Short Story

(in progress)

The Veldt

This powerful story shows some of the possible negative side effects of taking technology too far.

When I envisioned the room, I pictured its natural shape to be a dome instead of flat walls, this curved shape would make more sense if the landscape scenes were meant to appear real. The "room" is made from pieces of paper cut to various shapes and sizes. Some of the pieces are colored blue-green and are taped over, to represent the room in a calm state that is still behaving the way it is meant to. The color choice for this came from the scene in the story where the room takes the form of the country from the book Green Mansions. It is interesting that the author chose to use the imagery from Green Mansions; although most of the book is pleasant, its ending is ultimately as tragic as The Veldt's. For the majority of the inner pieces of the "room", they are colored an intense variety of reds oranges and yellows and are not taped over, to represent the veldt breaking free from the rest of the house and ultimately from the control of the parents. The outside of the "room" is covered in clear tape and coated with white paint, representing the sleek modern look of the rest of the house. There are blue-green, taped covered spokes stabbing through the entire structure. These show how even when it was in a calm state, the room was constantly piercing through the rest of the house and the family's life. It shows how the room controlled the family's life by controlling the children.

(complete)

 

 

3 Drawings