Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man: Complications that Humans Encounter
In Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man, there are a number of short stories that depict future complications that humans may encounter. “The Veldt” and “Marionettes, Inc.” both demonstrate how mismanaged technology can affect people’s lives. These stories reveal how allowing technology to replace one’s responsibilities can result in major consequences.
In “The Veldt,” technology interferes with how a family should behave. For example, while Lydia is discussing their Happy-Life Home with George, she reluctantly confesses,“I feel like I don’t belong here. The house is wife and mother now and nursemaid” (10). Lydia realizes that the house has taken over her responsibilities, and begins to feel insignificant in comparison to it. She is fully aware that her home has rendered her purposeless and unnecessary to her family. In addition, George realizes that the technology in their home is damaging their family. He rants, “The more I see of the mess we’ve put ourselves in, the more it sickens me. We’ve been contemplating our mechanical, electronic navels for too long” (17). This displays that his family’s dependence on technology has blinded them to the reality of their situation. He is frustrated with himself for having welcomed the technology into their home without any forethought. The parents have relinquished their responsibilities to technology, and as a result, they have suffered permanent ramifications.
The characters in “Marionettes, Inc.,” Braling and Smith, attempt to escape their marital predicaments by replacing themselves with mechanical duplicates. For instance, after Smith receives information about the marionettes, he nervously admits, “You don’t know what this means. Just a little respite. A night or so, once a month even” (159). This reveals that Smith is pleased to have finally found a way to escape his ongoing responsibilities as a husband. However, this also shows that he feels guilty and that he knows that it is ethically wrong to
In “The Veldt,” technology interferes with how a family should behave. For example, while Lydia is discussing their Happy-Life Home with George, she reluctantly confesses,“I feel like I don’t belong here. The house is wife and mother now and nursemaid” (10). Lydia realizes that the house has taken over her responsibilities, and begins to feel insignificant in comparison to it. She is fully aware that her home has rendered her purposeless and unnecessary to her family. In addition, George realizes that the technology in their home is damaging their family. He rants, “The more I see of the mess we’ve put ourselves in, the more it sickens me. We’ve been contemplating our mechanical, electronic navels for too long” (17). This displays that his family’s dependence on technology has blinded them to the reality of their situation. He is frustrated with himself for having welcomed the technology into their home without any forethought. The parents have relinquished their responsibilities to technology, and as a result, they have suffered permanent ramifications.
The characters in “Marionettes, Inc.,” Braling and Smith, attempt to escape their marital predicaments by replacing themselves with mechanical duplicates. For instance, after Smith receives information about the marionettes, he nervously admits, “You don’t know what this means. Just a little respite. A night or so, once a month even” (159). This reveals that Smith is pleased to have finally found a way to escape his ongoing responsibilities as a husband. However, this also shows that he feels guilty and that he knows that it is ethically wrong to