Trauma and Imagination in the Child Character of Ray Bradbury’s “the Veldt” and Roald Dahl’s “the Wish”: A Psychological Analysis

Abstract

The background of this study is based on the idea that children’s imagination is not merely a form of creativity, but also a symbolic medium for expressing emotional experiences, anxiety, loneliness, and unresolved trauma. The objective of this study is to analyze how imagination reflects the psychological conditions of child characters and how trauma is represented through their imaginative worlds. This study employs a qualitative descriptive method using literary psychology as the main approach, particularly the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud. The data sources consist of the short stories “The Veldt” and “The Wish,” supported by books, journals, and previous studies related to psychoanalysis and literary criticism. Data were collected through intensive reading, note-taking, and classification of textual evidence related to imagination, trauma, and emotional conflict. The data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis by interpreting the texts through Freud’s concepts of the id, ego, unconscious mind, and anxiety. The findings reveal that imagination in both stories functions as a reflection of psychological trauma and emotional conflict. In “The Veldt,” imagination is influenced by external factors such as parental neglect and emotional distance, leading to aggressive and destructive imaginative expressions. Meanwhile, in “The Wish,” imagination emerges from internal anxiety and loneliness, transforming ordinary situations into threatening experiences. The study concludes that children’s imagination has an ambivalent role, functioning both as a coping mechanism and as a symbolic representation of unresolved emotional trauma. Therefore, imagination should be understood as an important psychological expression closely related to children’s emotional experiences and inner conflicts.