Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Summary
The story is about a boy Charlie Bucket, who lives in extreme poverty. A poor but virtuous boy, Charlie lives in a tiny house with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, and all four of his grandparents. His grandparents share the only bed in the house, located in the only bedroom, and Charlie and his parents sleep on mattresses on the floor. Charlie gets three sparse meals a day, which is hardly enough to nourish a growing boy, As a result, he is almost sickly thin.
Once a year, on his birthday, Charlie gets one bar of Wonka chocolate, which he savors over many months. For the first time in a decade, Willy Wonka, the solitary and eccentric chocolate maker, is opening the doors of his unique chocolate factory for five members of the public. The lucky five who find a Golden Ticket in their Wonka chocolate bars will win a daylong tour of the factory and a lifetime’s supply of Wonka treats!
For young Charlie Bucket, this a dream come true when one cold winter night, he retrieves a dollar from the ground and buys two Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow, by sheer luck or destiny. As Charlie unwraps the second chocolate bar, he sees the glimmer of gold just under the wrapper! Yes, he was one of the chosen lucky one! Happiness struck the poor Bucket family. Charlie’s oldest and most beloved grandparent, Grandpa Joe, sprang out of bed for the first time in decades and decided to accompany Charlie to the Wonka Chocolate factory.
The very next day, Charlie, and the unworthy fellow winners Mike Teavee(a rude television addict), Veruca Salt(an insufferable brat,who demands every single thing from her rich father), Violet Beauregarde(an ardent gum chewer), and Augustus Gloop(a corpulent child whose only hobby is eating), step into the Great Chocolate Factory. In the factory, Charlie and Grandpa Joe marvel at the unbelievable sights, sounds, and especially smells of the factory. Whereas they are grateful toward and respectful of Mr. Wonka and his factory, the other four children succumb to their own character flaws.
Augustus Gloop falls into the hot chocolate river—while attempting to drink it—and is sucked up by one of the many pipes. Veruca Salt is determined to be a “bad nut” by nut-judging squirrels who throw her out with the trash. Violet Beauregarde impetuously grabs an experimental piece of gum and chews herself into a giant blueberry. With the hope of being on his beloved television, Mike Teavee shrinks himself, and his father has to carry him out in his pocket. During each child’s fiasco, Mr. Wonka alienates the parents with his nonchalant reaction to the child’s seeming demise.
He remains steadfast in his belief that everything will work out in the end. After each child’s trial, the Oompa-Loompas (Mr Wonkas’ workers from Loompaland) beat drums and sing a moralizing song about the downfalls of greedy, spoiled children. When only Charlie remains, Willy Wonka turns to him and congratulates him for winning the entire chocolate factory. Charlie, Grandpa Joe, and Mr. Wonka enter the great glass elevator, which explodes through the roof of the factory and crashes down through the roof of Charlie’s house, where they collect the rest of the Bucket family.
