Summary
The Oompa-Loompas stop the boat in front of a red door
called the inventing room and Mr. Wonka leans over to unlock it.
Mr. Wonka explains that the inventing room is the most important
room in the factory and that all the evil chocolate makers would
give anything to get inside. Then he warns his guests to keep their
hands off of everything. The children agree. Mr. Wonka tells them
that no one besides himself has ever stepped inside the room. He
then reminds them again to keep their hands off. Charlie’s impression
of the room is that of a witch’s kitchen with cauldrons bubbling,
steam and pipes everywhere, and endless delicious smells.
Mr. Wonka grows even more excited and animated in this
room. He runs from one pot to another, turning dials, dipping and
tasting, and watching a final machine drop green balls out one a
time. Mr. Wonka explains that the green balls are a new invention—everlasting
Gobstoppers—designed for poor children: they can be sucked indefinitely
and never grow smaller. Violet thinks this sounds like gum, but
Mr. Wonka tells her that if she were to bite one it would break
her jaw. He also explains that an Oompa-Loompa next door is testing
a gobstopper and has been sucking it for the last year without it
getting any smaller. Then Mr. Wonka bounds over to another pan where
he is cooking hair toffee, which he explains will grow hair on your
head, including a beard and mustache. Veruca wonders who would want
a beard and mustache and Mr. Wonka counters that a beard would be
fitting for Veruca. He also explains that the mixture is not quite
right. It grows too much hair, as evidenced by an Oompa-Loompa who
now needs a lawnmower to cut his beard. Mr. Wonka assures everyone
that he will get the mixture right and keep little boys and girls
from going bald, to which Mike Teavee responds that little boys
and girls do not go bald. His point goes unacknowledged.
Mr. Wonka leads the group over to another machine. This machine
has countless glass tubes spilling into a large glass tub. When
Mr. Wonka presses the buttons, the machine begins to shake and steam,
and the glass tubes shoot streams of various colors into the tub.
When the tub fills, Mr. Wonka presses another button and the tub
begins mixing the liquids together, changing colors continually
and finally settling on blue. Mr. Wonka tells everyone to watch as
the machine stops whirring and begins sucking the liquid back into
its belly. Moments later, a little drawer pops out of the machine and
inside it is a small, flat object that looks like cardboard. Mike Teavee
is unimpressed. Mr. Wonka is incredulous and asks Mike if he knows
what the machine has created. Violet interrupts the ensuing silence
by saying that it is gum. Mr. Wonka tells her that she is correct
and explains that it is the most amazing gum ever created.
Analysis
These chapters perpetuate the theme that good things come
in small packages. The gum-inventing machine packs a tremendous
amount of ingredients into a very small package. Though the gum
resembles a boring piece of cardboard, it is an incredibly complex
creation that ought to be judged on more than just its appearance.
This line of thinking can also apply to Charlie. He may be small
and meek, but Mr. Wonka senses that he is capable of greatness.
Mr. Wonka’s fabulous candy creation—Gobstoppers—further distances
Charlie from the other children. This candy is created for kids
just like Charlie, who would appreciate a piece of candy that lasts
a lifetime. If a child like Violet ever tried to bite into the gobstopper,
it would crack her jaw. But someone who could not appreciate such
things would suffer the consequences. This scene foreshadows Charlie’s
eventual ownership of the factory.
Nonsense continues to abound in these chapters. Mr. Wonka describes
his hair toffee, and he proudly proclaims that little boys and girls
will never need to worry about baldness again. Readers can quickly
understand the silliness in this comment, which Mike Teavee points
out, but Mr. Wonka dismisses. Furthermore, Mr.Wonka takes the opportunity
to make fun of Veruca when she says she is not interested in hair
toffee, telling her she would look good with a beard. Mr. Wonka
has alienated each of the other children for their rudeness, but
he never mistreats Charlie.
