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And oh, how clever he looked! How quick and sharp and full of life! He kept making quick jerky little movements with his head, cocking it this way and that, and taking everything in with those bright twinkling eyes. He was like a squirrel in the quickness of his movements, like a quick clever old squirrel from the park.
This first description of Willy Wonka from Chapter 14 (Mr. Willy Wonka) hints at many of his qualities. The narrator notes that Willy Wonka looks clever and sharp, visibly intelligent. The description of him constantly looking around portrays him as observant. By comparing Willy Wonka to a squirrel, the narrator paints a picture of him as always in motion with a chaotic, excited demeanor. While the chaotic, squirrel-like motions may seem silly and childish, the emphasis on Willy Wonka’s cleverness and observant nature remind us not to underestimate him.
But do be careful, my dear children! Don’t lose your heads! Don’t get over-excited! Keep very calm!
Willy Wonka gives the children this warning as they enter The Chocolate Room in Chapter 15 (The Chocolate Room). This caution is only the first of one he gives to the children every time he enters a new room where an accident occurs. Although throughout the story it’s clear that Wonka is keeping some of his intentions a secret and often seems uncaring in the aftermath of the accidents, he does play fair. He tells the children the rules and warns them thoroughly at every turn.
“Because the taste would be terrible,” said Mr. Wonka. “Just imagine it! Augustus-flavoured chocolate-coated Gloop! No one would buy it.”
Willy Wonka makes this wry comment to Mrs. Gloop not long after Augustus is sucked up the pipe in Chapter 17 (Augustus Gloop Goes up the Pipe). Although he assures Mrs. Gloop that he’s joking, here, he acts as though his urgent order to the Oompa-Loompas to find Augustus is to save the batch of fudge. Wonka’s calmness and humor in the face of Augustus’s plight can come off as insensitive and emphasizes his strangeness. However, it’s important to note that Augustus doesn’t care about contaminating the chocolate with his cold when he starts touching it. In this sense, Wonka is simply reflecting Augustus’s lack of care back at him.
“I've never seen anything like it!” cried Mr. Wonka. “The children are disappearing like rabbits! But you mustn’t worry about it! They’ll all come out in the wash!”
Wonka makes this comment at the very beginning of Chapter 25 (The Great Glass Elevator), just after Veruca and her parents are sent down the garbage chute. Throughout the journey through the factory, Wonka promises again and again that all the children will “come out in the wash.” With the taunting songs of the Oompa-Loompas and the consistent accidents, it may be tempting not to believe him, but by the end we learn that Wonka is completely honest. Despite his chaotic whimsy, Wonka shows a caring side by consistently reassuring everyone that the other children will make it out alive.
I want a good sensible loving child, one to whom I can tell all my most precious sweet-making secrets—while I am still alive.
Here, Wonka describes his ideal successor in Chapter 30 (Charlie’s Chocolate Factory). On the one hand, this quotation describes the positive qualities Wonka values, all of which we see in Charlie. Earlier in this passage, he even includes the continued care of the Oompa-Loompas as a reason the factory must continue after his death, which is extremely thoughtful of him. However, we can also read Wonka’s desire to only give his factory to a loving child who will carry on his legacy exactly as he wants as selfish and controlling.
