Name: ______
Do Now
1) Read the following quote:
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”
- Albert Einstein
What do you think Einstein meant, and why do you think he said this? Do you agree or disagree with him, and why?
2) Yesterday you were asked:
How dependent on technology are you? What piece of technology could you not live without?
Has your response changed at all over the course of reading “The Veldt?” If so, how and why?
Post-Reading Notes
1) Theme is the implied meaning of the work, or the message that the author intends to convey to readers.
o Authors develop theme through various “tools” that they use in their writing – they don’t come out and tell us the message we should take away from reading the text.
o As a reader, it’s your job to figure out the message that the author is trying to convey.
o To do this, you’ll need to examine how an author uses different “tools” to create and convey meaning.
2) In “The Veldt,” Bradbury conveys his theme through the resolution of the conflict between the Hadley parents and the children. As readers, we need to study this resolution, asking ourselves:
o What actions of the parents and the children led to the resolution we saw?
o Why did the parents and children act in the ways they did?
o What message is Bradbury aiming to convey to us about how we should and should not live our lives?
Arriving at Theme – “The Veldt”
In “The Veldt,” Bradbury conveys his theme through the resolution of the conflict between the Hadley parents and the children. As readers, we need to study this resolution, asking ourselves:
What actions of the parents and the children led to the resolution we saw?Re-read paragraphs 232-261. / Why did the children act in the ways they did?
Re-read paragraphs 149-166. / What message is Bradbury aiming to convey to us about how we should and should not live our lives?
Why did the parents act in the ways they did?
Re-read paragraphs 189-204.
Bringing it all together into one wonderful paragraph.,.
Through the shocking conclusion to “The Veldt,” what message does Bradbury convey about the dangerous effects of technology on parents and children alike?
In your answer be sure to:
· Clearly explain Bradbury’s stance on technology and its impact on people and families
· Explain how Bradbury uses the story’s conclusion to convey this message
· Support your response with two specific pieces of textual evidence and explain how your evidence supports your claim