I remember reading this book (and watching the movie) several times as a child, and every time I did, I always marveled at how magnificent and awesome Wonka’s Factory seemed. Moreover, I thought both the book and movie taught me that being humble (like Charlie) would get one far, as Charlie was rewarded with possessions beyond his dreams, while the other four children were punished (sent home) for their greed (Augustus), pride (Violet), laziness (Mike) and being spoilt (Veruca).
However, reading this book now, as an adult, I realize that there are more to this book then just displaying characteristics NOT-to-have, to get far in life. In my opinion, I felt that this book would not be appropriate for children as the book narrates skewed priorities and focuses on the selfishness of the central characters. For instance, Augustus is depicted as a gluttonous, Violet is a gum-chewing-glutton who is prideful (love attention from media/ reporters), Veruca is a materialistic-glutton who is spoilt by her parents, while Mike is a television-glutton who is lazy and wants to do nothing but watch television all day long. Though Charlie lacks everything his peers have (food/money/warmth), I would consider him to be a hope-glutton as the book
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where a chocolate bar can contain all of Charlie’s hopes and dreams), “What goes around, comes around” (e.g. where bad children get punished/ sent home and good ones are rewarded) and “Poverty vs. Wealth” (e.g. Charlie vs. Veruca) all being written in this book. It is quite surprising to me that I did not realized all of this until recently, when I reread the book. Moreover, at the age of 11, I remembered watching the movie, but recalled nothing significant about the conversation Mr. Wonka and Charlie had in the end of the movie, except the fact that Charlie was given the