Summary
Mike Teavee pesters Mr. Wonka about the possibility of
sending people by television. Mr. Wonka deems it possible, but he
will not because of the danger. But Mike has already raced toward
the camera. Mr. Wonka and Mike's parents shout for him to stop,
but they are too late. Mike jumps in front of the lens and disappears
in a blinding flash of light. Mr. and Mrs. Teavee react to their
son's disappearance while Mr. Wonka ushers everyone to the television. While
waiting for Mike to tune in, Mr. Wonka cautions the Teavees that
sometimes only part of the chocolate appears. Suddenly the screen
begins to flicker, and slowly Mike Teavee becomes clear, waving
to everyone. He is one inch tall. Mrs. Teavee wants to know if Mike
is all right, while Mr. Teavee consults Mr. Wonka about his size.
Meanwhile, Mike tells everyone that he is the first person ever sent
by television.
Mrs. Teavee grabs her son, as per Mr. Wonka's instructions.
He assures her that Mike is fine, but she disagrees. She vows to
get rid of the television as soon as she gets home. Hearing this,
Mike throws a tantrum, and Mr. Teavee shoves Mike into his breast
pocket. Mr. Wonka suggests putting Mike on a stretching machine,
saying he is unsure how far the boy will stretch or how thin he
will be. But he assures the Teavees that he will fatten Mike up
with a special dietary supplement. Mr. Wonka then sends the Teavees
away with an Oompa-Loompa, telling them that everything will come
out in the wash. The Oompa-Loompas then sing a song about the ills
of television and the virtues of reading.
Grandpa Joe points out to Mr. Wonka that Charlie is the
only child left. Mr. Wonka pauses, then reacts with wild excitement,
congratulating Charlie on his victory. He says there is so much
to do, including collecting people, and searches for a particular
button in the glass elevator. Charlie recognizes that something
crazy is about to happen, and although he is confused, he is not
afraid. Like Grandpa, Joe he is excited. He watches Mr. Wonka reach
for a button called “UP AND OUT,” and wonders where they are headed. The
elevator takes off at a furious pace. Grandpa Joe yells with glee. Mr.
Wonka yells for the elevator to go faster. Mr. Wonka then explains
that he has been longing to press the “UP AND OUT” button for a
long time but did not want to make a hole in the roof.
Grandpa Joe says the glass elevator will be destroyed
when it crashes through the roof. Mr. Wonka concedes he may be right. With
a huge crash, the elevator explodes through the roof of the factory
and straight up into the sky. Grandpa Joe cries that the elevator is
mad. Mr. Wonka presses a button that makes it stop in midair. Charlie
looks down at the town below, feeling as though he is standing on
air. Grandpa Joe asks how the elevator remains levitating, and Mr.
Wonka explains it is powered by candy. He then draws their attention
to the other children leaving the factory.
Analysis
In these chapters, Mr. Wonka's morality resonates with
his guests for the first time. Mike Teavee's obsession with television
is clearly a terrible thing. Mike's parents, who to this point have
been complicit in the television's parenting of their son, become
convinced of the ills they have perpetuated. Mrs. Teavee assures
everyone that she will be getting rid of the household television
as soon as she arrives home. Mike's reaction of horror almost parallels
a drug addict being denied the beloved drug. The Oompa-Loompas hammer
the point home in their moralizing song about how television watching
is bad and reading is good. Here Dahl makes a shameless plug for
his own work as an author.
Charlie and Grandpa Joe grow even closer in these chapters.
For the first time in the story, Grandpa Joe doubts Mr. Wonka—he
fears that the glass elevator will kill everyone. This is also the
first time that Grandpa Joe and Charlie differ in their attitudes
toward Mr. Wonka. All along Grandpa Joe has been Charlie's partner
in dreaming about Mr. Wonka's factory, and he persistently disagrees
with all of the other parents, who think that Mr. Wonka is a maniac.
But only Charlie passes the final test. This further cements Charlie
as the heir apparent to Mr. Wonka himself.
