In “The Veldt”, Ray Bradbury vividly portrays a class distinction between characters. The Marxist lens establishes how the wealth of the bourgeoisie depends on the work of the proletariat. The house plays the role as the proletariat as it performs all the chores for the parents, the bourgeoisie. The children also represent the proletariat as they do not have authority over the parents but instead, authority over the nursery. These class distinctions eventually leads to the inevitable revolution that happens as a result of class struggle. When analyzing the story through the Marxist lens, it becomes clear that the children represent the proletariats who rebel against their parents who exemplify the bourgeoisie. Ray Bradury’s story concludes that he sympathizes with the proletariats and believes they will always rise up as it is their only way to achieve success.
In the Marxist philosophy, the bourgeoisie is the class that modernizes society. However, they benefit from the work of the proletariats without giving any recognition, thus, creating revolutionary tensions. The bourgeoisie feels threatened when they believe their power is being stripped of them. The parents represent the bourgeoisie as they contain power over their children and benefit from the work of the house. They also have bourgeoisie like qualities as they become threatened when they children begin to advocate for the house. In the beginning of the story, Lydia states, “ Gorge, I wish you’d look at the nursery... it's different than it was” (Bradbury 1). Lydia does not say this out of curiosity, but concern. When the nursery is first built, the parents could control it with their thoughts. As the nursery begins to evolve, the parents slowly become unable to control it like they once used to. When they realize they are slowly losing control, they feel intimidated. As they contemplate whether to turn the house off, their fear of losing control grows stronger. Geogre eventually explains, “You need a rest” (Bradbury 3). The parents shut the nursery down in hope they will be able to regain their authoritative power. Just as the bourgeoisie rely on the proletariat, the parents rely on the house. This is demonstrated as Gorge explains, “I thought that’s why we bought this house, so we wouldn’t have to do anything?” (Bradbury 3) This demonstrates how the house has taken the duties that an individual would usually do.
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The producing class in a bourgeoisie society is the proletariat, a class of individuals who have nothing to offer except their ability to work. In this story, the house and children both represent the proletariat. The sole purpose of the proletariat is to serve. David, the psychologist, explains to Gorge and Lydia, “Why, you’d go hungry tomorrow if something went wrong in your kitchen. You wouldn’t know how to cook an egg” (Bradbury 10). David implies that the house does all the work for the family while they do nothing. This exemplifies the Marxist theory perfectly as the bourgeoisie benefits from the work of the house. By doing this, the house has become more of the children's parents than Gorge and Lydia have themselves. This is also seen when David says, “You’ve let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents” (Bradbury 10). David makes the observation that the house has taken a parental role for the children. This worries the parents because they begin to realize that the house is gaining the children's attention which is the beginning of the revolution. The children also represent the proletariat as they are once controlled by their parents but began to obtain authority over the house, thus leading them to overthrow their parents. When the parents begin to question the nursery and its odd doings, the children try and convince their parents they are delusional. They state, “I don’t think you’d better consider it any more, Father” (Bradbury 9). The children try to fool the parents by saying there is no Africa. This is their attempt to keep the nursery alive. When the father realizes he can’t change the nursery yet the kids can, he begins to fear that the children are gaining control over the house. This interaction between the parents and the children create tensions which eventually leads to the children revolting against their parents.
In “The Veldt”, Ray Bradbury allows the audience to suggest that he feels sympathetic towards the proletarians and believes they will always rise up. The children have been given a significant amount of freedom by their parents. This freedom has also developed through the use of the nursery. They are physically free by being able to stay in the nursery for countless hours and psychologically free by replacing the nursery as their authoritative figure. Since Wendy and Peter are the only two that can control the nursery, they begin to apply this freedom to different aspects of their lives. When the parents feel a sense of unease by the nursery and threaten to shut it off, the children's initial instinct is to kill the parents. Instead of starting a massacre, they insist their parents to turn the nursery on for a few more minutes. They parents foolishly agree which leads to their own death. The ending proves that he supports the Marxist theory and believes the proletariats will always conquer the bourgeoisie. Bradbury’s sympathy is seen as he creates a strained relationship between the children and their parents. He portrays the house as a parental figure which is why the children feel attacked when the house is threatened to be shut off. Bradbury recognizes that the children are struggling with this change and seek revenge. He demonstrates that even though their actions were unpleasant, the outcome was bound to happen.
“The Veldt” demonstrates how the proletariats always find a way to defeat the bourgeoisie. This story invites us to think about how such class distinctions still play a role in today’s society and is an implication that if these differences are not addressed, there will always be rebellious actions towards one another.
Work Cited
- Bradbury, Ray. “The Veldt”. Dramatic Pub. Co., 1988.
- https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/b/o.htm
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/bourgeoisie
- https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/b/o.htm
- https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
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