“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury was a rather strange story. Taking place in a futuristic setting, the story focused on a specific family of four: George, Lydia, and their two children Peter and Wendy. They lived in a smart house called a HappyHouse which did their chores and basic daily needs for them. The children would stay in a virtual reality room called the “nursery” which would change based on what the children thought about. Throughout the story, the nursery transformed into an African veldt filled with indigenous animals. Surprisingly, the children imagined vultures and lions which are typical carnivores. This caused George and Lydia to worry that their children are not thinking like they are supposed to be. Furthermore, the children seemed to be spoiled as the HappyHouse did everything for them. The parents almost did not seem like real parents at this point. When parents neglect their children, they often find their own ways to mature and learn about the world. Perhaps this is why Peter and Wendy looked to the nursery to develop this line of adultlike thinking.

Since the kids became self-sufficient, they felt like they did not need parental figures in their lives anymore. This was foreshadowed throughout the story with George and Lydia finding their bloodied wallet and scarf, respectively, in the veldt. The nursery was becoming too real with the lions seeming like they could actually attack George and Lydia at any point. In addition, they would also hear familiar screams when they entered the veldt. I liked that they used this feature to bring up the inevitable. When the parents threatened to turn off the nursery, Peter said things like “I hate you” and “I wish you were dead”. At this point, the veldt was ready to turn Peter’s desire into a reality as they tricked their parents to go into the veldt. As the door locked, all that could be heard were the screams of the parents. The children seemed to be psychotic as they showed no remorse for their seemingly dead parents when the psychologist David McClean showed up and inquired about their whereabouts.