Lack of Happiness
Approval is something everybody desires. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, approval is a prevailing theme. Several characters are not happy with themselves and find themselves enveloped in the evil of the carnival. These characters need to feel acceptance and without it they feel inadequate and turn to the carnival.
One of the characters looking for approval is Will Halloway’s father, Charles Halloway. Mr. Halloway is a caring father but is separated from his son, Will, by his age. “That’s Charles William Halloway, thought Will, not grandfather, not far-wandering, ancient uncle, as some might think, but…my father” (Bradbury 14).
Mr. Halloway does not see himself as a good father early in the book partly because of the age difference between him and his son. Charles Halloway was “shocked to see he owned a son who visited this separate 20,000-fathoms-deep world” (Bradbury 14).
Then later in the book, just before death, Charles finally accepts himself. “Like a child born of an unsuspecting parent, one single raw laugh broke free” (Bradbury 229).
Charles Halloway accepts his life the way it is and is free of the carnival which feeds off of unhappy souls.
Another character that deals with acceptance is Jim Nightshade. Jim wants a ride on the carousel more than anything. He wants to become older and sees it as an adventure. Will stops him from getting on the carousel and they get into a quarrel. Will “ knocked, seized , held Jim; they toppled; they fell in a heap” (Bradbury 101).
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In “The Carnival Dog, the Buyer of Diamonds,” Myron tries to step out of his father’s shoes multiple times, but ultimately realizes that his father is the dominant force in his life. Ever since Myron was a child, Abe Lufkin has done everything in his power to make sure his son is the spitting image of himself. Myron doesn’t love everything his father does, but doesn’t really mind it either; ...
Jim cannot accept that he cannot go on one of his adventures that he loves so much. Later in the book Jim finally gets a ride on the carousel, but is pulled off by Will (Bradbury 270).
Jim finally accepts himself after riding on the carousel. He finally acquired what he wanted even though it almost lost his friend and endangered himself.
Then there is Miss Foley who is not happy with herself and therefore does not accept herself. After coming out of the Mirror Maze, she is freaked out. She then tries to ride the carousel. “There was a rain of tinkling, rattling glitter on the lawn” (Bradbury 98).
This shows Miss Foley dumping her jewelry on the boys trying to get them in trouble. She does this to be uninhibited when she goes to ride the carousel. The carousel does not save or help her as she thinks it will, but rather it takes everything from her and leaves her as a crushed little girl. “The little girl in the shadow of the tree, flung back, widened her eyes to fix the two in wetness, moaned, clutched herself and rocked back and forth, her own child-baby, comforting her elbows…soon. she might sing to herself and sing that way, alone beneath the dark tree, forever, no one able to join or stop the song” (Bradbury 158-159).
Miss Foley might not have ended like this if she just accepted Will’s and Jim’s help and rejected Mr. Cooger.
The theme of acceptance or approval is a dominant theme in Something Wicked This Way Comes. In the end, Jim Nightshade and Charles Halloway accepted themselves and were able to come out basically unaffected by the carnival. Unfortunately, Will and Jim were unable to save Miss Foley and she turned into a young girl with no friends or family to help her.