Student Question
How does Ray Bradbury characterize the lions in "The Veldt"?
Quick answer:
In "The Veldt," Ray Bradbury characterizes the lions as both central figures and symbolic elements of the story's conflict. They appear to control the nursery's environment, influencing the children's obsession with them. The lions' presence feels dangerously real, suggesting capacities beyond their virtual design. They symbolize death and the darker desires of the children, ultimately leading to the parents' demise. The lions embody the potential dangers of unchecked technological advancements.
In some ways, the lions in "The Veldt" seem to be the puppet masters of the story's conflict. They seemingly control the environment of the children's nursery and their influence causes Peter and Wendy to become increasingly addicted to spending time with them.
When their parents, George and Lydia, enter the children's nursery to find the veldt, Lydia notices that the lions have been eating something. When George replies that it was surely "some animal," the answer doesn't satisfy Lydia, who remains "peculiarly tense" watching the lions feast. As the lions approach the parents, they seem "feverishly and startlingly real." They rush at George and Lydia, who frantically flee the room and bolt the door shut. These lions don't seem to follow the rules of this "virtual reality" environment and appear to have capacities beyond their original design.
Safely removed from their presence, George begins to consider that...
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the lions represent "death and death" and that their children shouldn't spend so much time thinking about such things. Yet, when he mentions this idea to Peter and Wendy, they recoil from his advice, intent on continuing their time with the lions in the veldt.
The lions seem to understand that their survival in this nursery depends on the continued interest and "telepathic emanations" of the children. They thus seem to control the minds of Peter and Wendy, who decide to lock their parents in this deathly environment to avoid having their father shut down their ability to spend time with the lions. Peter refuses to open the door to his pleading parents as the lions approach with a "rumbling and roaring in their throats."
The lions are thus a central or main character in the story because they represent the dangers of technological advancements. They represent the hidden desires of innocent children, which have the power to destroy authority when left unchecked. The lions are the indirect source of central conflict in the story as an extension of the technology which humans have become reliant on.