Examples in Literature

“The Veldt” is a story of a family, the Hadleys, that lives with all of the technological advantages available to them. The technology is state-of-the-art and it provides absolutely everything the family would ever need. Examples of these technological advancements include automatic light sensors, a tooth-brusher, a hair-comber, and air flues that transport the family throughout the house without needing staircases.

At the beginning of the story, the parents go to check on the nursery, an also state-of-the-art device that takes the thoughts of the children and generates a realistic environment for them to play in. It is clear from the very beginning that there is something very wrong. The scene is constantly in an African veldt-land. Lions are even feeding under a tree in the distance. The parents immediately feel a sense of discomfort about the scene. Eventually the parents begin to feel as if the children are playing out a revenge scene on their parents for not allowing them to take a rocket to New York.

At the end of the story, the parents try to take the children away from the nursery, at the advice of a psychologist. The children beg and plead for just one more time in the nursery, and the parents allow it. When the parents go back into their room to get ready for the vacation, they hear the children calling for them. They run back into the nursery and the children lock them in. Suddenly the nursery feels all too real. The parents find themselves being stalked by the lions they saw previously feeding in the distance and in conclusion, they end up being the ones who the lions were feeding on.

“The Veldt” is a fantastic example of a story that was ahead of its time. The nursery in story could be seen as a video game of sorts. The children became detached from the real world and lived only for the Veldt. This is similar to how some people detach from society and live only for video games. Some players play sixty-five hours or more per week on MMOs or other games. The children became very attached to the nursery to an unhealthy extent.