JК
Danse Macabre :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 290 из 359When Will tells his father in agony that no one will believe them if they try to explain what really happened in Miss Foley's house, where the evil nephew Robert (who is really Mr. Cooger, looking much younger since he has been reissued) framed them for a robbery, Halloway says simply, "I'll believe." He will believe because he is really just one of the boys and the sense of wonder has not died within him. Much later, while rummaging through his pockets, Charles Halloway almost seems like the world's oldest Tom Sawyer: And Will's father stood up, stuffed his pipe with tobacco, rummaged his pockets for matches, brought out a battered harmonica, a penknife, a cigarette lighter that wouldn't work, and a memo pad he had always meant to write great thoughts down on but had never got around to . . . . Almost everything, in fact, except a dead rat and a string to swing it on.
Third, Charles Halloway is the dream-father because he is, in the end, accountable. He can switch hats, in the blink of an eye, from that of the child to that of the adult. He proves his accountability and responsibility by a simple symbolic act: when Mr. Dark asks, Halloway gives him his name.
"A fine day to you, sir!” No, Dad ! thought Will.
The Illustrated Man came back.
"Your name, sir?" he asked directly.
Don't tell him! thought Will.
Will's father debated a moment, took the cigar from his mouth, tapped ash and said quietly: "Halloway. Work in the library. Drop by sometime.” "You can be sure, Mr. Halloway. I will.” . . . [Halloway] was also gazing with surprise at himself, accepting the surprise, the new purpose, which was half despair, half serenity, now that the incredible deed was done. Let no one ask why he had given his true name; even he could not assay and give its real weight . . . . But isn't it most likely that he has given his true name because the boys cannot? He must front for them-which he does admirably. And when Jim's dark wishes finally lead him into what seems utter ruin, it is Halloway who emerges, first destroying the fearsome Dust Witch, then Mr. Dark himself, and finally leading the fight for Jim's life and soul.
Something Wicked This Way Comes is probably not Bradbury's best work overall-I believe he has always found the novel a difficult form to work in-but its mythic interests are so well suited to Bradbury's dreamy, semipoetic prose that it succeeds wonderfully and becomes one of those books about childhood (like Hughes's A High Wind in Jamaica , Stevenson's Treasure Island , Cormier's The Chocolate War , and Thomas Williams's Tsuga's Children , to name just a few) that adults should take down once in awhile . . .
Third, Charles Halloway is the dream-father because he is, in the end, accountable. He can switch hats, in the blink of an eye, from that of the child to that of the adult. He proves his accountability and responsibility by a simple symbolic act: when Mr. Dark asks, Halloway gives him his name.
"A fine day to you, sir!” No, Dad ! thought Will.
The Illustrated Man came back.
"Your name, sir?" he asked directly.
Don't tell him! thought Will.
Will's father debated a moment, took the cigar from his mouth, tapped ash and said quietly: "Halloway. Work in the library. Drop by sometime.” "You can be sure, Mr. Halloway. I will.” . . . [Halloway] was also gazing with surprise at himself, accepting the surprise, the new purpose, which was half despair, half serenity, now that the incredible deed was done. Let no one ask why he had given his true name; even he could not assay and give its real weight . . . . But isn't it most likely that he has given his true name because the boys cannot? He must front for them-which he does admirably. And when Jim's dark wishes finally lead him into what seems utter ruin, it is Halloway who emerges, first destroying the fearsome Dust Witch, then Mr. Dark himself, and finally leading the fight for Jim's life and soul.
Something Wicked This Way Comes is probably not Bradbury's best work overall-I believe he has always found the novel a difficult form to work in-but its mythic interests are so well suited to Bradbury's dreamy, semipoetic prose that it succeeds wonderfully and becomes one of those books about childhood (like Hughes's A High Wind in Jamaica , Stevenson's Treasure Island , Cormier's The Chocolate War , and Thomas Williams's Tsuga's Children , to name just a few) that adults should take down once in awhile . . .