Ray Bradbury's The Veldt and the Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka is a great example of how Americans take advantage of the little things in life. In today's society people don't realize how easy it is for them and will never fully understand the meaning of hard work. The children of “The Veldt” lack respect for their family due to their disconnection from reality and abandonment by their parents. “Metamorphosis” shows how parents take advantage of their child and all the work he does for them. Both stories show disrespect and abandonment towards family members, whether they take advantage of them or underestimate them because they are unaware of their surroundings. Abandonment occurs on two levels in Bradbury's story. First, children are metaphorically abandoned by their parents when placed in the care of a technological babysitter (Harold, 2001). As David McClean's character says to George: "You have let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children's affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their true parents" (Bradbury, 163). This accidental abdication of parental responsibility causes children to become emotionally attached to daycare. Then, when George threatens to close the nursery, the children are terrified because they will now be abandoned by their new surrogate parent, the nursery. "The Veldt" is the story of a successful family and parents who try to give their children do everything in life to be successful. George and Lydia are the supportive parents who buy their children, Wendy and Peter, a $30,000 nursery that allows the children to travel anywhere in the world just by thinking about it. “You see… the center of the paper… directly reflects his imprisonment like an insect. The uncleanness of his room and himself is how a prisoner would live. Gregor is trapped in his room feeling dirty and suffering from emotional abandonment. Many times throughout the story, none of his family will come to his room to talk to him. He hides under the couch just to make his family feel comfortable in his presence. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka describe the definition of dysfunctional families who abandon their morals. Whether it's the family in the “Veldt” where they do everything they could have imagined, or Gregor's family who works hard for a living but still takes life out of gratitude. Anyone who reads these two stories can take pieces of literature and apply them in everyday life. You have to live life with meaning and take each day one step at a time.