A Comparison of "Veld," and "Fahrenheit 451"

“Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.” -Albert Einstein. The use of this quote alludes to the fact of how technology can ultimately destroy a person’s way of doing, and progress of an individual in today’s society. On a broader spectrum, it constructs the thought of how technology can easily abolish, or kill someone’s mind. In today’s world, technology is easily exploited, and taken advantage of, making one get trapped inside a negative persona. The idea of such a intricate topic is explicitly brought about through the two stories of Fahrenheit 451, and “The Veldt” both written by Ray Bradbury.

Moreover, both of these texts exemplify the fact that people are obsessed with all aspects of technology itself, and it eventually makes them corrupt. With this, both of these texts were written years ago, and are predicting what the future of technology will be like in today’s world. The interpretations that Bradbury adopts can be somewhat out of hand in sense, while others can truly relate to the technology present today. However, both shine light on the fact of the negative consequences it has on people in a very technology based society. The use of technology in both texts portray how the excessive use, and advancements in technology, are deteriorating the minds of many as time progresses, and ultimately making them succumb to breaking relationships from their immense obsession.

The idea of technology obliterating the human mind, and harming the relationships of people is clearly pointed out throughout both texts. As more technology is brought about in both pieces, the more the obsession takes over the characters body. In relation to Farenheit 451, the parlour ultimately acts as a barrier between Montag and Mildred’s relationship, considering the fact that Mildred relies so much on it.

Also, with “The Veldt” the children are being educated by the nursery instead of their own parents because of how strongly the technology used in the nursery influenced their mind. Moreover, technology in both cases is really deteriorating the relationships between the characters because of how prominent technology is in the person’s life. In general, technology grows to become an obsession, and giving it up in someone’s life can tear them to pieces, and even cause violence like in “The Veldt”. Since the technology is so advanced, people become dependent on it which can easily make the obsession begin.

The parlour in Fahrenheit 451 is an advanced form of technology that are mainly television screens that cover the surface of a wall. Montag and his wife have 3 of these television installed in their house. These are used as a form of entertainment in the society of this book, and the characters are constantly needing to be entertained. For people like Mildred, these walls that are supposedly “family,” have become part of her everyday life. She has been completely absorbed by this form of entertainment, making her become strictly ignorant about the society around her, and the problems that it inherits. In relation to “The Veldt,” this is similar to how the nursery basically controls the children’s mindset, and they become oblivious to the problems of their obsession with the nursery. With this, Mildred is constantly complaining about buying a fourth screen, and it seems to be the thing that she wants to have most in her life at the moment.

This explains the fact of how her obsession is constantly getting in the way of their relationship for she cares more about the parlour, than her own husband. For example, Montag says “Will you turn the parlour off,” and Mildred responds with “That’s my family” (pg. 48-49). At this point in the story, Montag is not feeling well, and he doesn’t want loud voices blaring, however Mildred cares more about her fake family instead of taking into consideration the well being of her own husband. The parlour is being used as a way to restrict the two from having any sort of strongly built bond because of how it is consuming Mildred in and of herself.

Likewise, “The Veldt” can also be used to portray an example of how technology is taking over people’s livelihood. This short story used the two kids in order to show how people are ultimately becoming absorbed in technology, making them oblivious to the world around them. The children in this short piece of text are mainly being educated by the nursery, instead of their own parents which is quite unusual. The idea of the nursery being the only necessity in their life is making them become obsessed with every aspect of technology.

Moreover, in this story it is almost seen as an addiction, for when the children are being stripped from the nursery they develop a violent persona. This is also seen in Fahrenheit 451 when Mildred attempts the act of suicide in fear of not having the parlour in her life anymore. This is clearly an example of how the minds of the children have reached a point of corruption. To exemplify, the one child Peter exclaims “I wish you were dead” to his father (pg. 11). This quote is used to show how the kids would have death inflicted onto their own parents, if they took away a piece of technology from them. Considering their mind has gone through a state of deterioration, it is as if there minds have developed the nursery into a necessity, and will be suffering from withdrawal because their obsession is being stripped away from them.

With both texts at hand, it is clear that both of them share very strong similarities between one another. The ideas that are portrayed in both pieces can be tied together with the interpretations about the obsession of technology, and how bonds are clearly broken. Both texts in particular deal with strong bonds being broken, or bonds that were not even present from the start. To exemplify, the relationship between Mildred and Montag, are in a way similar to the children and the parents in the other text. Both deal with the idea of how the excessive use of technology gets in the way of the relationship with one another. Their bonds are being broken because the characters care more about their obsession with technology, than the people who are by their side constantly.

In specifics, with Fahrenheit 451 Montag talks about how he would not have any strong feelings of sorrow if his wife were to die, showing how the constant use of technology has broken their bond. With “The Veldt,” the kids would rather have their parents die than give up what has basically become a part of their everyday life. This is especially because of how advanced the technology is in both societies, and it gives them things that strongly entertain them, which causes the deteriton of the minds. In all, the technology in both pieces manipulate the characters into thinking of the world in a different way, and making the fantasies of technology into a reality.

Technology in both texts are portrayed clearly in a negative light, for it is shown how it causes strong ties with characters to be broken, because of how it takes over the mind itself. In both, the technology is already very advanced, therefore implying the fact that as time progresses the more it will become an obsession, and override one’s mind. The obsession that one develops with technology can fastly take over the mindset of a person, and strongly change the way they view ideas, and multiple things surrounding them.

Furthermore, Ray Bradbury is trying to exemplify how the excessive use of technology, and how one uses it can alter someone’s way of thinking, and outlook on society. If it were not to be exploited as much in peoples every life, it would not have the same effect on a person, as it does if it is overused. “The Veldt,” and Fahrenheit 451 can both show the flaws in technology, and how it can produce negative prisings in a person’s livelihood, assuring them to become corrupt. To summarize, the over-reliance of technology present in today’s world, is shown to make humanity capitulate into a negative place of being.

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