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
Charles sits in the local bar drinking a cup of coffee. He hasn’t slept all night, and he is exhausted. As he orders another cup, a man walks in and sits next to him. The man has “a single eye tattooed on the back of each finger.”
This man is Mr. Dark, and while tattoos of eyes are usually meant to ward off evil, here they are a symbol of his wicked and seemingly all-seeing nature.
Themes
Meanwhile, Jim and Will sit below the grille as the young boy continues to point and yell to his mother. “Down there! Look!” he insists. Will can see the freaks walking by the grille, including the Dwarf. “Oh Mr. Fury,” Will thinks, “what they’ve done to you.” As the young boy’s mother drags him away from the grille, the Dwarf follows and walks away.
Will’s comment is another reflection of his kind and good character. Will barely knows Mr. Fury, yet he still laments what has become of him, even though he is now working on behalf of the evil Mr. Dark and seeks to cause Will harm.
Themes
Back in the bar, The Illustrated Man stares at Charles. The bartender offers the stranger a drink, but he says he is only looking for two boys. “Who isn’t?” Charles thinks as he exits the bar. Charles walks down to the cigar shop and buys a cigar from Mr. Tetley. As Charles stops outside the shop to light the cigar, he notices two shadows beneath the grille. “Jim? Will!” Charles cries. “What the hell’s going on?” The Illustrated Man approaches from across the street.
Illustrated Man seems to somehow know who Charles is, and believes that Charles will lead him to Will and Jim. This mysterious ability only adds to Charles’s fear, which continues to build as the Illustrated Man follows him across the street. Jim and Will seem to have become a priority for Mr. Dark by now.
Themes
The Illustrated Man tells Charles that he is searching for two boys. The boys have won unlimited free passes to the carnival, and it would be a shame if they missed out, the man says. The strange man holds out his palms, and Charles sees two tattoos—one of Will and one of Jim—covering the man’s palms. Charles quickly gives the man two fake names, but the man knows he is lying. “We found the names of the boys ten minutes ago,” he says. “Just wanted to double-check.” He tells Charles that the boys’ names are Will and Jim, but he doesn’t know their last names. The man clenches his fists, and Jim and Will “thrash in agony” below.
The Illustrated Man’s tattoos function much like a voodoo doll, and in this vein, the tattoos serve as Will and Jim’s effigies. The Illustrated Man can inflict physical pain upon the boys simply by manipulating the images that are tattooed upon his skin. But Mr. Dark nonetheless needs Charles’s help to find the boys, and when Charles refuses, he effectively faces his fear.
Themes
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The Dust Witch approaches and stands near the grille. “Dad!” thinks Will. “Do something!” The Witch is sure to feel their presence beneath the grille, and Will and Jim begin to panic. Suddenly, Charles lights his cigar. “Now, this is a fine cigar!” he says, blowing a huge cloud of smoke into the Witch’s face. The witch begins to cough and choke, and then she quickly walks away.
Charles is obviously afraid and doesn’t know what Mr. Dark and the Witch are capable of, but he stands up to them anyway. By blowing smoke into the Witch’s face, he gives Will and Jim another chance to escape.
Themes
“Your name, sir?” the Illustrated Man asks. “Halloway,” Charles answers. “Work in the library. Drop by sometime.” The Illustrated Man walks away, and Charles speaks, inconspicuously, to the boys below. He tells them to stay hidden for the day and meet him later at the library, after he has had a chance to find out who, or what, the carnival is. He walks off, leaving Will and Jim below the grille.
Charles continues to face his fear and does not lie to Mr. Dark. Instead, Charles tells him where he works because he knows that Mr. Dark will come looking later, and Charles is ready to challenge him.
Themes
