The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

Group Members: Carly and Sydney

Directions: Please answer the following questions in COMPLETE sentences. Give as
much detail as you can in your answers. This document will be turned in by the end
of class on Wednesday 9/14!
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. Have your parents ever denied you something that you wanted more than
anything in the world? Explain the situation.
They denied me when I wanted a phone when I was younger. I wanted
one so badly. Finally I listened to them and was patient and a couple
years later I got a phone.
2. What might happen if rooms in your house could become sensitive to the
thoughts and feelings of people?
That would not be good. This would be scary and sometimes I just slam
my doors and so if that happened and they had feelings they would be
mad at me and do mean things to me.
3. What is your perspective of the viewpoint held by some parents that nothings
too good for our children?
I think this is too much. Some people are too needy. If they grow up like
this they will be snotty and mean. They wont be used to people saying
no.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Begin reading The Veldt. Stop Reading after Lydia says, Why dont we
shut the whole house off for a few days and take a vacation? Answer
the following questions:
4. Describe the setting of this story. Give text evidence from the story to support
your answer.
When they walked down the hall and saw the nursery it was taken place
in Africa with a lot of animals. They were thought to be in Africa because
that's what they were thinking about and now the setting is all about
Africa. The text states, The hot straw smell of lion grass, the cool green
smell of the hidden water hole, the strong dried blood smell of the
animals, the smell of dust like red pepper in the hot air. And now the
sounds: the thump of distant antelope feet on soft grassy ground. This
is when the nursery is transforming.
5. Why do you think Lydia wants to shut off the house? At this stage in the story,
what do you think will be the childrens (Peter and Wendy) reaction to this idea?
Support your opinion with text evidence from the story.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

She wants to shut off the house because she is thinking too much and
whenever she thinks that is what happens to the house and she is not
liking this. The text states, Maybe I dont have enough to do. Maybe I
have time to think too much. This is what the mom thinks. If the kids
find out they will not be happy because they really loved the nursery and
spent a lot of time there. The author states, When I punished him a
month ago by locking it for even a few hours the way he lost his
temper! And Wendy too. They live for the nursery.
Continue reading. Stop reading after George says, Im starting to
wonder.
6. What is the nursery? What do the walls of the nursery reflect?
The nursery is now South America. They reflect their thoughts and
feelings.
7. How does Bradbury describe the physical appearance of Peter and Wendy when
they return home in the evening? Use text evidence!
They have bright blue eyes and are wearing fresh air clothes. The text
states, with bright blue eyes and a smell of fresh air on their clothes
from their trip in the helicopter.
8. How does their physical description contrast with what we know about their
mental activities (their thoughts)?
They seem like sweet kids and are very polite but there thoughts are bad
and are not like their personality.
Continue reading. At the conclusion of the story, answer the following
questions.
9. Atmosphere in a story is the prevailing feeling or mood. It usually sets up
expectations in the reader about the outcome of an episode or plot. It is created
by descriptive diction, imagery, and dialogue. Describe the atmosphere of the
story, using adjectives only (such as creepy or cold). Use plenty of them to
build a solid picture of the atmosphere.
Adjectives: Twisted, scary, addicted, tension, fear, and sadness.
10. Why was Peter screaming, Dont let father kill everything?
He didnt want his dad to shut off the house because then he would have
to do everything for himself.
11. What was George actually doing?
George was helping his family out because he realized that the smart
house was just making their family worse.
12. What does this suggest about Peters relationship with technology?
He is too obsessed with it and he wouldnt be able to live without it.
13. Do you think the children realize what they have done to their parents?

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

No, because they wanted the house to stay on badly but they didnt
realize what they were doing to their family and that they were making
it worse.
.

Literary Devices: Please complete the chart with any literary devices you
notice in the reading that we have discussed so far in class already!
Please include at least

5 examples.

Literary Device
Name:

Text evidence of Lit

Device (write down page
#)

Explanation of Lit Device

as used in the text

Allusion

The kids name Wendy and

Peter

These are the kids in peter

pan that stay young forever

SItuational irony

Just then they heard the

children calling, Daddy,
Mommy, come quick
quick!
They went downstairs in the
air tube and ran down the
hall. The
children were nowhere in
sight. Wendy? Peter!
Page 12

We thought that the kids

actually needed help because
kids usually want their
parents to help them but then
the kids tricked the parents
and killed them.

Dramatic irony

There was a green, lovely

forest, a lovely river, a purple
mountain, high voices
singing. And there
was Rima the bird girl, lovely
and mysterious.
Page 6

We knew that the kid was

doing this to the parents and
that the kids were changing
it.

Connotation

The Nursery

In the story Nursery is:

haunted house
Nursery for babies: playroom

Simile

Can I give a bath and clean

the children as efficiently or
quickly as the automatic
body wash can?

It is comparing how fast the

machine works to how fast a
human can work.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

RL.8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are

used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone,
including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Not Yet Meeting

Approaching
Standard

Meeting
Standard

Exceeding Standard

Struggled to
identify the
meanings of words
or phrases in the
text, including
metaphors or
symbolism and
suggested
meanings.
Struggled to
identify specific
word choices that
impact meaning or
tone. Struggled to
identify analogies or
allusions to other
texts.

Identified the
metaphors and
symbolism within
the text but did not
explain the
suggested
meanings.
Identified word
choices that impact
the meaning and
tone, but struggled
to explain how or
why. Identified
analogies or
allusions to other
texts.

Explained the
symbolic and
metaphorical
meanings of words
and phrases in the
text AND explained
the feelings and
meanings the text
suggests. Identified
and explained how
specific word
choices impact the
meaning and tone.

Evaluated and clearly

explained the most
important symbolic and
metaphorical meanings
of words and phrases in
the text AND clearly
explained and evaluated
the most important
connotations and
suggested meanings.
Identified and evaluated
how specific word
choices impact the
meaning and tone,
including analogies and
allusions to other texts.

RL.8.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an

analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
Not Yet Meeting
Struggled to
explain what the
text directly says
as well as the
meaning behind
the text. Did not
identify evidence
from the text.

Approaching
Standard
Explained what the
text directly says as
well as the meaning
behind the text.
Identified evidence, but
not necessarily the
strongest evidence.

Meeting Standard
Explained what the
text directly says as
well as the meaning
behind the text.
Identified the
evidence that most
strongly supports
this analysis.

Exceeding
Standard
Explained what the
text directly says as
well as the meaning
behind the text.
Identified the
evidence that most
strongly supports
this analysis AND
proposed an
argument for why
this is evidence is

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

the strongest.