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
As they hide, Will and Jim can hear Mr. Dark moving through the closed library. “Boys...?” the man calls again. As Mr. Dark looks in alcoves and pushes aside stacks of books, he continues talking. “Will? Willy? William. William Halloway. Where’s your mother tonight?” Dark asks. He says that Will’s mother has taken a ride on the carousel and is now two hundred years old. He continues searching and calling out to the boys. “Well,” says Mr. Dark as reaches to a high shelf and feels Will’s head. “Hello.”
Mr. Dark uses Will’s love for his mother against him. If he can convince Will that his mother has taken a ride on the carousel, then he may despair, come out of hiding, and willingly ride the carousel himself. At this point Mr. Dark also becomes a physical threat, adding to the mood of growing horror.
Themes
