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Theme Of The Carousel In Something Wicked This Way Comes

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“Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin. There are smiles and smiles; learn to tell the dark variety from the light.”(Bradbury 135) Written in 1962, Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes is a fantasy fiction novel which depicts the mysterious experience two teenage boys encounter one October night in Green Town, Illinois. Within Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury utilizes symbolism of the carousel in order to reveal the primary theme:beware of even the most innocent things, for they can be so nefarious.
To begin with, the author incorporates the carousel as a symbol of evil disguised as innocence. In reality, the carousel is a distortion which represents the fears and desires wicked people feed off of in order to acquire ultimate power. In the novel, the author often refers to the carousel since it is almost portrayed as a vault which is constantly revolving and depending on the innocent who succumb to the dark side when their greatest fears are put to the test. According to Bud Martin, “we are drawn in and root for children because their security is being encroached upon, and it is their love and innocence that both can make them victims and save them, in the end.” The carousel is by far the most powerful and important symbol within and throughout the novel because it is considered the powerhouse or main source of energy which thrives solely on the souls of the weak and naive who

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