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“The Veldt,” first published in 1950, was heavily influenced by the era in which it was written. The early 20th century had seen the rapid development of technologies which fundamentally changed people’s lives. Wonders like the automobile, air conditioning, and penicillin were making life easier and more comfortable for vast numbers of people. It is therefore no surprise that science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury wondered about the innovations of the future and where it all might lead. Life in the Happylife Home is nothing more than an exaggerated version of the increasingly comfortable life of the American suburbs. Bradbury naturally imagines that things will only become more automated and that people will do less and less work as robots do the work for them. The nursery in “The Veldt” is a much further stretch, but it is clearly influenced by 20th century advancements in entertainment technology such as movies and television. In light of this inexorable march toward ever-advancing technology, many writers of the era wrote tales which cautioned against giving too much human agency over to robots and machines. The themes explored in “The Veldt” mirror the anxiety many people had, and still have, about a world where our own technological advancements move beyond our control.

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