Introduction
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury and Franz Kafka’s In the Penal Colony represent short fiction that puts a reader’s mind in obscurity with puzzled implications. The present analysis begins with a brief comparison of the two stories. It is followed by the discussion of the theme of death in The Veldt, namely, as recognition of inevitability and as revenge. In addition, the parallel between the two narratives regarding the link between death and justice is also highlighted. Finally, the analysis will touch upon connections between the theme of death and traditions and self-sacrifice in Kafka’s story. Therefore, the revelation concerning the hidden motifs of fatality in both narratives shows how people endow death with various meanings and purposes through the perspectives of their own goals and desires.
Discussion
At first glance, the stories have nothing in common. Looking closer, one admits the presence of machines, but there is a considerable difference between them, though they ultimately lead to inevitable death. Bradbury tells the story of a high-technological room that was not supposed to kill anybody. On the contrary, Kafka describes an apparatus designed to punish the guilty. Although both narratives contain the theme of death, the authors uncover it in entirely different ways while questioning the essence of being a human.
Honorable Ray Bradbury and Franz Kafka have inspired thoughts about mortality, but it does not put a full stop in the end. Nonetheless, from the point of both stories, death cannot be reflected upon in a vacuum without any connection to other themes. In The Veldt, the nursery bought for Wendy and Peter, the beloved children of George and Lidiya Hadley, becomes a quirky weapon for each family member. By purchasing an expensive and advanced prototype of a modern smart house, parents strive to provide a comfortable and careless life, saving them even from themselves. George seems to realize with horror what his children may want to see in the nursery: “The children thought zebras, and there were zebras. Sun — sun. Giraffes — giraffes. Death and death” (Bradbury, 1950, p. 5). At this moment, death is regarded as something distant but dangerous that may have tragic consequences for children’s future.
Nevertheless, George and Lidiya encountered what they feared the most — death by lions in the virtual African veldt, but the story still leaves an open ending. Children plot to kill their parents as revenge for derogated freedom or access to the imaginary technological toy world where Peter and Wendy could play gods. In addition, they perceived the nursery as something alive, which is apparent from Peter’s words imploring him not to let his father “kill everything” (Bradbury, 1950, p. 12). Nevertheless, after the son wishes his father to be dead, there is a moment when George shows his visitation: “We were, for a long while,” and states his readiness to “really start living” (Bradbury, 1950, p. 12). It is a vivid illustration demonstrating Bradbury’s view on the dark side of thought-operated technologies — their capability of killing humanness, personality, and even basic skills in people. The author fastidiously depicted how George and Lidiya attempted to close their eyes to Wendy and Peter’s addiction to the nursery until it became too late. In addition to revenge, death plays the role of undeserved “justice” administered to parents.
Here, one can notice particular parallels with In the Penal Colony, as it also touches upon the combination of death and justice, which suggests perpetuating deadly practices. “Guilt is never to be doubted” are the words of Kafka’s officer, and the traces of this expression are admitted in Hadley’s children’s actions because they decided to execute their parents without hesitancy (Kafka, 1919, p. 5). However, the contexts are different because the story about the colony depicts the criminal justice system in which the decisions to punish someone are based not on a clear set of laws but on the subjective prescriptions of the former Commandant.
Prisoners deserve, if not suffering, then death from the Harrow, which seems an everlasting system. The image of the prisoner condemned to capital punishment embodies the view of other inmates as animal-like and brutal. The guilty was a servant of the cruel captain who hit him with a whip, and the servant attempted to threaten the master: “I’ll eat you alive” (Kafka, 1919, p. 5). Although the awry criminal system used the inhumane apparatus, it is supposed to provide enlightenment and reconsideration of one’s actions. On the one hand, the machine aims at physical death because few people can endure twelve-hour torment. On the other hand, the whole system is designed to kill the personality through the humiliation of prisoners. It is psychological death that makes inmates indifferent to their internal world, including feelings, desires, emotions, and beliefs, as well as to the external world, namely the audience who watches the demeaning execution performance. Given the above, death can serve as freedom for the guilty and relief to society.
Such a view of justice and the methods of its administering have a range of similarities with traditions and customs, which can be either retained or abandoned. Atrocities and inhumanity can remain for a long time if they are reinforced by unconditional pious opinions. There always be fanatics supporting the higher purpose of torture and being ready to sacrifice themselves for absurd “traditional” ideas. It occurred to the officer who was convinced that anyone is “impossible to alter anything” in the justice system and even expected the new Commandant “to acknowledge its truth” (Kafka, 1919, p. 2). The self-sacrifice of the officer does not mean his decision to review his opinion because he was loyal to the old Commandant beyond measure. A desire to confirm his faith in the contorted meaning of justice guided his decision to die. In view of this, the officer’s death does not make any sense for the further life of society in Kafka’s story because there can be many other such “officers” who will be willing to perpetuate the groundless suffering of innocent people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both The Veldt by Ray Bradbury and In the Penal Colony, written by Franz Kafka, depict what it is like to be a human through the prism of death. Both narratives reveal how cruel and indifferent people can be to each other and someone is suffering in the name of their own satisfaction or ambiguous ideas. As one can see, death varies in its meaning and purposes and often contains ambiguity. However, one may think that death in both stories does not mean the irrevocable final of everything. On the contrary, The Veldt and In the Penal Colony leave a reader an open end, as well as instill the feeling that some new developments are coming.
References
Bradbury, R. (1950). The veldt. Gothic Digital Series.
Kafka, F. (1919). In the penal colony. Kurt Wolff Verlag.