Summary
Grandpa Joe tells Charlie the story of Mr. Wonka and the
Indian Prince Pondicherry. Prince Pondicherry asks Mr. Wonka to
build him a palace entirely out of chocolate. Mr.Wonka complies,
building a palace with chocolate furniture, chocolate walls, and
even hot chocolate running from the taps. When he finally finishes
the palace, he cautions the prince to eat it quickly because it
will not withstand the heat long. But the prince refuses and says
he plans to live in the palace. Just as Mr. Wonka predicts, the
palace melts during the next hot day and the prince wakes up in
a chocolate swimming pool. At the conclusion of the story, Charlie
questions Grandpa Joe about the truth of the story, which Grandpa
Joe defends. He then tells Charlie that no one has ever been seen
going into or leaving the chocolate factory. Charlie is confused
at first, but he quickly realizes Grandpa Joe is right: whenever
he walks past the factory, the gates are locked. But he also knows
that there is work going on in the factory. When he asks Grandpa
Joe who works in the factory, his mother interrupts him, calling
him to bed before he can hear about the mystery workers.
The following evening, Grandpa Joe resumes his story.
He tells Charlie that Mr. Wonka initially went out of business because
his jealous competitors sent spies into the factory to learn all
of the Wonka secrets. When the competitors began replicating Mr. Wonka’s
amazing candy inventions, Mr. Wonka dismissed all his workers and
shut down his factory. But one day the Wonka factory mysteriously
came back to life. The townspeople assumed that the factory was
reopening, yet they never saw anyone enter or exit the factory,
and the factory gates remained chained. Mysteriously, the factory
began to produce amazing new candy inventions. Grandpa Joe emphasizes
that no one knew then or knows now who is running the factory—the
only clues as to the identity of the mystery workers are the very
small shadows that are sometimes visible through the large glass
windows of the factory. The shadows belong to tiny people, no higher
than a man’s knee. Before Charlie can ask Grandpa Joe to explain
further, Mr. Bucket interrupts the story with the news that the
Wonka chocolate factory will be opening its doors to a few lucky
people via the golden tickets.
Analysis
Dahl uses a heavy dose of foreshadowing in these chapters
to build up the character of Mr. Wonka. The story about the Indian
prince creates a detailed picture of the chocolatier as a brilliant
artist who is capable of creating anything, even an entire palace
constructed of nothing but chocolate. The story also shows that
Mr. Wonka is someone whose advice should be taken seriously, or
else disaster can follow. If Prince Pondicherry had heeded Mr. Wonka’s
warning about the finite lifespan of his chocolate palace, he would
have been able to enjoy it before it disappeared.
Dahl spends quite a bit of time establishing the link
between Charlie and Grandpa Joe. Grandpa Joe is both an adult on
whom Charlie can rely and also Charlie’s best friend. In fact, Grandpa
Joe is Charlie’s only friend. He entertains Charlie with stories
and further earns Charlie’s trust when he assures Charlie that his
stories are truthful. Grandpa Joe is the ideal combination of trustworthiness and
fun. Most of the other adults in the book are either too removed from
childhood to be very positive characters or are negative in their treatment
of children.
Dahl also uses a specific writing style in this section
in an effort to create a mysterious and fantastic atmosphere that
reflects the enigmatic nature of Mr.Wonka’s character. Mr. Wonka
had shut down his business because of spies, a word that carries
dark and mysterious tones. He mysteriously reopened the factory
ten years later without warning. Dahl elaborates on this air of
mystery by explaining that no one knows how Mr. Wonka operates his
factory because no one ever sees his workers. The only evidence
of these workers is their elusive, very small shadows. By relaying
these facts from Grandpa Joe to a confused, awestruck Charlie, Dahl
enhances the enigma of Mr. Wonka and his chocolate factory.
