The Veldt Short Story Analysis Essay

Even though "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury relates to other criticisms, it is most commonly associated with Marxist criticism. Marxist criticism takes a look at who has and does not have power, how they got it, and how they are controlled by it. In "The Veldt" parents Lydia and George spoil their children with astonishing technology, but they do not have boundaries set with their children. When a grain of discipline is put down, Peter and Wendy get reckless. When George and Lydia discipline their children, Peter and Wendy, the nursery brings the children’s violent desires, in regards to their parents, to life. When George thinks it is best to turn off the nursery, Peter responds with, "I don't think you'd better consider it anymore, Father." (7). This reveals to the audience that Peter feels comfortable threatening his father. Slowly, George begins to realize that the children, Peter and Wendy are gaining power over him, and Lydia.

In the Hardley home, the nursery has an immense amount of power over the children. Even though Peter and Wendy have control over the nursery, they do not have control over themselves selfs, leading them to have an unhealthy addiction to the nursery. The nursery gives the children what they want and when they want it, and becomes a parent figure to them. When George and Lydia locked up the nursery for the night, "the children broke back into it" (7). This demonstrates to the reader that Peter and Wendy will disobey their parents just to go to the nursery. In addition, the father tells the children that he will shut off the nursery because he deems that it is unhealthy. The children get reckless and feel threatened, leading them to wish death upon their parents. This further shows the audience that the Hadley family has been blinded by technology, and is too reliant on it.

In "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, the HappyLife Home has power over all the characters in the story. The home feeds them meals and even rocks them to sleep. For example, psychologist David McClean stated that "if something went wrong in your kitchen, you'd starve tomorrow" (8). This demonstrates to the audience that the Hadleys are very dependant on technology, and expect the house to do everything for them. Another example of how the household has power over the Hadleys is that mankind is demolished and affected by the machine in more than one way. Firstly, when George and Lydia are killed by the lions in the nursery. Secondly, the children's lives are impacted by technology which has blinded them to the point where they care more about the nursery than their own parents. 

Given these points, the HappyLife Home is the primary issue; it is the source of all disagreements and dug the parents' grave. Marxist criticisms reveal how the house wields power and holds control over the characters. The Marxist critique also illustrates how the children hold power over their parents, and how this has a negative impact on both George and Lydia's children, Peter and Wendy.