Charlie Wonka's Chocolate Analysis

Regardless of social class, the children are constantly preoccupied with Wonka’s chocolates and candies due to their desire to indulge in his fantastical goods. The obsession towards sweets come from, “the characters…desire to indulge all the more amorally in this liberating and libidinal satiric fantasy” (Bosmajian 47). Bosmajian explains how Wonka and his factory, with both its secrecy and sweet fantastical elements, manipulate the naive child to desire the indulgence of candies beyond their wildest imagination. As a result, the child preoccupies their thoughts with Wonka’s marvelous creations in hopes to get the smallest taste of it. This infatuation with the candies was especially prevalent with Charlie Bucket. Living nearby Wonka’s factory,

As a result, these sweets become the center of his desire, due to its constant presence in his mind. Inevitably, Charlie reveals that “the one thing he longed for more than anything else was…. chocolate” (Dahl 6), emphasizing the extent the chocolate pervaded his mind. Kachur reiterates this point by stating “their [Charlie’s] deepest desires are bound up in food, but those desires have been frustrated and distorted by the fallen human condition” (Kachur 224). Focusing on state of human conditions, Kachur reveals the extent sweets have dominated Charlie’s mind; controlling his preference for unhealthy chocolate bars over more filling and nutritional foods. Ultimately, Charlie’s mind was subtly influenced by Wonka’s chocolates; however, the effect of candies on the other children were more inescapable and

With such a lasting presence in the children’s mind, its ability to mold and develop the child is inevitable. Rather _____________, this influence corrupts the child by preoccupying them with the desire to indulge in materialistic goods, specifically Wonka’s candies. Webb explains that, “Self – indulgence in food, which comes under the sin of gluttony…can be linked with world desire, uncharitableness, envy, and malice” (Webb 106). Through the satisfying and filling sensation of self – indulgence in the candies, the child desires more of these sweets for themselves. Charlie displays the effects of self-indulgence when he finds a dollar on the ground and decides to spend it on a chocolate bar for himself (Dahl 21). The decision to spend the money on a chocolate bar for himself rather than his family displays how Wonka’s candies develop the child into a more selfish individual. After gorging himself with the chocolate bar, Charlie felt “marvelously, extraordinarily happy” (Dahl 44). Experiencing the pleasurable sensations associated with self – indulgence left Charlie desiring for more chocolate, molding him into a more selfish child. Revealed through Charlie’s experience, Wonka’s sweets serve to tempt, control, and corrupt the naive