The Veldt Essay

The Veldt
                                                                                        Nov/2/09 |

Although science and technology are responsible for much of the advancements of our age, they are also accountable for numerous evils. “The Veldt” best exposes the theme of the dangers of science and technology, more so than “The Weapon or “Barney”. Through the descriptive detail of the Veldt, and the description of the conflicts in the story, Ray Bradbury manages to convincingly warn the reader of these dangers.
The lifelike imagery of the African veldt in the children’s nursery warns the reader about what could happen when one takes technology to the next level. When the parents first see the veldt, the author describes the nursery in an attractive manner:                                                                                                            
Now the hidden odorophonics were beginning to blow a wind of odour at the two people in the middle of the baked veldt land. 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. (101)
By giving this type of detailed description of the veldt, the author is setting the stage to give us the warning that will soon follow. After Bradbury describes the veldt as a striking place, he makes the readers feel anxious by writing:
“Walls, Lydia, remember; crystal walls, that's all they are. Oh, they look real, I must admit - Africa in your parlour - but it's all dimensional, super reactionary, supersensitive color film and mental tape film behind glass screens.   It’s all odorophonics and sonics, Lydia.   Here’s my handkerchief." "I'm afraid." She came to him and put her body against him and cried steadily. "Did you see? Did you feel? It's too real." (102)
The author is telling the...