"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury?

Question

It's killing me and I'm waffling back and forth: Do the parents deserve to be eaten by the lions? And does anyone NOT believe that That is what happened?

Answer 1

You miss the point of the short story. It is not about whether the parents "deserve" to be killed by the lions. It is a science fantasy about Technology Gone Wrong. It is about the innocent children (given names of Peter and Wendy, from the childhood classic, "Peter Pan") who have been perverted by the technology of the house. The mother says "....I feel like I don't belong here. The house is wife and mother now and nursemaid...." the house which is described as "this house which clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them."

In a sense, the house was becoming a malevolent force supplanting and replacing the parents, raising the children , who have been changed by "a fantasy which was growing a bit too real for ten-year-old children." The children were becoming fixated by their own dreams which the house converted into a African reality.

This is not a nursery rhyme world--it is the intrusion of animal instinct into brutality of animals. This is a story that is the opposite of the "they lived happily ever after" attempt to mold childhood dreams.

Some commentators see this as a metaphor--an object lesson of what happens when parents let television babysit and entertain and educate children. They also view the violent TV shows as well, and are perverted by the brutality of the medium that seemed somehow harmless. It is a warning against allowing the media to become a force that changes the reality of parents and children.

Answer 2

The Veldt By Ray Bradbury

Answer 3

I think that the kids deserved to be eaten. I love Ray Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles is one of the best books out there.

Answer 4

The Veldt Summary

Answer 5

I don't know if they deserve to be eaten, but look at the last part of the story. The screams, the blood... oh yeah, they got eaten all right.