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Chapter 29
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 cleaning the roof, Will and Jim can see the balloon hovering in the distance. The boys climb down and go back to their rooms, where Will stays awake thinking. He doesn’t know what to do exactly, but he knows he must act before the carnival does. “Sorry, Dad,” Will thinks as he grabs a bow and arrow and sneaks out his window.
Will apologizes to his father before he slips out the window because he knows that it is against the rules to be out so late. In this way, Will makes the active choice to be “bad” and disobey his father, but he is also trying to do a more important kind of good work in defeating the carnival.
Themes
Will knows that the Witch can sense what he is doing. While she can’t exactly read his thoughts, she “can feel” what he is up to. “Witch,” Will thinks, “come back.” He sees the balloon begin to move closer and, not wanting to lead the Witch to his own house, he runs down the street to an abandoned house and climbs on the roof. “Witch,” he thinks, “here!” The Dust Witch floats towards the house, and just as the basket scrapes the roof, Will pulls back the bow. The weapon snaps and breaks in half.
Will merely thinks about his intentions in the presence of the Witch, just as Charles does later at the carnival, and the Witch’s “special blindness” allows her to access his thoughts.
Themes
Will grabs the basket of the balloon and reaches up with the arrow, piercing the balloon. As air escapes, the Dust Witch wails and grabs at her face as though in pain. Will releases the basket and the balloon “whistles” away. Relieved, Will jumps from the roof to a nearby tree and watches as the balloon floats, wounded, back to the carnival.
Will is obviously afraid. After all, he’s been covered in cold sweat and goosebumps for most of the day, but he stands up to the Witch and confronts his fear head on, which implies that fear only has the power one allows it to have. Once Will faces the Witch, he is able to thwart her efforts and destroy the balloon.
Themes
