4 October 2013
Characterizations in Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt
In Ray Bradbury's short story, The Veldt, the relationship between George, Lydia, and their two children, Peter and Wendy, is characterized as fearful, distrustful, and revengeful. In the short story, George and Lydia suspected that something was wrong with the children’s nursery and were fearful for themselves and their children. George and Lydia also did not trust Peter and Wendy in the nursery alone. Peter and Wendy showed signs of revenge throughout the story.
In The Veldt, George and Lydia were fearful as were Peter and Wendy. George and Lydia became afraid of the African Veldt in the nursery that was imagined by Peter and Wendy. Lydia was the first to notice the strangeness of the nursery:
The lions stood looking at George and Lydia Hadley with terrible green-yellow eyes.
"Watch out!" screamed Lydia.
The lions came running at them.
Lydia bolted and ran. Instinctively, George sprang after her. Outside, in the hall, with the door slammed he was laughing and she was crying, and they both stood appalled at the other's reaction.
"George!"
"Lydia! Oh, my dear poor sweet Lydia!"
"They almost got us!" (para. 2)
Peter and Wendy were also fearful of their parents. George threatened to lock and shut of the nursery forever. After George tells his son that he is considering shutting off the entire house, Peter says, “that sounds dreadful (para.6)!
In The Veldt, George and Lydia were also, distrustful. They did not trust the children’s nursery. They also did not trust their own children. While George and Lydia were lying in bed after George found an old wallet of his in the nursery, some questions arose:
In the middle of the night he was still awake and he knew his wife was awake. "Do you think Wendy changed it?" she said at last, in the dark room.
"Of course."
"Made it from a veldt into a forest and put Rima there instead of lions?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I...