Introduction
There are several instances in the literature where works published in various eras and under various circumstances share some of the subjects or concerns addressed. This became the case when comparing and analyzing “The Veldt” and “The Birthmark.” American author Ray Bradbury’s 1952 collection of connected short stories, The Illustrated Man, contains the short story “The Veldt.” The narrative takes place in a nursery of an automated home where kids imitate African wildlife, which eventually leads to the catastrophe. From this perspective, “The Veldt” might be seen as a warning story about the perils of technology, particularly when they endanger the bond between parents and their children.
The short tale “The Birthmark” was originally published in 1843 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. ‘The Birthmark’ is a fascinating story with ambiguous meaning in its plain premise, similar to several more well-known stories. It addresses issues including mortality, human perfection, and challenging family dynamics. This essay aims to analyze similar issues touched upon by the authors. These subjects were addressed using a variety of forms and literary techniques, but ultimately, they cover multiple facets of a big yet crucial subject.
“The Veldt”: Plot Analysis
The risk of excessive dependence on technology, which results in people losing touch with what makes them human, is a frequent topic in Ray Bradbury’s works. In “The Veldt,” George and Lydia suffer terrible repercussions from the delegating of parenting duties to the house, which offers all the living luxuries at the expense of the organic relationship between parent and kid (Vallor 79). The psychologist informs them that “the family has displaced the parents as the object of their children’s attention” (Bradbury 35). This became a sign that parents made a monster when they abandoned their connection with their kids and transferred it to the household. In “The Veldt,” human’s end is domestic, confined, and a result of reliance on technology.
The author also experiences the effects of familial dynamics where the parent and child roles are switched. But they also lost the limitless imagination that, in Bradbury’s opinion, ought to be fostered in kids from an early age. The nursery, which the psychologist claims should have been “a place where kids could sketch drawings on the walls,” has changed into a place of death and devastation (Bradbury 37). In a weird and unpleasant twist on the concept of “play,” when kids are imaginative and creative, their thoughts become more destructive than helpful, mirroring their animosity against their parents.
“The Birthmark”: Plot Analysis
“The Birthmark,” like many of Hawthorne’s stories, is primarily metaphorical in that it discusses the perils of pursuing perfection, particularly human perfection because doing so runs the risk of obliterating what defines a person as human in the first place. Georgina’s birthmark is a “fault that distinguishes her from other people” and explains why Aylmer chose to marry her in the first place (Hawthorne 15). However, this birthmark did not bother him until he married her.
The birthmark also represents Aylmer’s will to use science to modify nature at any cost. At some point, he even refers to himself as a sorcerer, and he shares many traits with classic wizards from fiction and mythology, like Faust or Frankenstein (Zifan 108). He views this as a problem and his next big undertaking, and he is working to solve it using his creativity and experimentation. He is acting like another scientist seeking to be God, trying to alter what God has made.
People like Aylmer believe in themselves as gods and their abilities. Additionally, it reunites Aylmer’s two passions in life: his love for science and his love for Georgina. Although he is prepared to put her life in danger to erase a blemish from her face, in many ways, his passion for science will come before his love for his wife. Since the birthmark is only a cosmetic flaw, Georgina is not at any risk for her health, but his dread of it motivates her to persuade her to let him remove it at any cost. Aylmer is comparable to the conventional type of a person who spotted a rat in his house and burnt it down. His psychotic attention to his wife’s birthmark, which causes him to miss out on her attractive qualities, made him ruin his family and all that he cared about. He accidentally destroys everything around him that he loves and treasures to eliminate one unpleasant aspect.
Family Dynamics
Both of the stories attempt to show family issues, albeit from different perspectives. Bradbury’s tale revolves around destroying the family through the prism of unhealthy relations between parents and children. On the other side, Hawthorne touches upon the aspect of submission, sacrifice, and obedience in the husband-and-wife relationship, which ultimately leads to death. It is noteworthy that in both of the stories, the destruction of families occurs in connection with technology. Whether it be Aylmer with his experiments or Bradbury’s “Happylife Home,” after certain events connected with the misuse of technological advancements, human life is lost.
The power of technology, according to Bradbury, signifies the end of the family and of fulfilling human connections. “The house is wife and mother now. Can I compete with an African veldt?” – Bradbury emphasizes his concerns (Bradbury 51). He believes that the world of consumerism that is being developed would result in the annihilation of the fundamental concept of the family (Vallor 82). Eventually, all the qualities — love, respect, and loyalty— that make mankind possible will be gone like the family that was destroyed in the tale.
In “The Birthmark,” Georgiana is, in a way, the perfect wife since wives in Hawthorne’s day were supposed to follow their husbands. This type of obedience demonstrates the level of authority that men frequently anticipate having over their wives. “With her whole spirit, she prayed that she might satisfy his deepest conception” – that became her ultimate wish (Hawthorne 49). Georgiana dies as a result of her incapacity to consider anything but her husband’s perception of her. In the nineteenth-century Christian household, when there was no genuine priest around, the rest of the family had to follow the religious teachings of the male head of the family, who was truly seen to be the one closest to God (Zifan 109). Aylmer goes one step further by attempting to act like a deity, and Georgiana upholds this aspect of Aylmer’s self-perception by caving into his demands. Of course, the tragic conclusion to the tale calls into question both blind obedience and the ensuing hubris.
Perfection and Reality
The main conflict in “Birthmark” is between science and nature. Aylmer finds it difficult to accept Georgiana as she has been created by nature and instead feels driven to utilize his scientific expertise to correct what he perceives as nature’s flaws. Aylmer reveres science and has no qualms about using his abilities to interfere with nature’s processes (Zifan 109). Aylmer’s desire to advance science causes him to ignore human limitations – “If you were to point a finger at any human, I could measure their lifetime” (Hawthorne 88). In these settings, Georgiana’s passing serves as evidence that no creature on Earth can ever be flawless; only divine entities are capable of achieving this state.
Virtual reality has had a significant impact on the Hadley family’s understanding of reality in Bradbury’s narrative. This device may be found in Hadley’s children’s chamber, the “nursery,” in the Happylife residence. It can transport them to whatever setting they can conjure up – “It is phenomenal how the nursery captured the kids’ attention and gave life to all of their desires” (Bradbury 49). The children of Wendy and Peter have perfected virtual reality to the point that they choose to engage with the nursery than the outside world (Vallor 83). Both these stories dwell on that absolute perfection is unachievable, and attempting to attain it would only lead to misery; thus, people must learn to accept both their imperfections and those of others. The real world should not be viewed as alien, rather, the interactions in it are the most real what is happening around.
Conclusion
Bradbury’s talent is in exploiting superstitious phobias to convey a horrific warning tale about the use of technology. Hawthorne, who perfected his allegorical tactics to demonstrate how obsession and technological advancements can ruin a life, also echoes this narrative. Despite taking place at various times and decorations, these stories have a common theme. They both have technology that strives to achieve the perfection of reality, whether in humans or the world around them. And in both instances, these technologies result in family dissolution and death.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. The Veldt. Dramatic Publishing, 1972
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Birthmark. Infomotions, Incorporated, 1843.
Vallor, Shannon. “Twenty-First-Century Virtue.” Science, Technology, and Virtues: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Emanuele Ratti and Thomas Stapleford, 2021, pp. 77–92.
Zifan, Yin. “A New Historicist Approach to Hawthorne’s View of Science in “The Birthmark.” Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, vol. 5, no.10, 2019, pp. 107–111.