50 pages 1 hour read

Ray Bradbury

The Veldt

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1950

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Character Analysis

George Hadley

Bradbury provides very little description for any of the characters in “The Veldt.” For example, we don’t know what George Hadley looks like, or what he does outside of the home. The author’s only concern is how his characters contribute to the story’s central action.

George starts out as calm and unperturbable, brushing aside his wife’s misgivings about the nursery, but he gradually comes over to her side. He loves his wife affectionately, listens to her, and is susceptible to being influenced by what she has to say. He is a thoughtful and reflective man. Although George has spoiled the children in the past, including building an expensive nursery for them, he eventually comes down hard on them and forbids them to use the nursery again. George thus undergoes a major character transformation in the story. By story’s end, he fully recognizes the dehumanizing effects of the Happy-life Home. Yet George comes by this change of heart largely from the influence of his wife and his friend David McClean.

George tries to assert his authority over Peter, but this proves ineffectual because he has hopelessly spoiled both the children. Thus George, like Lydia to some extent, is a weak character lacking resolve and consistency.

Related Titles

By Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Pedestrian

Ray Bradbury

The Pedestrian: A Fantasy in One Act

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury