Something Wicked This Way Comes Compare And Contrast

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Everybody in life will have a personality that is made up of a combination of light and dark. There may be people who align towards one side more than the other, but even those people do not have completely light or dark personalities. In Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, the two main protagonists, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway, are close friends who lie at opposite ends of the personality spectrum. They can be considered alter egos, with Will being the lighter half and Jim being the darker half. Despite being best friends, the two boys differ in their physical appearances, personalities, and abilities to resist temptations, which emphasize how Will has a lighter personality and Jim has a darker one.
The differences between Jim and Will are introduced early on in the novel. Will is described as having “hair as blond-white as milk thistle” …show more content…

Cooger and Mr. Dark’s mysterious carnival. When the boys visit the carnival, Jim enters the mirror maze, despite seeing what it did to Miss Foley. This shows how he easily falls to the temptation of the Mirror Maze, even though he already knows that it can drastically affect people. After Mr. Cooger and Mr. Dark catch the boys on the carousel, Mr. Dark focuses his attention on Jim instead of Will. Mr. Dark goes on to show Jim his snake tattoo and offer a free ride on the carousel, which is quickly accepted. The interaction shows how Mr. Dark can easily tempt Jim due to their similar personalities. Later, as Mr. Cooger is running towards the carousel to become old again, Jim follows him and tries to get onto the ride. Will then realizes that “Jim wasn’t running after nephews. He was running after free rides” (100). This scene show how Jim wants to ride the carousel to grow older and gain more knowledge, even though age does not always come with experience. Jim’s best friend, however, does not fall to the carnival’s

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