Theme Of The "veldt

Theme of "The Veldt" The short story "The Veldt" has a several different themes. The most obvious theme is Laziness. There is a constant display of laziness in the Hadley family. Every member of the family shows how lazy and weak-willed they truly are. In the paragraphs to come, these examples of laziness in the family will be examined and related to the theme.

The original act of Laziness that started it all was by the parents. They bought this house so they would not have to lift a finger. Mrs. Hadley said, "But I thought that's why we bought this house, so we wouldn't have to do anything." (Pg 111) They bought this house for so much money; just so they could sit around and let the house raise their children, among other things. They put them in the nursery and let their imaginations, along with some technological help, raise their kids. Eventually, the children became attached to the house, and when the parents attempted to turn every machine in the off, the Children became very upset. Peter Hadley said, "That sounds dreadful! Would I have to tie my own shoes instead of letting the shoe tier do it? And brush my own teeth and comb my hair and give myself a bath?"(Pg 116) and this shows that he is so lazy, that he does not even want to tie his own shoes or even bath himself. The parents always bought these machines so their life would be easier, but eventually, it became a little too easy.

The parents never put the work into raising children. For instance, when the children went to the carnival their parents did not go with them. They admit to not raising their children properly on page 115 when Mr. Hadley said, "We've never lifted a hand. They're insufferable-let's admit it. They come and go when they like; they treat us as if we were offspring. They're spoiled, and we're spoiled" This contributes to the theme of laziness because they were too lazy to discipline their kids. The parents also never taught their children how to wash themselves, or tie their shoes because Peter Hadley seems dreadful that he will have to take a bath on page 116. Never dealing with their children's affairs had a lasting affect because when the children asked if they could go to New York and the parents attempted to say no, they almost threw a temper-tantrum. The children felt they did not have to respect their real parents because to them, the nursery was their real parent. This caused the kids to turn on their parents and it is the parent's fault for being lazy and not taking part in their children's life and showing them the love they need.

The definite theme of the "Veldt" is laziness as illustrated by the entire family. No one ties their own shoes, everyone has a machine to bath themselves, but most importantly, they do not know how to make their own food. When the pyschologist came, he said to Mr. Hadley that In conclusion, the short story "The Veldt" has a theme of laziness. Everyone is lazy due to technology's affect on their day to day life. The parents bought the house and nursery, because they were lazy and did not want to have to take care of their children.