A Futuristic Family Thriller:

A Futuristic Family Thriller:

 A Text Analysis on the Veldt by Ray Bradbury

Focused on Character and Tone

By: Didimus Estanto T. 

Sanata Dharma University 

A.   Introduction

Family is the situation that supposed to be warm.  Futuristic and technology are also supposed to be something bright and enlighten, but Ray Bradbury delivers a very dreadfully short story about both of them. He brings the idea of thriller on the condition that supposed to be warn and enlighten. This is such a great short story bringing the new sensation of thriller. This is a futuristic family thriller short story. This is the text analysis which focused on character and tone.

B.    Characterization

There are four major characters and a minor character in this story. The writer also can say that there are two protagonist and two antagonist characters. There are George Hadley as a father, Lydia Hadley as a mother and Peter and Wendy as their children. The last character which also the minor character is David McClean as a psychologist and consider as George’s friend.

Characterization of the characters:

1.       Father

The father is George Hadley. Mostly the descriptions of him is taken by his conversation with his wife, children and friend. As a husband, he is a highly noticing husband by the way he tread his wife.  "All right, let's have a look." That’s the way he responses his wife’s will. As a head of family, he is such a wise and distinct father. It is showed by the punishment that he gave to the children: "You know how difficult Peter is about that. When I punished him a month ago by locking the nursery for even a few hours  the tantrum he threw! And Wendy too. They live for the nursery." The wise side is showed when he considering the good of his family: “Too much of anything isn't good for anyone” and when he considers to go on vacation: “ Perhaps they needed a little vacation from the fantasy which was growing a bit too real for ten-year-old children”. Beside those things, the author describes the father in some many ways. He gave the way he think, the way he talk, the way he solve the problem, the way he  is looked in front of his children. It derives the idea that the father is type of a common good father which is trying to relive his family. The way he solve the psychotic problem is a significant part which build this story a lot.

2.       Mother

The mother is Lydia Hadley. She is describe as a very noticing mother with a lot of anxiety and love for her family. The expressions like   "Oh, George!" and "George, I wish you'd look at the nursery" show that he is a loving wife. She is also an anxiety mother by worrying so much thing such as the children and the stuff that she cannot do. It is proven by "I just want you to look at it, is all, or call a psychologist in to look at it"  and  “Can I compete with an African veldt? Can I give a bath and scrub the children as efficiently or quickly as the automatic scrub bath can? I cannot.” Besides the conversations, the author does not really describe Lydia’s quality. Personal thinking is she is just the trigger which lead the husband realize the situation and make an action.

3.       Children

The children are Peter and Wendy Hadley. Both of them are described as a rounded characters because of their age is 10 (one of them and the other is younger). They are a good child. It is showed up when they greet their parent nicely and accompany them in dinner table “Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad." They are addicted to the nursery room so much even worse, the Psychologist said. “This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents”. In the middle of the story, their character change because of the consideration for shutting the nursery room down. They turn to very cruel and snivel for asking for the opposite. "Don't let Father kill everything.", "Oh, I hate you!", "I wish you were dead!", “Wendy was still crying and Peter joined her again. ‘Just a moment, just one moment, just another moment of nursery,’ they wailed.” At the end of the story, they show up as a bad person who kill their own parents. The author used the highly cruel word in the children’s conversation, in the purpose that readers can see how bad the effect of the psychological disorder happened to the children like ‘death’, ‘killing’, ‘blood’. The author does not really describe the quality directly but he shows it by showing the action that those children do. It means that they are still children which losing their control, lacking of control and do not really think about what they are doing. They just do what is something that they thing good or want to do.

4.       Psychologist

The psychologist is David McClean. He is a friendly and noticing friend of George. He is the one who suggested George to start the real life. It is proven its expert on psychology while he describe the situation: "Can't say I did; the usual violences, a tendency toward a slight paranoia here or there, usual in children because they feel persecuted by parents constantly, but, oh, really nothing." Beside it as a friend, he also suggest George to take his family on vacation and help him to do it: “And then we're going on a vacation. David McClean is coming back in half an hour to help us move out and get to the airport.” Beside  those conversations, the author does not really expose David’s quality. There is just an indicates that he is close to the George by their expression which used like: "Am I on time?", "Thanks, had some. What's the trouble?” and his knowledge: "My dear George, a psychologist never saw a fact in his life. He only hears about feelings; vague things. This doesn't feel good, I tell you. Trust my hunches and my instincts. I have a nose for something bad. This is very bad. My advice to you is to have the whole damn room torn down and your children brought to me every day during the next year for treatment."

C.        Tone

Family is the situation that supposed to be warm.  It is the setting of this story. Happylife Home is the name of the house, which means the house full of high technology machine that will help the owner do everything they want. Those things supposed to lead readers to the lovable situation, but there is a murder in this short story. The tension is highly tight. The author uses the simple present tense to build the sensation of immediate situations flew in the story. The plot is so tight, by keep giving the feeling of anxiety. The author success gives the impression of the dreadful high technology machine. The characters are common, a little family, but the way they live is definitely different. The family which is losing a control of their children, addicting to technology and finally killing the parent are the guidelines of this story. The dictions also influence, the using of the words killing, blood, death, room, vulture and prey  indicate that there is a thriller. The fact that the children hate the parents (father) and kill them indicate that there is an irony. Readers are afraid and anxious while read this short story, it means  that Ray Bradbury with all the character, setting, atmosphere and diction is success in bringing the idea of thriller and irony in this short story.

D.        Conclusion and Writer’s Opinion

This is a very great tragedy short story. The writer does feel tense and a little bit afraid while  reading this horror masterpiece. Ray Bradbury is definitely genius in arranging this short story by making it as real as possible. It feels like this is a kind of futuristic family thriller. There is a nursery room, the place which catch all of our mind and show them up to us looks like a dreadfully impossible for people in this era. Family is the core of this short story. The setting of the family with the ten years old children play around with only their futuristic machine, it seems cruel and not living family. The sense of loving and work together is none there. They are dying in the word of being served in that house. The core of being family is having each other with love by helping and carrying each other, but it does not really show up in this family. That is why writer says this is not a real family, they just the person in same blood who live above the same roof.  Thriller is a kind of high tense story with a tragedy in the end. This story goes with a dreadfully high tension in all part of it. Since the beginning, the main theme is an anxiety and it keeps going through until the end of the story. The using of the present tense is also very influence the whole tension of this short story. It make readers feel in the exact time while they read the story following each tension. By leading readers in the exact time like in the story goes, the author hold the suspense goes high and down in every part. Ray Bradbury surely success make this as one of the best thriller short story.