While reading this book, I first struggled with the question of how it directly related to the lesson material. It almost feels like the book is written like a long poem. As I was writing my exam, I began to notice the similarities between the characters in the book and the overall theme of optimism that I emphasized in my assignment. The first fifteen chapters or so describe a single day in which we get to know the characters. In this section of the book we meet Will and Jim, two 13 year old boys. Jim is the more adventurous of the two boys and Will is the more reserved. He always seems to follow Jim at a distance, but Jim can convince him to do almost anything anyway. We also meet Charles Halloway in this first part of the novel. He is Will's father and works in the town library. In this first part of the novel I can identify with the attitudes present in America after the First World War. Jim represents America's blind optimism about creating a utopia. Jim represents all the Wall Street speculators who believed there was no end to rising stock prices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayWill can be related to the more reserved side of America, it is equally ambitious but. Like I said, he follows Jim at a distance. He lets Jim make mistakes but is always there to help him. Will plays a role similar to that of the presidents in the first half of the 1920s. He doesn't over regulate Jim but is always there to support him. Will's father, Charles Halloway, is the lesson we don't learn from history. His behavior in the first part of the novel is that of sadness. He feels like he knows how the world really works and yet he's still secretly intrigued by the upcoming carnival. This is where Will gets his reserved side, similar to how presidents are always students of history. Will learns from his father's mistakes. When the carnival finally comes to town, community members such as the boys' teacher Miss Foley, Mr. Cougar, and the lightning rod salesman are all attracted and seduced by the carnival and the tattooed man who runs it. Mr. Dark has the ability to fulfill their desires, but as a result these people will get lost in the carnival. This is similar to the theme of selling your sole to the devil. The role Mr. Dark Plays plays in our history books is that of money. Community members are so blinded by the spectacle of the carnival (the stock market in 1921-1928) that they see only an optimistic future. Jim is one of these people drawn to the carnival. He also follows blindly. When the evil nature of the carnival is revealed, it can be linked to the stock market crash of 1929. Due to excessive optimism, people face negative consequences. Towards the end of the novel, as Will and his father attempt to save Jim and put an end to the carnival, they play a role similar to that of Presidents Hoover and FDR, who attempt to restore America through their economic and social plans after the collapse of 1929. At the end of the novel Jim (the optimism of the American people) ended up confused and close to death. Will and Charles Halloway save Jim by dancing and laughing. Jim's awakening symbolizes the country's return to normalcy through industry that occurred during World War II. This brings us to the present day where people in Green Town and people in modern America still have the same opportunities to make mistakes or succeed through optimism. As for the review, I didn't really like the book. The writing was a little too poetic for my tastes..