The Veldt Analysis

Short Story
“The lions on three sides of them, in the yellow veldt grass, padding through the dry straw, rumbling and roaring in their throats. The lions… Where are your father and mother?” Ray Bradbury is acknowledged for his outstanding futuristic science fiction literature, especially the stories “Marionettes, Inc.” and “The Veldt”. He does a brilliant job of incorporating elements of drama into his text even with the science fiction topics. As a result of his excellent writing capability both “Marionettes, Inc.” and “The Veldt” are outstanding works of his. In similar ways the stories integrate the prominence of robotics in their respective societies and display their roles very precisely. “Marionettes, Inc.” has robots replacing human
In “Marionettes, Inc.” Braling introduces to Smith the concept of marionettes where one can clone themselves and use their clone for everyday tasks, which they do not feel like partaking in. Little does Smith know this innovative type of technology will backfire for him. As Smith searches for money to purchase himself a marionette he notices his wife Nettie completely stiff as if she was not there. On page four Bradbury states, “His knees suddenly turned to water. He collapsed. Nettie! Nettie! He cried… Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.” In this instance, Smith realizes that Nettie the wife, who he thought loved him so dearly, was actually a marionette herself the whole time. The way Bradbury depicts the disappointment of Smith when he realized what happened is so vivid and it really paints a picture of how forsaken he felt. In a similar way, “The Veldt” introduces George and Lydia, the parents of Peter and Wendy, who absolutely spoiled their children to a huge extent. Especially with the nursery, a room, which converts the ideas the children have into a reality. However, the nursery negatively affects George when on page three Bradbury proclaims, “And it was clearly indicated that the children had been spending a little too much time on Africa. That sun. He could feel it on his neck, still, like a hot paw.” Cleverly, Bradbury lets the reader infer that the children’s minds have become corrupt and therefore it will not get any better. Additionally, in “The Veldt” Bradbury essentially fakes the innocence of Wendy and Peter as they return home from the carnival on page five when he mentions, “Wendy and Peter were coming in the front door, cheeks like peppermint candy, eyes like bright blue agate marbles, a smell ozone on their jumpers from their trip in the helicopter.” Through his rich use of