The Veldt
The Veldt was an interesting story and I loved how I couldn’t tell what was going to happen next. After finishing the story, I realized how much was foreshadowed and just how terrifying the story really is. For one, I think it is telling that the cover illustration is of one of the lions but only its eyes are showing. To me, it feels like the house is watching George and Lydia’s every move and making sure they won’t do something that will upset the house. On the very first page, George says “nothings too good for our children” which is interesting because it seems like George and Lydia haven’t really raised Wendy and Peter and instead expect the house to do everything for them. Peter can’t even tie his own shoes. The parents don’t even seem to interact with the children other than to tell them dinner is ready or to scold them.
The house is all technology and I noticed that it is so advanced it can even speak. During dinner, George said that they forgot the ketchup and the house verbally said sorry. This made me start to think that maybe the house was communicating with Peter and Wendy and putting cruel and deadly thoughts in their heads. This would then make Peter and Wendy have those thoughts themselves without the house prompting them.
What David McClean said was one of the best parts of the story. He told George that the house had been raising his children instead of him and his wife. Therefore the children don’t feel the sense of love that most children would feel that’s associated with their parents because George and Lydia haven’t been acting like parents. I also think the hot African sun doesn’t just represent the children’s intense hatred of their parents but also is the house’s way of fueling the characters' emotions.
The ending was very haunting and made me wonder how many times the children had envisioned their parents being eaten. I also wonder if the house showed the children their parents being eaten by lions after George and Lydia did something to disrespect the house, like when he locked the nursery a month ago. Or maybe, the children thought of the idea first. The Veldt was a great story that does a fantastic job of showcasing how being too reliant on technology for everything in your life can lead to your own downfall.
#Dgst101
