Literary Devices in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Not Much Bigger than a BucketWe've got two major settings in this book, and they couldn't be more different. The world outside the factory is a greedy, cold, unfair place. Charlie's family struggle...
Narrator Point of View
Charlie's our hero, but he's not our narrator. Our narrator is someone else entirely, who has the ability to know and see a lot of things our Charlie couldn't, like in Chapter 10, when Grandpa Joe...
Genre
While we'd like to think adults would enjoy this romp through Charlie's world, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is without a doubt geared toward children. We can tell just by looking at the very f...
Tone
On practically every page, a character marvels at an amazing site, or expresses excitement for something to come. As Charlie walks by the chocolate factory on his way to and from school, the narrat...
Writing Style
We do declare! The sheer number! Of exclamation points! Is enough! To convince us! The writing style! Is exclamatory! The characters aren't the only one's doing the exclaiming. The narrator, too, u...
What's Up With the Title?
Dahl sure doesn't make us reach too far for this one. This is a story about a boy named Charlie who visits – you guessed it – a chocolate factory. What makes this such a great title is the slig...
What's Up With the Ending?
It's a darn happy one, that's for sure. After watching a good kid like Charlie struggle through hunger and poverty, and watching those other greedy kids act like fools, we're eager for some good ne...
Tough-o-Meter
You won't have any trouble with this book. Sure there are some made-up words (whangdoodles, for instance), but it's always clear what they mean. The only things that might trip you up are the puns....
Plot Analysis
He's Just a Poor Boy from a Poor FamilyCharlie and his family all live together in a tiny house. They don't have enough to eat, but they have plenty of love. This is all we really need to know to...
Trivia
Turns out people (adults, even!) use Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to teach others how to recruit the best and the brightest employees. This article, called "Using Roald Dahl's 'Charlie and the...
Allusions
Penelope (27.77)Beatrix Potter (27.77) (Author of the Peter Rabbit series)Mr. Tod (27.77) (Beatrix Potter)Squirrel Nutkin (27.77) (Beatrix Potter)Pigling Bland (27.77) (Beatrix Potter)Mrs. Tiggy-Wi...