The Veldt Dissatisfaction Quotes

If only Lydia had something to do, like write a novel or paint or… Seriously, it's almost as if the Hadleys live before hobbies were invented. If you were to write this story today, Lydia could be making YouTube videos and writing a blog. Problem solved.

If you're used to 1950s science fiction where robots threaten to kill people, this story can seem boring at first. There's no danger, right? It's just people feeling dissatisfied. But maybe Bradbury wants us to slowly ramp up, from "dissatisfied with role in life" to "eaten by virtual lions" (which is the natural end of all dissatisfaction).

See, the 1950s isn't that different from the 2010s: unhappy people take drugs to deal with their unhappiness. It's funny that Lydia has to tell us this about George because he's too obtuse to even realize his own feelings. And note, too, that Lydia blames all their unhappiness on the house.

See what we mean—George has no idea about his feelings. In fact, we never really hear "what was really there," so we don't know what George really feels. If only there were something like a virtual reality room that could express his innermost emotions…

Oh, so there is a virtual reality room that's supposed to help people express their feelings. It's possible this story would have a much different ending if George had used the nursery; he might have had a better shot at figuring things out with this toy before it was too late. (And that's why we play with Legos still—for our mental health.)

Kids are never into the things their parents are into. So, George and Hadley are dissatisfied, but their kids are just haters. It's rather easy to imagine them cyber bullying their parents. (Though we suppose using virtual lions to kill their parents is the most extreme form of cyber bullying there is.)

Does it seem like David McClean is saying that "creature comforts" are the opposite of real satisfaction? We make fun of this story some, but we'll be honest, sometimes we like Facebook best when we've really had to hunt for a Wi-Fi connection. Sometimes we're satisfied by struggling.

Does George want to have no massages? We don't like when one person says that no one should get massages. Our motto has always been "Massages for everyone." But at least Bradbury makes clear to us here that George totally agrees with David (in Quote #7). It's a moment of hope in an otherwise dreadful story.

After World War II, Americans had more money to buy things, so consumerism became bigger and more public. So, if your neighbor bought a new car, you might want to buy a new car just to keep up with the Joneses. That's part of why "pride" is a reason here. In other words, this is classic 1950s dissatisfaction. They buy things because they think they're supposed to, but of course those things don't do much when it comes to making these folks happy. (Things are totally different today, right? That's why we all wear sensible, off-brand clothes and no one judges anyone else by what they have.)

Finally! A scene of total satisfaction. Picnics are really the best thing in the world. The fact that it's a "little" picnic just makes it that much more adorable. Too bad these children had to kill their parents to get this satisfaction. (Although, for a picnic, we'd do almost anything, too.)