Plain Dumb Cowardice

      What purpose does a father serve in the life of a child? The answer to this question will inevitably vary from child to child, father to father, and family to family.  Ray Bradbury wrote his much-loved novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, in the early 1960s, a time during which families saw their father figures as the disciplinarians of the family.  Will Halloway's father, however, does not by any means fit this description. Throughout the book, Mr. Halloway's experiences drastically change him and mold him from a relatively pathetic, deeply saddened character to one of great confidence.  He does, however, harbor a sense of wisdom that remains constant throughout the novel.  This sense of wisdom proves invaluable to his son, Will, in teaching him life lessons and fulfilling in his own way his paternal role. In my opinion, the most important passages throughout the story appear in Mr. Halloway's monologues and occasionally in his conversations with Will. One such passage occurs after Mr. Halloway brings Will home from the police station after he and Jim turn themselves in for supposedly stealing Miss Foley's jewelry.  Will, feeling compelled to get a more clear perspective into his father's life, questions him about the difference between "being good" and "being happy" (134). Mr. Halloway, though reluctant at first, goes on to give his son a detailed explanation of his views on happiness, goodness, evil, and sin.  He informs a shocked Will that "men do love sin" and that, contrary to Will's belief that people who live their lives in goodness seem the happiest, people who appear guilty and sinful often live the cleanest and purest lives.  This statement sets the tone for the rest of the story; Bradbury goes on to explore the depths and levels of sin and how they affect the way certain people live their lives.  Further into his monologue, Mr. Halloway hints as to why he does not seem happy. He explains that, in trying to always act like a good, pure person, he missed out on so many other necessities. He does reveal, though, that he blames "plain dumb cowardice" for causing him to miss out on such things as "rivers never swum in" and "cake never eaten" (136). He includes this in his response to Will to subtly imply to him to take full advantage of his youth and have fun instead of making the same mistakes that he did. The last important point Mr. Halloway makes in his monologue seems to me the most surprising and also the most insightful.  When Will asks his father what does not make him sad, Mr. Halloway replies with death. He tells Will that "if there wasn't a death, all other things wouldn't get tainted" (137).  He further explains that death does nothing but scare.  This statement surprised me, as it seemed like Mr. Halloway, who at this point in the story still seemed fairly pathetic and frightened, would find death the most frightening of all.  His acceptance of death prompts Will to think further about comparing life to death and good to evil and how each relates to the carnival and their lives.  Will sees death, as his father did, as something frightening, and life as a temptress.  This revelation sets the stage for the rest of the novel, as the conflict between life and death swirls around sporadically throughout the rest of the book. Mr. Halloway's statement also prompted me to contemplate death and the validity of his statement. At first, I did not agree with him--I believed that death, as well as scaring people,, also caused great despair and heartbreak to those involved with the tragedy.  As I read further and considered his thoughts more and more, though, I realized that none other than fear appears at the very root of this despair and heartbreak. When a loved one dies, the despair we feel stems from a fear of living without them and going on with life just as nothing happened. We fear grief, sadness, and this emotional pain more than anything.  Death, as Mr. Halloway stated, acts as a catalyst in invoking fear and causing the worst kind of pain in the world.