Something Wicked This Way Comes
In Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, Jim and Will are
portrayed as characters with few similarities: being extremely close in age, and living
next door to each other being the two main parallels. Will is born only minutes before
his counterpart, but he is born in the closing minutes of All Saints Day, October 30, and
Jim in the initial minutes of Halloween. As for these two days that the boys are born, the
former seems to represent righteousness and innocence, while the connotations that
belong to Halloween are evil and depressing; two consecutive holidays, yet completely
opposite implications. The fact that Jim and Will are born within minutes of each other
draws them closer, but like the difference between the two holidays they exemplify, the
situation still has them separated. The relationship that Jim and Will possess consists of
interdependent opposites, and their interactions between each other develop a unity that
consistently brings the two companions closer together.
Jim and Will's relationship is connected through opposites that go perfectly
together. While this may seem like a paradox, it is proved time and again throughout the
novel. "...Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim"(18).
This comes towards the beginning when the two are sprinting home, one running slower
than his normal pace and the other faster. Obviously running faster is an opposite of
running slower, and it is understood that the two are running together. Therefore, when
the two opposites (running faster and running slower) are applied together, they fit
perfectly since the boys are running with each other. Another example is "The wind flew
Jim away. A similar kite, Will swooped to follow"(16). This quotation comes early in
the novel, when Jim wants to return home as quickly as possible in
portrayed as characters with few similarities: being extremely close in age, and living
next door to each other being the two main parallels. Will is born only minutes before
his counterpart, but he is born in the closing minutes of All Saints Day, October 30, and
Jim in the initial minutes of Halloween. As for these two days that the boys are born, the
former seems to represent righteousness and innocence, while the connotations that
belong to Halloween are evil and depressing; two consecutive holidays, yet completely
opposite implications. The fact that Jim and Will are born within minutes of each other
draws them closer, but like the difference between the two holidays they exemplify, the
situation still has them separated. The relationship that Jim and Will possess consists of
interdependent opposites, and their interactions between each other develop a unity that
consistently brings the two companions closer together.
Jim and Will's relationship is connected through opposites that go perfectly
together. While this may seem like a paradox, it is proved time and again throughout the
novel. "...Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim"(18).
This comes towards the beginning when the two are sprinting home, one running slower
than his normal pace and the other faster. Obviously running faster is an opposite of
running slower, and it is understood that the two are running together. Therefore, when
the two opposites (running faster and running slower) are applied together, they fit
perfectly since the boys are running with each other. Another example is "The wind flew
Jim away. A similar kite, Will swooped to follow"(16). This quotation comes early in
the novel, when Jim wants to return home as quickly as possible in