Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This quotation comes from the first chapter of the story. It captures Charlie’s overwhelming desire for chocolate, and it also helps to frame Charlie’s character. Immediately before this, the reader has learned that Charlie is poor, cold, and hungry. It would be reasonable to expect Charlie to be dissatisfied with his life. However, the opposite is true. Charlie remains optimistic in the face of all his trials and tribulations. He never complains and is a consummate good kid. Charlie continues to earn the reader’s sympathy by bearing the difficulties of his life with dignity.

This quotation comes in the middle of the story, just as the children enter the chocolate factory with Mr. Wonka. The quotation is rife with absurdities and foreshadowing, which are two common elements weaved throughout the entire text. The entire string of words flowing from Mr. Wonka’s mouth is punctuated by his excitement, yet he tells everyone to remain calm. This renders his advice extremely difficult to heed. Mr. Wonka cannot abide ugliness, yet he lets four extremely ugly children into his factory. By telling the children not to lose their heads and mentioning that he cannot abide ugliness, Mr. Wonka foreshadows the calamitous ends that four of the children will meet.

In the last chapter of the book, Mr. Wonka explains to Charlie his motivation for sending out the golden tickets. He knows there is any number of adults who would be willing to take over the helm of his factory. But if Mr. Wonka chooses an adult successor, he will worry that they will change everything about his beloved operation. He needs someone who will listen to everything he says and who will do everything according to his precise wishes. Only a dutiful and respectful child will fit the bill for Mr. Wonka.

This quotation comes from Chapter 17, after Augustus Gloop has fallen into the chocolate river. He is sucked into a large pipe that leads to the fudge room, and everyone is worried that he will be turned into fudge. The Oompa-Loompas sing a song immediately following the disappearances of Augustus, Veruca, Violet, and Mike. These songs employ humor in order to convey a moral lesson. Here they joke about Augustus being transformed from a greedy boy into a piece of fudge. Their lighthearted song could seem cruel, but they are only joking: in fact, Augustus and the other children eventually leave the factory in an improved condition.