Summary
Chapter 33
Douglas quietly enters the room where Tom is sleeping. It is dark and he is carrying a jar filled with fireflies. Tom wakes and is frightened of course, but then sees what a genius his brother is because now they can read at night. Douglas sits down wordlessly and begins writing on his tablet. Tom snoozes. Douglas concludes that you can’t depend on things because machines break and trolleys stop running and sneakers wear out. You also cannot depend on people because they go away or die or murder others. Even people you love can die, and thus… Douglas can barely admit it… Douglas can die. Douglas refuses to write that last part, though, and tilts the fireflies out into the night. Their sparks fade away like “the few remaining shreds of hope from his hand” (187).
Chapter 34
The Tarot Witch sits in her glass case. If you pay a penny the machinery groans and her hands move the mysterious cards and she thinks about your fate and writes a single fate across a card.
Douglas brings Tom to her. Tom thinks his brother is acting strangely but Douglas refuses to elaborate. He is afraid of death and wonders why no one else talks about it. It is making him panic and feel sick. Everyone is dying and he does not want to.
Douglas tries to show Tom that she is alive but the machine does not seem to work. He calls to the arcade proprietor, Mr. Black. Mr. Black grumbles that she costs more to fix than she earns, and shakes his fist angrily at the woman, claiming she’s going into the junk heap.
After he shambles away, Douglas is stricken. Tom simply says the machine is really old but Douglas keeps trying. Suddenly the machinery whirs and the Tarot Witch scribbles something. Her head bends down and shudders and her face is rigid. The card that comes out is the same one as Douglas got last Saturday; it promises a long life. Tom puts money in and gets his card before they run out.
Outside, though, Tom discovers his card is blank. He surmises she ran out of ink but Douglas does not believe this. He looks back at Mr. Black and secretly wills the man not to shut down the arcade. He loves the arcade because it is unchanging and dazzling; in the real world you give time or money or prayer and may never get anything in return. Douglas announces to Tom that they have to figure this out.
In the library Douglas explains to Tom that the Tarot Witch must be trying to get a message to them because Mr. Black is so mean to her. He holds a match to the card to see if writing will be illuminated, and even though it starts to burn he claims he saw the word “Secours.” Tom is perplexed but Douglas insists she is calling to them for help. Maybe there is a real woman under all the wax and she is prisoner century after century. She must always write messages in lemon juice but nobody has run a match over the back and seen her cries. Tom is convinced and they hatch a plan.
Inside the dark and cool arcade, Tom distracts Mr. Black by dropping a lot of money in another game. Mr. Black takes coins over to the Tarot Witch and aggressively demands that she tell him if the arcade will make money. He doesn’t get the answer he wants and smashes the glass in. Douglas charges him and in his shock Mr. Black faints and falls over. Douglas tells Tom they’ve got to kidnap the Witch.
Out in the street Tom joins Douglas and the Witch a few moments later, saying he stayed after for a bit to see if Mr. Black was dead. He had started to come to, and now Tom is worried what will happen. He asks Douglas why all this is happening and Douglas tells him about his realization that he will die someday. Perhaps if he helps the Tarot Witch she can help him live forever.
Behind them, Mr. Black approaches, yelling at them for the Witch. He pushes them and grabs the Witch, and as they are right by the ravine, throws it into the ditch and moves unsteadily away.
After he goes, Douglas says that it is now public property because it is trash in the ravine, so he’s got to get it. Down by the Witch he thinks he sees her hand move…
It is midnight back at the Spaulding house. Father stands with Tom and Douglas and reminisces about the Witch. He says they can clean her up and he’ll make a new case. Douglas plans to buy the old case from Mr. Black in the morning. He tells Tom privately that some day maybe he’ll open her up and see inside.
Douglas gets a new card for Tom. A plain one falls out and they laugh in delight. Douglas says it is probably thanking them for their help.
Chapter 35
Tom counts the cicadas in the blistering heat. Douglas is intrigued, and closes his eyes and listens.
Chapter 36
Mr. Jonas, the traveling junkman, and his horse Ned and their wagon are coming to town. They can be heard before they’re seen, giving time for the residents of Green Town to get excited about what wonderful things he has for them. Mr. Jonas collects junk from some people and then takes that to another town and the new townspeople choose something old that is new to them. He once had a business job but hated waste too much and now finds fulfillment doing this.
The children of Green Town flock to his wagon and delightedly sort through his wares. He smokes his pipe and sings and smiles. The children then bring out something they do not want anymore.
AS night falls, Mr. Jonas sings as he and his wagon move out of sight.
Chapter 37
The heat covers the town like a volcanic explosion. The sun overflows. The houses are like steaming attics. Tom looks at Douglas in bed and asks if he is feeling okay. When he touches his brother’s brow, it blazes. He is startled and calls for Mother.
The doctor visits and has no idea what is wrong with Douglas. The family watches over him and brings ice chips to try and cool him. In his hot and muggy sleep, scenes from the summer flash through his head – Mr. Tridden, the Green Machine, his telling John Huff he hates him, Leo Auffmann’s Happiness Machine, and more. He wails in his sleep.
It is four pm. Dogs are locked up, the lakeshore is empty, the sidewalks burn, shadows cluster under trees. Tom hears Mr. Jonas coming by and goes outside. He frets to Mr. Jonas that his brother is dying, and begins to sob. He says he sometimes hates Douglas but doesn’t really; he adds that so many hard things have happened to Douglas this summer. Mr. Jonas asks about them and Tom pours out all the reasons why Douglas is dying. He ends by asking Mr. Jonas if he can help.
Mr. Jonas thinks for a moment. He looks tired and he is sweating. He tells Tom he has to think about it and will return. In the meantime he gives Tom wind chimes for Douglas, but there is no wind.
Later Mr. Jonas returns and sees Mrs. Spaulding on her porch. She explains how worried she is and even though she understands why Mr. Jonas might want to come and talk to the sleeping boy, she just can’t take that chance. He understands.
Later in the evening the family brings Douglas outside in the slightly cooler night air to rest under the apple tree. They all eventually fall asleep back inside.
It is after midnight. The moon is fully risen and a sad singing can be heard. Douglas moves restlessly in his sleep. The voice comes closer. Mr. Jonas looks at the sleeping boy and pulls out a couple bottles. He looks at them, undecided, and then makes up his mind. He softly tells Douglas he does not have to open his eyes or say anything; he just has to listen. He explains that some people turn sad when they’re young. They “bruise easier, tire faster, cry quicker, remember longer, and, as I say, get sadder younger than anyone else in the world” (220). He knows because he is one, and Douglas is too.
He reaches over and sets two bottles by Douglas and tells him to drink them with his nose. One is labeled “Green Dusk for Dreaming Brand Pure Northern Air” and the other is wind from the Aran Isles and Dublin Bay and fog from Flannel Bay. He gently tells Douglas that a friend bottled these himself.
After he leaves Douglas opens his eyes.
Tom runs to his parents and says he just checked on Douglas and he is going to be fine. They all rush outside and Douglas is sleeping peacefully. There is cool air coming from his breath. They stand there for a while.
Chapter 38
The summer rain commences. Douglas is in his bed again and watches it come down. He reaches for his pencil.
Chapter 39
The house is a flurry of activity. Douglas is better, Aunt Rose has arrived for a visit, and Grandma is in the kitchen cooking. The kitchen seems the center of creation and Grandma with her thousand arms creates the most incredible dishes.
Douglas walks downstairs and marvels in the bread and the maple leaves outside and feels grateful to Mr. Jonas. The only way he can thank the man, he decides, is by passing it on somehow. He sees a jar of relish and smiles at that sentiment.
He hears Aunt Rose asking what is for dinner and Grandfather explaining that no one knows in advance and there is always mystery. Rose laughs that she likes to know in advance.
The family sits, Grandma brings the food in, and the family eats rapturously. No one wants to break the spell of perfection. However, Aunt Rose asks amiably what it is they’re eating. The rest of the family falls silent – doesn't the food speak for itself? Aunt Rose repeats her question and Grandma simply says it is what they have every Thursday. Everyone knows this is a lie. No dish was ever the same. Grandma’s cooking is all spontaneity, innovation, creativity.
Grandma asks Rose what she thinks is in it and Rose struggles to explain. The rest of the family jumps back in and drowns her out, but it is clear “their world [is] tottering” (228).
That evening Douglas hears Aunt Rose approach Grandma and tell her she’d be an even better cook if she was more organized. He then hears, to his horror, Grandma think on it and agree, and then start cleaning and throwing away things.
Aunt Rose also gives Grandma a new cookbook and new glasses so she can see. Grandfather tries to be optimistic and says it will be a dinner to remember. That night Grandma nervously brings out her food and while Aunt Rose contentedly eats, the rest of the family is stricken silent because the food is terrible.
After Aunt Rose leaves the table and Grandma walks slowly back to the kitchen, Grandfather calls all the boarders and family together and says this has gone far enough. He has a plan, and tells Douglas he needs him.
Douglas approaches Aunt Rose the next afternoon and suggests a walk. Outside she is shocked to see her luggage neatly packed on the sidewalk. Grandfather stiffly tells her goodbye.
After Aunt Rose’s departure, Grandma tries again but the food is still bad. She moans that she’s lost her touch. Everyone goes to bed hungry.
That night Douglas steals downstairs. He throws away the cookbook, hides the glasses, and sets Grandma’s kitchen back to normal. In the middle of the night, Grandma sleepily comes down. She automatically gets to work and prepares a fantastic meal. Everyone is blissfully happy.
This is Douglas’ way of paying Mr. Jonas back.
Chapter 40
Walking downtown, Douglas and Tom notice all the school supplies in the shop windows and wail that summer is over. Grandfather picks the last dandelions in the yard. The three go into the basement and marvel at all the bottles of dandelion wine. The boys laughingly point to all of their memories bottled up.
The nights pass and fewer and fewer people sit on their porches. The air is cooler and drier, the mosquitoes are gone, hot food and drink replace cold. Grandfather and Douglas take down the porch swing.
Later Douglas looks out on the world and ruminates how time runs backward. He goes up into the cupola and uses his magic to tell the town to prepare for bed and sleep. Once everyone is asleep in their beds and quiet, he thinks how the summer months have passed and fall is coming. After fall is winter and then spring, and then a new summer. And in all of those months, at any time he can go down and get dandelion wine and remember the patterns of life.
Analysis
The losses and changes Douglas has experienced this summer – the Green Machine and trolley going away; John Huff moving; the deaths of Colonel Freeleigh, Helen Loomis, Great-grandma, and Elizabeth Ramsell; the frightening night with the Lonely One – are finally taking their toll on Douglas. He appears to be psychologically disintegrating, writing feverishly in his notebook that one cannot count on people or things. He has the terrifying and bleak revelation that if he is alive he must also die. His messy quest to procure the Tarot Witch stems from his desire to avoid death; he tells Tom that if he saves her, “I’ll live forever, or next thing to it” (200).
Douglas doesn’t simply get depressed, however; he ultimately decides that he does not want to live anymore. Tom correctly identifies this, though his family simply thinks Douglas is just ill. When Douglas sinks into his malaise Bradbury heightens the drama by describing the hot, stagnant, and oppressive weather. The weather is heavy and Douglas’s heart and soul are heavy with his psychological burdens. Bradbury has been quoted as rooting Douglas’s experience here in his own: “I discovered I could die [when I was thirteen], and that scared the hell out of me. And I thought, how do you escape that knowledge? Well, I’ll kill myself.”
What saves Douglas is a bit of magic brought to him by the mysterious, itinerant Mr. Jonas. Critic Marvin Mengeling writes that Mr. Jonas is the “Wise Old Man” archetype from fairy tales. He comes to Douglas when he is sleeping, bearing the magical talismans of northern air. These bottles of air, like dandelion wine, are revivifying. They contain the promise of a beautiful, rich life. Douglas experiences a sense of renewal through these “symbolic bottles” which “[help] pull together and balance out all the pieces of new knowledge Doug has been picking up.”
Douglas’s coming of age is reinforced when he isn't just grateful to be alive but pays it forward by helping his grandmother set her kitchen (and, by extension, her life and her role in the family) to right. As critic Robin Reid notes, “Doug… rejoins the community both mature and committed to passing on Mr. Jonas’s good deed.”
Bradbury’s novel is both charming and melancholy, full of moving messages and significant themes. In this short work Bradbury encourages readers to respect their elders and spend time listening to their stories; delight in other people and the small things in life; not take too much stock in new technology or changes; be grateful for life and not fixate too much on death; live authentically and thoughtfully; and more.
