Something Wicked This Way Comes Multiple Choice Quiz | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In Ray Bradbury's novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes", just what is the "something wicked"?

Answer: Carnival

At the beginning of the book, a lightning rod salesman (Tom Fury) predicts that a very big storm is coming (which would certainly help sales). But it's not the weather that folks need to be afraid of - it is the carnival and the people who run it.

2. The main protagonists in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" are Will Halloway, his father Charles, and Will's friend Jim. What is Jim's last name? (Hint: it is also another word for the family of plants containing tomatoes and belladonna.)

Answer: Nightshade

True to his surname, Jim has a dark nature (a foil for Will's goodness). Given that they are almost polar opposites personality-wise, it's a wonder the two boys are friends at all. But they do have a few things in common: they are neighbours, they grew up and attended school together and "almost" share the exact same birth-time (Will was born one minute before midnight on October 30th and Jim was born 2 minutes later on Hallowe'en - yet another reference to the "lighter" side versus the "darker" side).

3. Miss Foley is the junior high school teacher in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and is fixated on being/looking younger. She is begged by one of the boys not to go into what place?

Answer: Mirror Maze

Despite being warned, Miss Foley enters the Mirror Maze anyway and is disturbed and scared by the images she encounters. In one of the mirrors she sees herself as a young girl, and afterwards decides to try out the carousel. Unfortunately, it doesn't turn out to be a "joy ride" in the end.

4. The main antagonist in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is, appropriately, Mr. Dark. But do you know his nickname? (Hint: the name was used by Ray Bradbury in a set of short stories, some of which were incorporated into a 1969 movie starring Rod Steiger.)

Answer: The Illustrated Man

The sinister Mr. Dark is the co-proprietor of Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, a travelling carnival. He is also known as "The Illustrated Man", because he has tattoos on his body which depict the many people who either have fallen under his evil charms or are likely to do so in the near future.

5. In the novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes", there is an object that can affect how old a person can become. What is it?

Answer: Carousel/Merry-go-Round

The Time Sled is from the movie "The Time Machine" based on H.G. Wells' book, the DeLorean is from "Back to the Future" and the Phone Booth is how the guys got around in the movie "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure".

Riding the Carousel could make you either age or get younger, depending on the direction it was moving. The concept proved tempting to several characters in Bradbury's book.

6. The Dust Witch is an integral character in "Something Wicked This Way Comes", as she is Mr. Dark's "right hand gal". Not your typical witch, by what method does she travel? (Hint: think Jules Verne.)

Answer: hot air balloon

The Dust Witch travels in a hot air balloon. She has the power to "feel" souls and thus finds out where the boys live, dropping a gluey substance on the roof as a marker. Although the boys wash off the roof, Will feels this is not enough and manages to disable the balloon with a Boy Scout bow and arrow set.

7. Prior to the "something wicked" actually coming to Green Town, what do the two boys smell in the air that is NOT usually directly associated with the fall season?

Answer: Licorice and cotton candy

Licorice and (especially) cotton candy are usually connected with venues such as the circus, carnivals and exhibitions, which rarely happen in the fall. So it was most unusual that the carnival should show up in late October.

Metaphorically, the arrival of fall is a time of transition (which may allude to a "coming of age" for the boys.) The carnival came to town exactly one week before the two boys' birthdays.

Hallowe'en came early that year, in more ways than one.

8. One of the creepiest things in the novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the music - specifically, "Funeral March", which was written by what Polish pianist/composer?

Answer: Frederic Chopin

All of the choices wrote music that could be applied to funerals but Chopin is the Polish person on the list. Charles Gounod ("The Funeral March of the Marionette") is reponsible for the theme music for "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series.

In the novel, Will recognises that the music being played (in reverse) while the carousel is running in reverse is Chopin's "Marche Funebre". The implication here is that the person riding the carousel is moving backwards from death, as when the carousel is in reverse the person is getting younger.

9. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" can be generalised as a good-versus-evil type of novel. In this book, what is the best defense against evil? (Hint: it's not anything traditionally associated with horror.)

Answer: Laughter

Laughter, love and purity of heart win the day for some of the characters. If not for Will's father laughing "in the face of death" and Will's kind heart, the final outcome could have been much different.

Not all of the characters see a happy ending, but if you haven't read the book, you'll have to discover for yourself what happens to each of the individuals (including the "freaks" of the carnival).

10. The title of Ray Bradbury's book "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a direct quote from what other well-known author?

Answer: William Shakespeare

The book's title was borrowed from Shakespeare's play "MacBeth", in which the following line spoken by the second witch appears in Act IV, Scene 1: "by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes".

Mr. Halloway ponders this quote when he has doubts about the character(s) of the two boys, along with foreboding about the "freaks" of the carnival and the evil things they might do.

Source: Author Jakeroo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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Something Wicked This Way Comes Quiz

Ray Bradbury is probably best known for "Fahrenheit 451" and science fiction such as "The Martian Chronicles". But come take a look at his iconic fantasy/horror novel - if you dare.

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