Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Something Wicked This Way Comes, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Good vs. Evil
Age, Time, and Acceptance
Love and Happiness
Fear, the Supernatural, and the Unknown
Summary
Analysis
After only one hour of sleep, Will shoots straight up in bed. “The lightning rod!” he yells. “It’s gone!” He half-noticed it was missing earlier, without even thinking, but now he is certain—Jim has taken the rod down. Will hears a faint sound, not with his ears, but with “the hairs on the back of his neck,” and he thinks about the carnival’s air balloon. Will “senses” Jim move next door, and Jim likewise senses Will. Both boys move to their windows as the balloon floats by.
Without the lightning rod, Jim isn’t protected from the evil of the carnival, and this makes them both vulnerable to Mr. Dark (although Mr. Fury obviously wasn’t protected either). The balloon is another example of something that is usually childlike and fun but twisted to evil purposes by the carnival.
Themes
Will and Jim know that the balloon is searching for them, and they can make out a figure in the hanging basket. Inside the basket is the Dust Witch, one of Mr. Dark’s freaks. The Dust Witch is blind, but she can feel, taste, and hear different souls. “Now they know where we live!” exclaims Jim. They hear a loud dragging noise from the roof of Jim’s house, and the balloon floats away.
The Dust Witch’s ability to sense different souls despite her blindness shows a new aspect of the carnival’s supernatural powers. Since the Witch is blind, she must mark Jim’s house in such a way that she can find her way back with Mr. Dark.
Themes
Will and Jim quickly climb up to the roof and see a thick streak of “evil mercury paint” on the shingles, like “a track a snail paints on a sidewalk.” As Jim begins to panic, Will climbs down and grabs a garden hose. Up on the roof, Will washes away the evil stain. “I’m a fool,” Jim cries. “Why didn’t I leave it up?” “Lightning hasn’t struck yet,” Will reminds him.
The Witch’s mark is evil, yet Will remains levelheaded and instantly knows how to counteract it. Will’s comment that “lightning hasn’t struck yet” implies that they now understand that the storm Mr. Fury referred to is the carnival, and there is still a chance they can destroy it.
Themes
