"The Veldt" Questions and Notes on Theme

Below are the questions on Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" that should be completed by class on Monday 11/18.  Here is a link to the short story in case you forgot your packet at school.

1. What is the setting of this story (think time and place).  How do you know?
2. What do George and Lydia see in the “nursery”?  How is this possible?
3. How do Peter and Wendy feel about the nursery?  Provide at least one quote from the text to support your answer.
4. Explain what Lydia Hadley means when she says, “Why don't we shut the whole house off for a few days and take a vacation?”
5. How do Wendy and Peter interact with their parents?  What is their attitude like?  How do George and Lydia treat their children?
6. What did Bradbury want to convey by describing the house, after it had been shut off, like this: “The house was full of dead bodies, it seemed. It felt like a mechanical cemetery.”?
7. What effect does the last line have on the reader?  Why do you think Bradbury would conclude the story this way?
8. What is the theme of this short story? (i.e. What argument is Bradbury making?).  Provide at least one quote from the text to support your answer.
9. Bradbury wrote this story in 1950.  Does it feel out of date? Why or why not?

Note on theme:

Common Theme Confusions:

A theme does NOT relate directly to the details in the story.

• Example: The theme is that people in the town underestimated the dust.
• This is too specific.  A theme is a BIG idea that is based on the story but does not rely on the details.
• Better version:  The theme is that people often underestimate the power of small events.

Careful, though, not to be TOO general:

• Example: The theme is how people respond to certain events.
• This is too general—how DO people respond?  To what KINDS of events?
• Better version:  The theme is that people often respond with excitement to catastrophic events.