‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’ is one of the famous novels of silver age. It is written by Roald Dahl (Dahl 02). He was born in 1916 in Wales of Norwegian parents. His initial education was from England and then he started to work in Africa for the Shell Oil Company. After the ‘immense bash on head’, he started writing and during the World War II sustained as a RAF fighter pilot. He is considered as one of the most well known and most successful writers of children literature.
Roald Dahl found the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ as one of the most intricate books to write. First draft of his story included fifteen horrible children (Dahl 02). When his nephew first read the story, he realized that he should rewrite it as his nephew stated that it was boring and rotten. The idea for the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ came from the schooldays of author, when he, along his class fellow were incidentally expected Cadbury to try freshly devised chocolate candy. He wont to dream to invent his own popular chocolate bar that may win Mr. Cadbury’s praise himself. Wrote in the silver age, this novel entails a courageous message for children and convey it in very interesting manner.
Good things Appear in Small Packages:
This novel presents a thought that things can be right or wrong, good or bad. Dahl, one-way features goodness to something is about to make it small (Dahl 02). For one, Charlie is undernourished and small. Crowd takes pity on Charlie due to his frailty and small size when he stands outside the factory (Charlie 01). The other character, Mr. Wonka is also like Charlie: the starting description this character emphasizes on his small height. In addition, chocolate bars are small finally. The author argues that the people who do not take sufficient time to notice them may easily underestimate small things (Bosmajian, 45).
Plot Overview:
The peculiar proprietor of the greatest factory, determined to have the five lucky children and their parents in his factory. He prepares a plan of hiding five golden slates under the wrappings of his democratic chocolate candy. The geographic expedition for the five gold tags is immediate and fierce. A corpulent child, Augustus Gloop having only hobby of eating, finds out the first tag and for this (Merrick 28).
The gullible hero of the book Charlie Bucket, challenges all odds while making claim for the final and fifth ticket. Charlie, a poor but righteous boy, lives in a small house with his parents Mrs. and Mr. Bucket and his grandparents. His grandparents share the only bed in the house, which is located in the bedroom. Charlie sleeps on mattresses with his parents on the floor (Bosmajian, 41).
He gets three tiny meals in one day and this food is hardly sufficient for any growing body. Due to the insufficient food, he is thin almost sickly. On his birthday, once in a year, he is gifted a bar of Wonka Chocolate and he savors this chocolate throughout several months. The circumstances of the Charlie’s family become worst when his father loses his job. However, a surprising stroke of the luck comes to the way of Charlie when he finds a ragged bill of dollar under the snow. Before turning the amount to his mother, he decides to buy some chocolate for himself. After having the first bar, he decides to buy another one and finds a golden ticket in the later bar. The next of his finding the golden ticket, Mr. Wonka sets the day’s date for his guests to come to factory. None of his parents could go along with him to the factory as his father must have to search for some job and his mother has to take care of his all four grandparents. Surprisingly, his most grandpa Joe comes out of bed for the first time in whole decade, and goes with Charlie for this adventure (Merrick 23).
They experiences unbelievable and marvel sounds, sights and specifically the smells at the Factory. They are also grateful and respectful toward their host Mr.Wonka and the remaining four children yield to their own character. While trying to drink it, Augustus Gloop falls into the river of the hot chocolate and then sucked up by one of various pipes. Nut judging squirrels determine Veruca Salt as a ‘bad nut’. She was thrown out of trash by these squirrels. The other child, Violet grabs hastily an observational part of gum and beats herself into grand blueberry bush. He holds on his religious belief that all will be fine at the end will result in something good. After the trail of each child, drums are beaten and a song is sung live about the greedy and spoiled children’s downfall. Mr. Wonks turns towards the Charlie, when he left only, to congratulate him on his success. Charlie wins the prize. Mr.Wonka, Charlie and Grandpa Joe, enters into a great glass elevator. Go to the Charlie’s house to gather the other family members (Pyle 128).
Poverty vs. Wealth:
The basic distinction between the rich and poor permeates Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Moreover, for the morality of the story, it assists from the background for the morality of the novel. Money is something risky specifically when it is used immorally. When the Veruca’s father tries to save Veruca from the golden ticket, he holds all the negative aspects of the money. He uses all his financial resources for this purpose. Even Charlie, who never speaks harshly for anyone, states that he is disagree to the method of Mr. Salt. On the other side, most of the time poverty can result in good things as well. Charlie, the hero of the story is very poor; he sleeps on floor and rarely has enough food to eat. What makes him a beloved character is the dignity with which he handles his poverty (Pyle 128). He does not wish for extraordinary wealth and only wants sufficient to get by. Eventually, he is rewarded with wealth beyond his wildest dreams. For wealth, Veruca is punished and it accompanied by her ineptitude of her parents, results her to be such a brat.
What Comes around Goes Around:
After clarifying that which characters are bad and which are good, each character is rewarded or punished according to his personality. Bad children who include all the children in the story except Charlie, receives punishment (Wonka 03). Augustus eats too much as hobby, stuck in a chocolate pump and being flattered. For her bratty attitude, Veruca is refused for the squirrel she wants. Moreover, the other squirrel considers her a bad nut and throws her down to the garbage chute. Violet chews herself in a grand blueberry to which she was unable to resist. All these children face painful punishments due to their wrong and greedy attitude (Schultz 470). These punishments make them better. On the other hand, Charlie receives only the rewards as the good child.
Vice:
In the Charlie and Chocolate Factory’s moral world, there is nothing vague. Children are either good or bad. Charlie is good specifically as he has no discernable desires. The bad children can be spotted easily as they show their condemnable behaviors through their actions. Violent is an obsessive gum chewer, Augustus is greedy, Violent is bratty and Mike is preoccupied with television (Schultz 475). The author, by creating vices for every child in the novel, makes it obvious from the beginning that these are bad children. While doing so, he obviously makes Charlie the hero of the story.
Punishment:
In the novel, punishment is used for underscoring the moral conduct. Good children are characterized as responsible and respectful and on the other hand, bad children are irresponsible and disrespectful. However, being bad is not the child’s fault; his parents are largely responsible for this. Conversely, bad children should be taught what is good and urged to practice good things in their daily life, through every possible mean. In fact, sometimes punishment becomes essential to form a wild child a good one (Merrick, 25). Punishments are essential for creating well out of the bad and this is a moral imperative within this novel. According to this novel, punishment is the only way to transform bad child into a good one.
Absurdity:
Glass Elevator:
For the hero of novel, Charlie looks great glass elevator his future. It allows him to see the entire world laid out in front of him. The novel is the great effort to urge morality and good values among children and show them the rewards of being good and responsible like Charlie.
Works cited:
Bosmajian, Hamida. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Other Excremental Visions." The Lion and the Unicorn 9 (1985): 36-49.
Charlie, Dahl R. "the Chocolate Factory." Режим доступу: http://www. fictionbook. ru/author/dahl_roald/charlie_1_charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory(1964).
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the chocolate factory. Penguin UK, 2007.
Merrick, Anne. "‘The Nightwatchmen’and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s books to be read to children." Children's literature in education 6.1 (1975): 21-30.
Pyle, Missi, et al. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Ronald Dahl: 128.
Schultz, William Todd. "Finding Fate's Father: Some Life History Influences on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Biography 21.4 (1998): 463-481.
Wonka, Willy. "the Chocolate Factory." David L. Wolper Productions, Warner Brothers (1971).
