Wednesday, March 30, 2011

How would you describe the four main characters in the short story "The Veldt"?

Lydia Hadley, the mother, is concerned that the automated house (namely, the nursery) is having a detrimental effect on the children. She is the first to suggest, to George, that they should have the nursery checked out by a psychologist. George is logical and marvels at the science behind the nursery. Lydia supposes it is real and is afraid of it. She runs when the lions chase them. George follows but, being logical, insists that the lions are illusions. She insists that they lock the nursery for a few days. She is genuinely afraid of the lions but she's also worried that the automated house has replaced them as parents. Eventually, George agrees that the nursery should be turned off because too much of anything isn't healthy. George and Lydia want the best for their children, but they have let the house and nursery be parent and playmate of the children for too long. George concludes: 



They're insufferable—let's admit it. They come and go when they like; they treat us as if we were offspring. They're spoiled and we're spoiled. 



Peter and Wendy are spoiled children. Peter is very intelligent and defiant. He does not hesitate to threaten his parents when they decide to lock the nursery. They are both fully addicted to the nursery and they get hysterical when George finally locks it up. The children show how diabolical they have become in trying to keep their nursery when the lock their parents in. The children have no significant feelings for their parents. They only love the nursery. One could blame them, but George and Lydia have not given them any discipline and this has allowed them to develop into defiant, spoiled brats. 

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