Garry Griffin
World Literature
Ms. Murphy
16 May 2013
Something Wicked Comes This Way
In Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked Comes This Way the protagonist’s, the night salesman, actions affect the two boys by first scaring them, secondly by interrogating them, and third and finally by telling them what their future will be.
Fear, interrogation, and fortune telling seems to do it all. It was a very dark night, and just a few days away from Halloween. William Halloway and Jim Nightshade, 13 years old, and next-door neighbors who were so close to 14 they could taste it. On this Dark night, the two next-door neighbors lied in the grass. A storm was coming about and suddenly a spooky night salesman appeared walking down the block. This night salesman sold rods that supposedly stops lighting from striking your house during storms. The boys are a bit spooked by the salesman, and as he inches closer, he says to them, “Either one of y’all folks home?” (Bradbury 6) The boys nod their heads to say no. The salesman continues to inch closer and closer, and within each step Will and Jim get a little bit more scared.
The night salesman begins to ask questions, and although the two boys are extremely skeptical of this man, they don’t move. He then says to them “What’s y’all boy’s names?” William Halloway….James Nightshade” (Bradbury 7), the boys reply. The salesman then asks if the boys have any money on them, and the boys reply no by shaking their heads. So the salesman just offers to give them a free lightning protector rod, and when he did that the boys became a little less scared. Jim was definitely more comfortable with the salesman while Will was not as scared but still weary of him. As a storm is approaching, time is wasting.
The boys tell the salesman a story about how close together they were born. Will was born one minute before midnight on October 30th, while Jim was born one minute after midnight on October 31st Halloween night. The night...