CHAPTER NOTES SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

CHAPTER 32

Summary

At dawn, it begins to rain. Jim and Will both dream in nightmares throughout their sleep. Before they wake, the carousel begins to run again. Only Miss Foley hears it, and she heads toward it. After some morning yelling by their parents, both boys leave their homes to talk to the police and apologize once more to Miss Foley. As they walk toward their destination, Jim says he dreamt of a funeral for the balloon. Will tries to tell him what happened with the balloon, but there’s no time. The boys hear a little girl crying. She wails that no one will believe her, and Jim insists that he doesn’t know her, but Will suspects she is Miss Foley. Will, feeling he must verify that, leaves the little girl in a vacant lot. Both boys search her house, and they hear the funeral march being played backward on the carousel, and then realize that the carnival has done this to her either on accident or on purpose. Will convinces Jim that they must help her, and as they start out the door, they hear the carnival creating a parade through the town. They hide in the alley and watch the parade passes the empty lot where they left the tiny Miss Foley. When the parade is gone, they examine the lot, now completely vacant. They leave to hide themselves in town.

Notes

Jim’s dream about the balloon is important because it signifies the fact that there still seems to be a connection between Jim and the carnival, something that will come into play later in the novel. Finding Miss Foley as a little girl is infinitely important readers further see the power of the carnival to grant twisted wishes. This incident also helps Will. For this reason, Will begins to hate the carnival because he knows that the carnival often purposely gives people far more than they bargained for. The fact that the boys feel they must hide at the end of the chapter shows that the carnival is indeed out to get the boys, heightening the overwhelming sense of fear that will continue until the end of the novel.

CHAPTER 33

Summary

Will calls his dad to say that they’re hiding because “they” are looking for them. Charles tries to ascertain who “they” are, but Will refuses to involve him. Will only asks that Charles tell the women that the boys won’t be home. They hang up, and Charles heads out to look for them.

Notes

The fact that Will calls to have the boys’ mothers told that they will be away for the day signifies Will’s sense of responsibility. He doesn’t want them to worry, which also signals his increasing sense of maturity. Charles seems to want to be involved with Will, but once again fails.

CHAPTER 34

Summary

The boys hide under and iron grill imbedded in the sidewalk that runs by the cigar store. Above, the parade clashes with the church bells. They see people passing above, and they realize the parade is passing directly in front of them. Will sees his dad pass above on the grate. A small boy accidentally drops his gum down past the grate, and it lands next to Jim’s show. The boy leans down to get it, and suddenly Will realizes the parade has stopped and the freaks are now circulating the streets looking for them. The small boy leans on the grill, taps his mother, and points at Jim and Will in the shadows of the pit.

Notes

The parade clashes with the Sunday morning church bells, furthering the clash between religion and evil. When Charles passes above the boys, Will wants to yell out to him, but again feels unable to ask him for help. The danger felt in this chapter, with the innocence of the young boy noticing the boys beneath the sidewalk, heightens the reader’s sense of fear for the boys.

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