Key Facts
full title · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
author · Roald Dahl; illustrations by Quentin Blake
type of work · Novel
genre · Children's fiction
language · English
time and place written · Buckinghamshire England, 1964
date of first publication · June 1964
publisher · Alfred A. Knopf (first American edition, 1964); Allen
& Unwim (first British edition, 1967); Alfred A. Knopf (revised
edition, 1973)
narrator · Third person. The anonymous narrator is sympathetic
to the heroes, Charlie and Mr. Wonka, and critical of the other children.
point of view · The narrator speaks in the third person with a subjective
voice. The narrator follows Charlie's point of view and speaks on
his behalf, announcing his hardships and criticizing his competition.
tone · Light-hearted and humorous, even in its treatment of
difficult topics
tense · Past
setting (time) · Present
setting (place) · An unnamed city; a small wooden house on the edge of
a great city; a fabled chocolate factory
protagonist · Charlie Bucket
major conflict · Five children who have found golden tickets compete
to see who will take over Mr. Wonka's chocolate factory.
rising action · The newspaper announces that the Wonka chocolate factory
will reopen its doors to the public and welcome the holders of five golden
tickets hidden in Wonka chocolate bars. A race ensues to recover
the golden tickets, the first four of which go to children who have
serious character flaws. Charlie desperately hopes he will find
a golden ticket.
climax · Charlie's father loses his job, pushing his already
poor family to the brink of starvation. Charlie finds a dollar bill
in the street and, before handing it over to his mother, treats
himself to two chocolate bars. One of the bars contains the fifth
golden ticket.
falling action · Mr. Wonka's factory exposes the character flaws of
each of the other four children on the journey, with temporarily
disastrous results for them. When only Charlie remains, Mr. Wonka congratulates
him for winning the entire factory for himself and his family.
themes · Good things come in small packages; poverty vs. wealth;
what goes around comes around
motifs · Vice; punishment; absurdity
symbols · The chocolate factory; golden ticket; glass elevator
foreshadowing · Charlie's selflessness foreshadows his future fortune.
If anyone should have reason to complain, it is Charlie. He is hungry, malnourished,
and cold. And every day he walks by the opulence of the chocolate
factory. Yet he never utters a single complaint. His soldierly attitude
foreshadows his fortune, especially in light of the misfortune to
befall the other children based on their characters.
· In their individual interviews with reporters on finding
their golden tickets, each child foreshadows his or her own downfall from
a vice: Augustus's sloth, Veruca's greed, Violet's gum chewing,
Mike's obsession with TV. Charlie's humility and generosity foreshadow
his success. Mr. Wonka foreshadows the destiny of each child when
he explains that he cannot abide ugliness in his chocolate factory.
The ugliness of each child, except Charlie, has been well established.
Therefore Mr. Wonka will not be able to abide the other children.
As a result, those children will have to be removed from the factory.
