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Friday, September 20, 2013

Blog #3: The Veldt


Critique a story. Did it scare you? Did it contain a one or more gothic tropes successfully? Was it suspenseful? Would you recommend it to a friend? Why or why not? Perhaps you didn't like it personally, but you can understand why it is an important piece of literature. These are all examples of how to approach this topic. Be sure to point us to specific scenes to make your point. Make sure to quote or paraphrase it. Give it a rating from one to five and explain your rationale. 

Though we read this a while ago, I thoroughly enjoyed reading “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. In high school, I had to read Fahrenheit 451 during the summer and enjoyed reading it as well. While reading “The Veldt,” I kept thinking on how accurate this is and applied it to today’s world. We are constantly surrounded by technology. In being a millennial, it’s sad to say that I indeed relay on technology each and everyday and I feel lost when I am without my phone or my laptop.
            In reading the short story, I wasn’t scared but intrigued. Mr. Bradbury has a great sense of writing and as stated before, his novels/stories can be put forth in today’s societal issues making it more interesting. At times, it was suspenseful. For example, when the lions had spotted George and Lydia in the nursery and Lydia says, “Watch out! George!” (Bradbury, 267). I thought this scene in particular was suspenseful because you don’t know what to expect as the reader: are they going to escape from the lions or are they going to be attacked? Additionally, the last scene really had me on the edge. When David McClean walks in, he is looking for George and Lydia and instead sees the children in the nursery without the parents, making it seem a little dark. The only reason why I say it makes it dark is because it makes me think are children really capable of getting rid of their parents. Granted they didn’t kill their parents or anything, but their imagination essentially got a hold of the parents, which in itself, makes this story a little weird as well. In analyzing which troupes were present, I would say dreams were a huge component of this short story. Essentially, the children create this place with their imagination. In creating this, the parents find it a difficult time to understand why this place exists and don’t understand. The short story is literally based on the children’s thought process and their creation of this place; it is them who have control of the nursery and in the end, the parents as well.
            Overall, I really enjoyed reading this short story and I would recommend it to a friend. “The Veldt” has the capability of pulling in the reader into the story. While reading it, at times I felt as if I was present seeing the whole story go down before my eyes. In rating it, I would probably give it a 5 because it was creative, intriguing, interesting, and had a great message overall. 

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