Analysis of the Veldt and Modern Technology in Contemporary Society Essay Example
Shannon O’Brien
Joni Capelle
ITE
Analysis of the Veldt and Modern Technology in Contemporary Society
Bradbury’s the Veldt, portrays a society in which technology has become the center point of human life. A small family of four purchases the “Happylife Home,” a 30,000 dollar investment on a fully automated home. The story conveys perceptions of technology and how it may affect human life in a positive or negative light. Bradbury illustrates for us a nursery constructed for the children as an outlet for their anxieties, however, the parents come to find that the room has in fact become a channel for these anxieties as opposed to a way to release them. The nursery itself is constructed of dimensional super reactionary supersensitive color film; a mental tape film behind glass screens, odrophonics; a system able to reproduce scents capable of fooling the human nervous system, and sonics; musical sound artificially produced or reproduced. The nursery room is created by telepathic emanations from the children’s minds. Their thoughts become reality, whatever they think appears on the walls. Realizing that the nursery has become a place of dark emotion, the parents decide to shut down the house in its entirety. This naturally upsets the children and they proceed to lock their parents in the nursery, leading them to their eminent death. First published on September 23rd 1950 in an edition of the Saturday Evening Post, under the title of “The World the Children Made,” the story directly portrayed the technological development of the time. The rise in popularity of the television had direct influence on Bradbury’s story. At the time many American families were acquiring their first televisions and no one was sure how this new technology would impact the relationships between family members. Some were afraid that too much TV would cause a breakdown in the family unit. This fear was reflected in the story only heightening the odds, Bradbury created a
Joni Capelle
ITE
Analysis of the Veldt and Modern Technology in Contemporary Society
Bradbury’s the Veldt, portrays a society in which technology has become the center point of human life. A small family of four purchases the “Happylife Home,” a 30,000 dollar investment on a fully automated home. The story conveys perceptions of technology and how it may affect human life in a positive or negative light. Bradbury illustrates for us a nursery constructed for the children as an outlet for their anxieties, however, the parents come to find that the room has in fact become a channel for these anxieties as opposed to a way to release them. The nursery itself is constructed of dimensional super reactionary supersensitive color film; a mental tape film behind glass screens, odrophonics; a system able to reproduce scents capable of fooling the human nervous system, and sonics; musical sound artificially produced or reproduced. The nursery room is created by telepathic emanations from the children’s minds. Their thoughts become reality, whatever they think appears on the walls. Realizing that the nursery has become a place of dark emotion, the parents decide to shut down the house in its entirety. This naturally upsets the children and they proceed to lock their parents in the nursery, leading them to their eminent death. First published on September 23rd 1950 in an edition of the Saturday Evening Post, under the title of “The World the Children Made,” the story directly portrayed the technological development of the time. The rise in popularity of the television had direct influence on Bradbury’s story. At the time many American families were acquiring their first televisions and no one was sure how this new technology would impact the relationships between family members. Some were afraid that too much TV would cause a breakdown in the family unit. This fear was reflected in the story only heightening the odds, Bradbury created a