Technology, a way of living...

The Veldt

        The Veldt by Ray Bradbury is a story that takes place in the future, a time in which technology is more advance and has become a huge influence on human life. George and Lydia, husband and wife, live with their two children, Peter and Wendy, in a perfect house were they can rest, don't do any hard work, the house does everything fort them, its just the perfect house. Both, George and Lydia bought their children a nursery which is a room in which children spend time imagining stuff that reflects on three dimensional walls and makes it look real, but Peter and Wendy were spending to much time on this nursery, so that worry Lydia. Once George and Lydia enter to the nursery they could see the wild life of Africa, there were lions, zebras, giraffes and it was just to real, so they called their psychologist to take a look at it. Once the psychologist arrived he could see that the nursery from a room that studies the patterns became a room of destructive thoughts, this room became more important that their real lives, they loved this room more than their own parents. They decided it was time to shut off the whole house including the nursery and take a time to enjoy nature, family, love,etc, but that upset Peter and Wendy very much. One night they kept hearing Africa in nursery room but now they could hear their children screaming, both parents went quickly to the nursery and then they got trapped inside the room and suddenly lions attacked them.

Ray Bradbury wrote this story picturing how the world would look like in further future and described very well the place using imagery that will make the reader imagine how this house, this room, this world looks like with a detailed imagery.

     "George Hadley felt the perspiration start on his brow.

     "Let's get out of this sun," he said. "This is a little too real. But I

don't see anything wrong."

     "Wait a moment, you'll see," said his wife.

     Now  the  hidden odorophonics were beginning to blow a wind  of odor at

the two people in the  middle of the baked veldtland. The hot straw smell of

lion grass, the cool green smell of the hidden  water  hole, the great rusty

smell of animals, the  smell of dust like a red paprika in the  hot air. And

now the sounds: the thump of distant antelope feet on grassy sod, the papery

rustling of vultures. A shadow  passed through the sky. The shadow flickered on George Hadley's upturned, sweating face."  

In this Ray Bradbury s text he describes very detailed on of the senses of imagery which is smell, by what you read here you can connect all this to real life, you can feel the smell, you can imagine it and you can picture yourself in the setting of the story.

"I wouldn't want the nursery locked up," said Peter coldly. "Ever."

     "Matter  of  fact, we're thinking of  turning  the whole house  off for

about a month. Live sort of a carefree one-for-all existence."

     "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?"

     "It would be fun for a change, don't you think?"

     "No, it would be horrid. I didn't like it when you took out the picture

painter last month."

    "That's because I wanted you to learn to paint all by yourself, son."

This quote describes very well Peter's way of thinking and how a room of pure imagination has consume him, how he cares so much for things that are not real, for things that are only based on three domensional walls, this describes how he would rather sit and do nothing other than go outside, enjoy the air, lay in the grass, his life now has become this house, this technology.

This Ray Bradbury's story has shock me a lot since this type of things can actually happen. He really tried to transmit a deep and meaningful message from this story. I believe that the message he tried to transmit was to don't let technology consume you, to enjoy the small and big things in life because one day you are going to realize that while not caring about what really matters you are starting to lose yourself and while in the process lose everyone around you, because living is taking chances to see the world, to change, to look around you, to realize how beautiful the world can be and finally to realize that everyhing that matters is just so close to you, not in a screen.