, but it comes at the price of their parent’s lives.
How does Bradbury use juxtaposition of symbolism in "The Veldt"?
Symbolic juxtaposition can be observed in the contrast of symbolic imagery. In "The Veldt," Bradbury achieves this through his juxtaposition of the house and the nursery, which comprise two separate (but related) symbols that each represent humanity's overreliance on technology.
When studying "The Veldt," it might be useful to observe the degree to which Bradbury shifts his story's action between the nursery and the house. The scenes connected with the nursery—most importantly, those scenes containing the threatening imagery represented by the lions and the veldt—are contrasted against scenes relating to the larger house, where Bradbury depicts the degree to which technology has intruded on basic human behavior, even to the point of machines cutting up the Hadleys' food for them. In and of themselves, both house and nursery represent symbols of technology (and the harmful impacts of technology on human life), and taken together, they work in tandem, reinforcing one another in providing a warning of technology's potential ill-effect.
In addition, the Hadleys themselves can be understood as symbols. There is domestic and gendered symbolism, with George Hadley symbolizing masculinity and fatherhood within a 1950s context juxtaposed against Lydia, who symbolizes femininity and motherhood within that same 1950s context. Additionally, there is the contrast between the parents and the children, who, all together, symbolize the nuclear family with their dysfunction representing its dissolution.
How does Bradbury use literary devices to present themes in "The Veldt"?
In "The Veldt," Bradbury utilizes a variety of literary devices to reflect his story's themes of irresponsible parenting and the overreliance on technology: these include his use of imagery, personification, and allusion.
That being said, when discussing the story's use of imagery, it is important to keep Bradbury's general writing style in mind. Bradbury was an intensely vivid and lyrical writer, and his writing is filled with metaphor and rich description: this is true of "The Veldt," but it is also true of "All Summer in a Day" and "A Sound of Thunder," just to name a few.
Even so, what is particularly interesting (and thematically relevant) about "The Veldt" is the degree to which Bradbury reserves his signature lyricism to scenes relating to the nursery: it is in those particular scenes that you will find the most imagery-intensive and richly descriptive passages to be found within the story. The result is to give the nursery itself a heightened sense of place in contrast to the rest of the house. This reflects the degree to which the nursery now stands in the center of the children's own lives and has ultimately replaced the parents.
This same quality is also reflected in Bradbury's use of personification, where the characters within the story speak about the house and nursery as if they were alive. This is reflected in dialogue such as the following:
"I don't imagine the room will like being turned off," said the father.
"Nothing ever likes to die—even a room."
"I wonder if it hates me for wanting to switch it off?"
Personification can also be seen in purely figurative language:
The house was full of dead bodies, it seemed. It felt like a mechanical cemetery.
Much as is the case with Bradbury's use of imagery, the degree to which the house is, at times, spoken and written about as if it were a living thing reflects the centrality of this technology within these characters' lives.
Finally, there is Bradbury's use of allusion, as he references the characters from Peter Pan. The father, George Hadley, takes his name from George Darling, while Wendy and Peter take their names from Wendy Darling and Peter Pan. By referencing the famous story of the boy who will never grow up, Bradbury reinforces his themes of parenting and childhood.