The Veldt

The story “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury took place in an automated house in the future. A time in which every detailed day to day events from smallest to largest were accomplished with the absolute aid from machines.
I can relate to this story because in today's society i see a lot of parents similar to Lydia and George who try to buy thier children the latests shoes, game, clothes and try to keep them updated with the latest technologies but in the long run when they are unable to receive all the nice things they were getting before they gte angry because they expect new things all the time. George and Lydia made the mistake of getting the machine house and then they made an even bigger mistake by trying to take it away, but the biggest mistake I noticed throughout the entire story was abandonment. Abandinment occured twice in Bradbury's story. First, the children are figuratively abandoned by their parents when they are left in the care of a technological baby sitter. As the character of David McClean tells George, "You've let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children's affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents." This accidental abdication of parental responsibility sets the children up to become emotionally attached to the nursery. Then, when George threatens to turn off the nursery, the children are terrified because now they are going to be abandoned by their new, surrogate parent, the nursery. . Lets step into reality for a minute, who would honestly give up a house that dresses you, cooks the food, brushes your teeth, and even rocks you to sleep? I know I wouldn't. This cause the anxiety for not only George and Lydia, but for their children as well. The childrne were already so use to house and the nursery that they couldn't dare to think about losing the house, and the parent (George and Lydia) were afraid that the house was taking over their childrens mind.
This story made me think of the move to the suburbs After World War II, suburban housing developments began to spread across the United States. Many families now could afford an automobile, which allowed them to live further from the city. People could now own a home in a quiet suburban community and commute to work downtown. Laslty this story had one main issue, is that of man versus machine. The story is built around the struggle to control and direct the destructive power of the nursery's technology. Whoever controls the machine will have the ultimate power. In this story man is destroyed by the machines in two ways: not only are George and Lydia murdered by the nursery's technology, but the children's humanity is also destroyed. By identifying so closely with the nursery, the children have become less than human. They feel no guilt, remorse or regret when their parents die, and it is clear that they have become as cold and emotionless as the machinery that controls the nursery.