Character Analysis: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes Essay

The nature of greed is insatiable. It thrives on human weaknesses, and therefore, has no limits on how much it can grow to be stronger and more profound, within a human. Each person is unique in the way how they express their geed. For many, taking advantage of others is a prime example of how greed exerts itself. In the story, Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, by Ray Bradbury, the author demonstrates how people who highly value self-importance, leave no room for compassion and are driven to manipulate others for their own selfish desires. The author shows us how there are multiple ways a person can manipulate others. For some, lying becomes an effective way of manipulation. Others like

to establish fear within their victims, exerting physical and emotional terror for prowess. For some, they chose to guilt, making others feel emotionally vulnerable and therefore easier to control.

Deceit is one of the most common techniques a person can use for manipulating others.

It misleads, it creates empty promises and hopes that cannot be realized. This technique is especially effective for people who are desperate, because the idea behind lying, is to give false hope. People who feel desperate are likely cling onto anything that gives them hope. By doing so, it makes them vulnerable to be exploited by the wrong people because of their weaknesses.

In the novel, Dark is the epitome of a deceitful character. The nature of his being is to lie, to persuade others with empty promises, for his personal gain. He makes his living by setting traps of hope that targets each individual specifically. His ideal victims are people that are desperate, lonely and self-doubting.

“Unconnected fools, that is the harvest that the carnival comes smiling with its threshing

machine”
In the book, it especially focuses on people who cannot find a way to accept themselves as they are. Those characters are namely Jim, Charles, Foley and Tom Fury. All of them have a wish to become someone else. Some wish to regain their lost youth, others want to grow out of youth prematurely, but what they all have in common is the wish of something unreachable. It all goes against the flow of nature, and therefore making their dreams impossible to come true. Yet, because of persistent belief that, one day, their desires will come true, expose their vulnerability to others. The carnival is clever to exploit that weakness; offering them the impossible gift that they all fervently want, thus planting the seeds of hope in their minds.
The carnival is also uses another tactic of deception, which is tricking his victims into thinking that they can get something for nothing.
“People want something for nothing, but for them, you get nothing for something.”
People oftentimes fall for the illusion that they can get something for nothing, and are easily made victims of the carnival. The carnival is offering them an irrefutable offer, and to them, they have nothing to lose. This is especially the case for Jim, who was effectively tempted by Dark’s offer to ride the carnival. To many, it seemed as if it was the perfect solution to Jim’s problems, but as the book progresses, we learn that there are many more consequences than there are positive rewards. That is because, in the end, a person deceiving someone else will also aim for a gain, rather than a loss, and therefore which is why a person being deceived will be given an empty promise, and never receive what they really wanted for.

Fear is another method of manipulation, because the extent in which fear can overpower a person is a great weakness.

To be in control of someone, people resort to fear, or things that initiate fear like violence. When exerting fear upon someone else, the person feels powerful and strong, and consequently, making the other feel weak and inferior. To feel fear, a person has to understand its dangers, and only then can they react accordingly to it. To effectively manipulate someone via the use of fear, a person has to understand the person that they are trying to control. To some, the prospect of one thing may seem frightening, but not to others. Dark was able to use the threat of death to frighten many of his victims. Because to most people, Death is a universal fear, something that many people, despite age and experience, are afraid of. But when threatening the prospect of Death to Charles, it had backfired on him because Charles is unique in the way that he does not see Death like how many people see it. Although he is strong in that aspect, he still has his weaknesses that can be left for Dark, and the carnival, to exploit. Charles still finds it hard to accept himself, namely his age, and therefore the carnival was able to make him fear something else, which was himself, though the use of the Mirror

Maze.
Similarly, Dark was able to exert physical force upon his freaks. The tattoos on his body are able to inflict pain, and that his prime device to keep his carnival freaks in line. While the tattoos themselves cannot physically control someone, it is a torture device that can make others feel pain and therefore, making them instinctively afraid of Dark. A notable example of when Dark used his tattoos to take advantage of his freaks was when he threatened the Dust Witch with pain, and forcefully made her the shooting target despite her protests.

Lastly, a person may resort to guilt as a method of manipulation, because it is an emotionally straining sentiment. It is like pressure and duress, and is a form of emotional exploitation. This technique oftentimes used by people who have close relationships, or have interacted and one ends up owing the other some sort of compensation. When two people, friends or family or partners are close, they can easily be guilt tripped into doing something because they feel as if their relation ties would be severed if they do not the favor asked of them.
Ray Bradbury’s understanding of guilt is a person feeling emotionally obliged to follow another person’s wishes. In the book, Jim’s friendship with Will is the prime example of how guilt plays into manipulation. Their friendship is unbalanced, with Jim receiving the bigger end of the stick than Will. Jim maintains a more dominant standing, therefore is the more influential one. His character is more brash, more bold, yet the more egoistic and self centered character in the book.
“You wouldn’t let me come alone. You’re always going to be around, aren’t you Will? To protect me?”
He guilt trips will to visit to see the carnival, and that way he convinces Will to do whatever he wants. Jim and Will are close enough that Jim was able to directly attack Will’s with guilt. He knows the nature of Will’s compassion, and can easily persuade him into going something by targeting his kindness. He uses Will’s personality against him, questioning aspects of his personality, like his loyalty and morals, and thus Will can be easily guilt-tripped into doing something he doesn’t want.

In concluding otherwise, there are multiple ways in which a person can manipulate others. Ray Bradbury depicts those methods of manipulation throughout the story of Something Wicked This Way Comes. He underlines the impact deceit can have on people, and the consequences that comes with believing in lies. Fear also plays in important factor in manipulating others, because it effectively leaves a person vulnerable and weak. Using the influence of guilt, one can also manipulate someone by putting them under duress, therefore emotionally hurting their victims. The ability to deceive others, to inflict fear upon others, and to create guilt all methods explored in the novel.