Something Wicked This Way Comes

James, or “Jim,” is the deuteragonist of the story, or sidekick. He is Will’s brash best friend and next-door neighbor. Described as Will’s opposite “mirror image,” Jim is almost 14 years old with wild, dark hair and a darkly poetic last name of which he is proud. He was born one minute after midnight, making his birthday Halloween. This holds ominous significance, as Jim is easily tempted by the carnival’s dark forces. Indeed, Jim is “marbled with dark” and “a boy who talked less and smiled less as the years increased” (37).

Jim and Will always celebrate their birthdays together, as they do everything else. They share a strong, deep bond that each hopes will hold as they grow from boys into young men. Although they promise to always be friends, Jim tests their friendship by wanting to age via the carnival ride. Jim’s mother worries about Jim getting older and leaving her alone. These fears make her affection almost suffocating for Jim, which is one of the reasons he wants to age by riding the carousel. He yearns for the freedom and autonomy he believes adults are privileged with. This is ironic, or the opposite of what’s expected; the reader sees through Charles and Jim’s mother that adults often don’t feel free and wish that they were youthful.

Jim says that he doesn’t want to have kids or anything that can hurt him, but he endangers himself by going on the carousel. He constantly pushes the limits of safety and endangers his and Will’s lives by persuading Will to investigate the carnival. Despite wanting to be older, he has childish notions of what it means to be an adult. While Will confronts problems head-on, like helping their “de-aged” teacher, Jim would rather live in denial and hopelessness.

In the end, Jim represents the dangers of giving in to the temptation to be evil. He also shows that even in our darkest moments there is hope: He briefly breaks out of his trance and reaches out to Will on the carousel when reaching out his hand. This allows him to be saved.

Charles is Will’s 54-year-old father and the janitor at the local library. He serves as a mentor for Will and Jim, teaching them about the power of love and helping them defeat the carnival’s dark forces. Charles is nostalgic for his youth and often envies Will and Jim’s close friendship. He laments having Will so late in life and is often referred to as an old man, even by himself. Mr. Dark plays on his fears of mortality: He offers him the opportunity to de-age by riding the carousel in exchange for giving up the boys, which Charles rejects.

When it comes to his own goodness, Charles claims he is just “all right.” He believes that he is a “fool” whose only wisdom has been in creating Will. This humility shows his true wisdom.

Will notes that his father is a “man happier at night alone in the deep marble vaults, whispering his broom in the drafty corridors” (33). The library is Charles’s place of comfort and safety. Will and the other townspeople know of Charles’s tendency to spend late nights there; they often see the faraway light of the high library window.

Charles is like a “lighthouse” for the boys, guiding them on their frightening journey into adulthood. He is the voice of truth and reason, and the character who undergoes the most drastic emotional development. At the beginning of the novel, he dreads the future and longs for his youth. At the end, he vows to spend more time appreciating small moments with his son and live in the present. Instead of dwelling in unhappiness, he chooses to focus on the joy of being alive.