Vice

Dahl implicitly discusses vice and explores the way in which it corrupts youth through his portrayal of the four Golden Ticket winners Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregard, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee. From the very introduction of these characters in the novel, when they are interviewed by newspaper journalists upon finding their respective Golden Tickets, their bad behavior is apparent. Even Grandma Georgina asks, “Do all children behave like this nowadays -- like these brats we’ve been hearing about?” (40) Explicit connections are made between the harmful effects of various vices and the development of children, with Mr. Wonka and the Oompa-Loompas pointing out the specific vices and their consequences frequently.

The moral lessons of the novel are explicitly articulated and emphasized by narrative events. For example, Augustus Gloop’s gluttony is mocked and condemned by the Oompa-Loompas in the song they sing after his disappearance from...