American society has gone through several cultural changes in recent decades. Something Wicked This Way Comes was written in a time of great social change; the author, Rad Bradbury, did a thorough job of reflecting the changing social environment of the 1960s in his characters. In 1962, the year Something Wicked This Way Comes was released, young people in the United States were experiencing the Hippie movement, adults of the 1960s were grappling with the process of exclusion from their new places in the world, and the society of the 60s faced an ongoing problem with self-acceptance. Bradbury has managed to effectively connect all the above-mentioned factors in one book. The Hippie movement began in the 1960s when young people banded together and fought all forms of oppression, including war, poverty and racial discrimination. The hippie movement encompassed a time of freedom, mystery and adventure. Bradbury encapsulates youthful restlessness in his character Jim Nightshade. Jim Nightshade is Will Halloway's friend; Jim spends the entire book chasing an idea that could ultimately destroy him. Much like the youth of the 1960s, Jim is fiercely independent and seeks adventure, for example, in chapters eighteen to twenty Will and Jim witness undeniable evil at the carnival that has just arrived in their quiet town. Instead of running away from danger, as Will suggests, Jim says, “Sure, Will, go ahead. Mirror mazes, old teachers, lost bags of lightning rods, disappearing lightning rod sellers, pictures of dancing snakes, intact carousels, and you want to go home”?! (Bradbury, page 76). Jim and the rest of the '60s youth were more than willing to face danger head on, no matter what... middle of paper...)." Mortal Journey. Np, March 9, 2011. Web. May 26 2014. Birkett, Dea. “Children of the Revolution.” 2003. Web. 26 May 2014. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “14.6 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures performed in 2012.” cosmetic plastic surgery performed in 2012. American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2014. Web. Kindig, Jessie. “Vietnam War: Draft Resistance.” Vietnam: University of Washington, 2009. Web, May 26, 2014, “The Economist.” ". 2008. Web. May 26, 2014. Libaw, Oliver "Hippie Culture Keeps Rolling." ABC News Network, May 23, 2014. Web 2014.