Fantasy Genre In The Veldt And The Kugelmass Episode

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Humor, irony, and allegories are elements that authors use to further the message of their story. Many writers also use the fantasy genre to strengthen the devices that they include in their stories. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and “The Kugelmass Episode” by Woody Allen use most, if not all, of these elements to enhance the understanding and experience for the reader. “The Kugelmass Episode” by Woody Allen is an excellent example of humor in a short story. The entire story reads just as a sitcom that one would watch on the television. Mr. Kugelmass is in desperate need for a newly kindled romance in order to replace the dying one with his wife (Allen 1). He seeks the help of a magician named, Persky (2). Together, the pair sends Kugelmass to any fictional world that he pleases (5). Kugelmass ends up having an affair with the character, Emma Bovary, but when she comes back with him to reality, Kugelmass realizes that the affair was not all that he …show more content…

The abundance of humor in the story makes up for the small amounts of irony. One type of irony that occurs during the short story is situational irony. At the end of the story, Kugelmass becomes trapped in a Spanish textbook, thus invoking the situational irony (16). The story is also an example of fantasy. Kugelmass is able to escape his reality for the fictional world of any book that he chooses. The short story “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury has no humor whatsoever. Instead, it is dark, ominous, and chilling. The story, however, is an example of an allegory. Bradbury hides a different meaning under the original story; his hidden meaning is that new technology that a younger generation adores and wishes for will eventually end the older generation who buys and gives it to the young.