Jan 2, 2010

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Literary Precedents

C. S. Lewis argued that in fairy tales justice should be sure and clear, and that violence is appropriate even in fairy tales for children. Dahl seems to agree with this view. Although he kills no one — and even the bad children seem much improved by their experiences — the children meet with sudden and sometimes violent punishments for their misbehavior — Augustus is sucked through pipes, and Veruca is dropped into a garbage hole. This is one sign that Dahl is writing in the fairy tale tradition. The other signs are not quite as obvious. By setting the story in the present, in a...