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Chapter 10
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
At three a.m., Will wakes to the sound of a train engine. Next door, at the exact same moment, Jim wakes as well. The boys run to their windows and watch as the train begins to appear in the distance. Grabbing binoculars, the boys see that the train is very old—Civil War era old—and has a stack that hasn’t been used since 1900.
The old broken-down train adds to the supernatural nature of the carnival. Bradbury doesn’t say exactly what year the novel takes place, but the train is still described as very old and shouldn’t be in operation.
Themes
With the train comes the sound of church music. “Hell,” Jim says. “Why would a carnival play church music?” Will’s skin breaks out in goosebumps and Jim rushes to get dressed. He jumps out the window and slides down the drainpipe. “Jim! Wait!” Will yells and quickly follows.
Will’s goosebumps are more evidence of the deep fear that blankets the town. The carnival is not playing church music—it is actually Chopin’s “Funeral March” playing backward.
Themes
