Mady+Flores's+Summer+Reading

Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury

Essay#1: Communion

In Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he explains how the description of food can be used to draw in the reader’s attention, to make them feel like they are part of the communion. It is supposed to have a feeling of unity. The carnival food in Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the objects used to hint that the carnival is coming to town. Before the carnival comes the boys get a whiff of “...wind that very faintly smelled of licorice and cotton candy.” (Bradbury 22). The faint smell the boys get a hold foreshadows that the carnival is coming to town, making them excited and feeling somewhat uneasy at the same time. The mysterious aroma of sweets draws in the reader, just like Foster said in his book when talking about food. They draw in the reader one way by leave some sort of clue that something is going to happen. All of a sudden a scent of the carnival has swept in, meaning something definitely will turn up. Pancakes, eggs, and sausage: all typical breakfast foods, but they are later used when the carnival finally arrives early Saturday morning. One reason why the author took time to even describe the Saturday morning breakfast, was to show it was still a typical weekend morning. The adults were tired, but the children were bouncing with joy, read to go to the carnival.

Essay#2: Vampires

Foster’s chapter on vampires was very interesting how he pointed out that not all vampires are blood-suckers. He stated how a vampire could be an old man craving youth and is after a power source to give him that. In Something Wicked This Way Comes Will’s father, Charlie, feels too old and disconnected with his son because he cannot bond with him like a normal father can. Charlie admits, “ ‘...Will...makes me feel so old...a man should play baseball with his son....’ ” (Bradbury 37). He sees Will and Jim run like children do, secretly wanting to join and be like them. He does not have a “power source” to steal energy from. He still stays silent with his feelings, not wanting to share them with anyone, not even his wife. When that carnival arrives he is overcome with a feeling of terror over it like he knows something is evil about the place. Charlie seems to have qualities of a vampire, but he is not Twilight material. He is a mysterious man who wakes up in the middle of the night to sneak into the town library because he loves books. Although his son Will is aware of his father’s nightly actions, he has no idea what his dad does there. That is one thing that makes him mysterious. When the carnival comes his character changes more into the vampire like creature because everyone is affected by the mysterious carnival itself.

Essay #3: Symbols

Symbols in literature normally have many interpretations and they can be different because because people read them differently. Foster was saying that in his “Is That a Symbol?” chapter. One symbol in Ray Bradbury’s book that has a couple different meanings are the differences between the two friends, Will and Jim. These two boys have always been polar opposites. Will is the one trying to stay away from trouble and the mature one. Jim is the fearless risk taker, who can be very immature which is why Will is always trying to help get him out of his messes. At first their uncanny differences was a symbol of a strong friendship where they both gave the other what they needed, like a balance. It was like the perfect friendship. “Will runs because running is its own excuse. Jim runs because something’s up ahead of him. Yet, strangely, they do run together,” (Bradbury 17). By the time the carnival came, the symbol changed. The two friends began to fight about the carnival. Will argued that it wasn’t safe, but Jim wanted to explore its wonders even more. Another thing Foster mentioned is that you need certain tools to find out what the symbol really means. He wanted us to collect questions, experience, and preexisting knowledge which would act as the tools. So in Bradbury’s story, we discovered how the children were before the carnival came. They were great friends at first, but by the end their friendship started to crumble.

Essay #4: Violence

Will and Jim got themselves involved with the carnival more than they expected. They saw the carousel transform Mr. Cooger into a boy and now he’s posing as Miss Foley nephew. Mr. Cooger is Mr. Dark’s partner and they both own the carnival. Then Will broke the carousel so it couldn’t be used by Mr. Cooger anymore to turn younger. Will never wanted anything to go this far just to have fun at the carnival. That is why he and Jim ended up fighting so much. Jim just kept wanting to see more because his curiosity got to him. Will knows it isn’t safe because he is terrified of the carnival now. He goes after Jim and tries to brings him home by force because Jim keeps sneaking out. In Foster’s guidebook, he talks about violence and how literature addresses it. When violence happens in literature, it normally means something. Something like an important message or action the character is trying to show. In Will’s case, he doesn’t hurt Jim because he hates Jim for no good reason. Will is hurting Jim because he cares for him like a brother and close best friend, but Jim thinks he is just holding him back or he’s too much of a chicken.

Essay #5: Rain or Snow

Foster says that weather such as snow or rain serve purposes in literature. Such as Rain can be a cleansing for people who needed a change in the life. With snow you can do anything with it. In the very beginning of Bradbury’s book, there is a thunderstorm that is headed to towards the town. It was going to be a huge and dangerous storm, which is why a lightning rod salesman gave Jim a free lightning rod. At the end of the chapter, “Thunder sounded far off in the cloud-shadowed hills.” (Bradbury 11) This was foreshadowing that a lively storm was coming in. However, the purpose of that “thunderstorm” was not to bring a real storm. Instead, the real storm must have meant the carnival was coming or it might have been foreshadowing evil. Not all storms mean the same things. Some are dangers, but what they bring is disaster. That must have been the purpose of that thunderstorm if the story stated that not an official one even came.

Comments

Essay #3: Sexism/Feminism By Hajung Kim

Hey Hajung how was your vacation? I liked your choice for this year's summer reading. The Color Purple looked like it must have been a great book to read. About your essay, I like the connection you made with Foster’s book, I think that quote was from the vampires chapter. That was an interesting way you connected the quote to your topic. I can see why you did that because the some concepts of the vampire chapter works well with your topic for this essay. In your essay, it seemed that you summarized the ideas of Sexism and Feminism more than you analyzed. The details were great; I could get a good picture of what the book really is like, when it comes to Sexism and Feminism. Try to add more points of analysis in your essay, but overall good job!

By Yoonji Reem
 * 1) 4 ... So Does Season

Hi Yoonji! Did you like your summer? When I first saw that your book choice was The Shining, I got excited and had a flashback of that creepy movie. I can relate because I know the movie! Your essay ... So Does Season, was nice to read. It was to the point, served its purpose, and not too long and overly wordy trying to describe the point. I like how you started the essay with what weather can do and why an author would want to use it to show progress in the novel. You balanced your essay well with information from Foster’s book and The Shining. I’m glad you made it work well into a good essay!