Something Wicked this Way Comes
By: Ray Bradbury
Google Lit Trip
Green Town, Illinois
Green town, Illinois is a pseudonym for the author, Ray Bradbury’s
childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois. This city has a population of around
89,000 people and resides as Illinois’ 9th largest city. Waukegan lays on the
shore of Lake Michigan. This stop is a major part of the story, “Something
Wicked This Way Comes”, because this was where Jim Nightshade and
William Halloway lived, and where they were given the mysterious
lightning rod by the traveling merchant. With Greentown, a city directly
relating to the author’s home of Waukegan, lying on the large body of water,
Lake Michigan, cool and strong wind currents and storms were common as
revealed by the novel’s setting. Information on this location in the book is
found on page 1. This location is a temporary stop on the traveling carnival
that is described in the story.
Rolfe’s Moon Meadow
Rolfe’s Moon Meadow is the place at the edge of town where
the carnival sets up. It is so called because "town couples came out to see the
moon rise here over a land so wide, so long”. This place is talked about as
the travelling carnival sets up in Chapters 11-15 of Ray Bradbury’s
novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
The Library
The Library in Greentown, Illinois is an important aspect of the
story. Jim Nightshade and William Halloway spend their free time
here. This is where the reader first reads about Will’s father, Charles.
Mr. Halloway works as a janitor here, and spends a lot his free time
reading. This is also the location where Jim, Will, and Mr. Halloway
meet Mr Dark.
The Mirror Maze
The Mirror Maze at the travelling carnival in this novel is an
important location of this novel because of the mystery surrounding it.
In the book, William Halloway and Jim Nightshade sneak out to visit
the carnival. There, they see their 7th grade teacher, Mrs Foley dazed
after visiting the Mirror Maze. Jim Halloway goes into the maze later
that day and Will has to pull him out. The disturbing mystery of
people seeing a small girl or getting dazed by entering the Mirror
Maze makes this location an important aspect of the novel.
The Carousel
This Location is important to the story because of the magic
involved with it. Will and Jim witness Mr Cooger sitting on the
carousel. The carousel takes off backwards, the music plays
backwards and Mr Cooger loses age. He takes on the appearance of a
12 year old He is followed by Jim and Will to Mrs Foley’s house
pretending to be her 12 year old nephew that was lost at the carousel.
Because of the magic involved with it, the carousel is an important
location in the novel.
Mrs Foley’s House
This is the location in which Will and Jim’s 7th grade
teacher, Mrs Foley resides. She attended one the carnival one day with
her 12 year old nephew. The nephew gets “lost” at the carnival. Later
that night, Mr Cooger rides the magic Carousel backwards and
appears at this house pretending to be her nephew.
The Barber
While this person does not play a large role in the story, it is an
excellent example of foreshadowing in the first chapter. As the
townspeople begin to notice something off, the barber tells Jim and
Will that the air smells of cotton candy. Later that day, Mr Halloway
sees a flyer for the carnival in a shop window. This and the barber’s
prediction that something was coming and his observation of the scent
of the air foreshadowed the coming travelling carnival.