The Veldt

“They walked down the hall of their soundproofed Happy-life Home, which had cost them thirty thousand dollars installed, this house which clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them.”

With this descriptive passage, Bradbury introduces the Hadleys’ futuristic home, an extravagant status symbol. The description implies that the Hadleys are infantilized by the technological features of the home, which take care of their every need. We will see in the story how the house’s machines create dependency and addiction and destroy human relationships.

“Let’s get out of the sun. This is a little too real. But I don’t see anything wrong.”

While examining the nursery at the beginning of the story, George is disturbed by the realistic-feeling sun. The quote averts us to the fact that the nursery is a place where reality and fiction are blurred. Yet, George in his complacency does not suspect that anything is wrong with their addictive lifestyle (see “Irony” in Literary Devices).

“The lions were coming. And again George Hadley was filled with admiration for the mechanical genius who had conceived this room. A miracle of efficiency selling for an absurdly low price. Every home should have one.”

George still complacently views the home as a marvel of technical progress and a status symbol in his prosperous society. The phrases “selling for an absurdly low price” and “every home should have one” are Bradbury’s satire of advertising jargon.