Within the novel Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury strives to relate the traits of magic with a boy's life experiences. Bradbury's premise is that in life, there are two major themes of magic. One is demonstrated through fairy-tales which include characters such as witches and monsters. The more inconspicuous but most important trait is the magic of existence. Although there is a scene of "fairy-tale" magic in Dandelion Wine, it is very brief and also humorous. Throughout the summer of life in 1928, life comes to Greentown in the form of a twelve-year-old boy. During that summer, as Douglas Spaulding begins to see the relevance of life, death, and the true meaning of the simplest things, he begins to understand the true form of magic, which is existence.

As Douglas senses the beginning of summer, he also feels the true beginning of "himself." Through the magic of life, Doug begins...