Analysis Of Mr. Dark In Ray Bradbury's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'

In “Something Wicked this way comes” by Ray Bradbury, Mr. Dark creates a threatening and mocking tone throughout the whole story. Right off the bat when Mr. Dark makes his first appearance in the story, he creates a threatening tone as shown trough “Mr. Dark clenched fist…” (Bradbury75). When first meeting Mr. Dark, Will and even Jim, a risk taker, were precautious on what they told him and how they presented themselves. Mr. Dark “The Illustrated Man” being a big man covered in tattoos talking to a couple of kids doesn’t create a good feeling. The boys can tell he is an important part of the carnival, so with Jim and Will already fearing the carnivals evilness, Mr. Dark is added to the list of things Jim and Will are fighting against. When

Dark is looking for Jim and Will and ask Halloway for their location, but as Halloway refuses to cooperate Mr. Dark ask him if he’d “like to be younger” (212) and then offers him a deal by saying “tell you what…casually waving his cigarette” (213) demonstrating his teasing tone. By Mr. Dark “casually waving his cigarette” he is demonstrating how he doesn’t care what Mr. Halloway thinks because Dark thinks that he is smarter and wiser than Halloway. Also as Halloway refuses again to give up the location of the boys Mr. Dark exclaims “you’re losing cut old man” (213) again showing his harassment. Mr. Dark knows how Mr. Halloway feels about his age so he uses this knowledge to mock him and try to break Halloway into leading him to where Jim and Will are because he wants the boys, demonstrating him to be overconfident in his position. Mr. Dark doesn’t only make fun of Mr. Halloway, but he does the same to Will because they both are trying to destroy his plan. As show through “Mom! screamed Will…Mom, crooned Mr. Dark, come save me”, Mr. Dark doesn’t care about Will and his feelings. This section of the story not only creates a mocking tone because Mr. Dark is literally mocking Will, but also because Mr. Darks cruelness is demonstrated through the whole chapter towards anybody that goes against him. Since Mr. Dark is eyes and ears of what goes on with the carnival he believes he has power over anybody and everybody who comes in contact with the carnival, he believes he can say what he wants and nobody can do anything about it because he controls them. The sense of power is what best contributes to the mocking tone of the story, because without motive there would be no humiliation for