Literary works have
various genres such as drama, myth, romance, irony, comedy, tragedy, lyric,
poetry, epic poetry, prose, etc. Besides, there is one interesting genre
because it's often applied both to children and adolescent literature. In fact,
not all genres are suitable to be applied to several literary works for certain
age categories. There are times when a genre would be very appropriate to be
applied in adult literary works, but it may be problematic if the writer
applied that to children's literature. There is also a genre that is suitable
to be applied to literary works in General (both children and adolescent
literature) such as the fantastic.
A literary work can be
described as "fantastic literature" if the story about normal world
if it combine the normal human world (the real world) and supernatural stuffs
(events and/or things) that does not make sense. According to Louis Vax:
“The
fantastic narrative generally describes men like ourselves, inhabiting the real
world, suddenly confronted by inexplicable.” (in “The Fantastic”, p. 26)
and H. P. Lovecraft:
“…A
tale is fantastic if the reader experiences an emotion of profound fear and
terror, the presence of unsuspected worlds and powers.”
(in
“The Fantastic”, p. 34-35)
Referring
to the quote above, Roald Dahl’s "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
can also be categorized as a work of the fantasy genre.
"Charlie
and The Chocolate Factory" tell the story of five children (Charlie
Bucket, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee) who
gets 'Golden Ticket' to visit a mysterious factory owned by Willy Wonka. When the
factory was still operating, it was the most delicious chocolate manufacturer
with many employees came out and entered the factory to work. In recent years,
has never seen the activity of the workers in the factory, there was no lights
on behind its windows and the fence was tightly closed. People rumored that the
factory was stopped operating because the owners were disappointed to workers
who was resigned then opened their own factory after studying the various
recipes and techniques for making candy and the most delicious chocolate from
the factory.
Charlie, a child who
comes from (an arguably) poor family always passes the factory while before and
after his school-time. He never saw any signs of life or any activity there -
the fence is always closed, with no one there- Until one day when Charlie
passes through the factory, he saw the lights that lit up the factory again and
silhouettes of people who work from a distance. He was instantly covered with
joyful thoughts because as everyone knows, the products made by Wonka's
chocolate factory are always the most delicious and has the most excellent
quality.
Even
though it seems there is no activity in the factory, but Charlie's curiosity
towards the factory was not over yet. He would like to know how can, there are
so many activities in the factory, but he has never seen anyone passing through
in the area of Wonka's chocolate factory until Willy Wonka holding a contest
with prizes for free chocolate products that are not limited and an invitation
to a visit the factory for a day for five people who can find a ‘Golden Ticket’
in every product manufactured by Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
This
is where the adventure of five children (Charlie Bucket, Augustus Gloop, Violet
Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee) in the factory owned by Willy Wonka
finally begins. Thoughts on the factory with a variety of mechanical equipment,
advanced machinery, and people with sterile clothing disappeared when they
entered the factory. There is no such employees like what we have usually seen
in common factories; in this factory, the employees are not looking like humans
in general, but the Oompa-Loompas which are derived from Loompaland. In this
factory, those children were treated by a variety of scenery and a very unusual
situation; a boat made of sweets, chocolate rivers, in lieu of a mixer the
factory using a waterfall, squirrels, and various magical products manufactured
by Wonka's factory.
Unlike a usual field
trip, in this factory, children are not allowed to touch anything, should not
ask any questions about the factory, they visited (when they ask such a
question, Willy Wonka would not be happy and the question will not be answered
correctly). Surprisingly, despite a series of accidents that befall Augustus,
Veruca, Violet, and Mike in this factory, Willy Wonka -the owner of the
factory- as the person in charge at the ‘field trip’ is thus being relaxed and
tend to be less concerned with the plight of those children's. Willy Wonka only
shows attention to Charlie and his grandfather even at the end of the story,
Willy Wonka decides to give his magical chocolate factory to Charlie.
After
reading her story, I was actually more interested in discussing the desire that
appears on the attitude of the children who had an accident at the factory and
the unique but terrible punishments in returns. Before discussing the desire
that becomes a problem for these children, it might be worthwhile to first
acknowledge that according to Epicurus (in "Dahl and Philosophy")
"desire" is divided into 3 types:
1.
Natural
and necessary desires
Desires that you must
satisfy to keep your body and mind in a healthy state.
2.
Natural
but not necessary desires
Desires that you may
wanted as “variation” in your experiences.
3.
The
unnatural, unnecessary desires
Desires which are a
chief source of human misery –we became convinced that we need things that, in
fact aren’t necessary.
(in Roald Dahl and Philosophy, p.
10-12)
Desire
owned by Augustus, Veruca, Violet, and Mike can be categorized as "The
unnatural, unnecessary desires" because eating is the only activity that
attracts Augustus Gloop’s attention who gets the first 'Golden Ticket'
“ ‘Eating is his hobby, you know. That’s
all he’s interested in.’ ” (p.34)
Veruca Salt who is
eager to get a 'Golden Ticket' perform various actions that were already beyond
the limits of reasonableness, like shows her anger to her parents, and keep
whining or screaming, and some kicking act if she is not getting a ticket yet
“
‘My little Veruca got more and more upset each day, and every time I went home
she would scream at me. “Where’s my Golden Ticket! I want my Golden Ticket!”
And she would lie for hours on the floor, kicking and yelling in the most
disturbing way.” (p. 36)
Next
is Violet Beauregarde who have an excessive fondness for chewing gum as if she
was not interested in anything except for chewing gum
“
‘I just adore gum. I can’t do without it. I munch it all day long except for a
few minutes at mealtimes when I take it out and stick it behind my ear for safekeeping.
To tell you the truth, I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable if I didn’t have that
little wedge of gum to chew on every moment of the day, I really wouldn’t.’
“ (p. 42)
Mike Teavee is the last
one. Somewhat different from the previous three children who get the
Golden Ticket as related to his hobby (Augustus) and deliberately seek to be
able to get the ticket (Veruca and Violet), Mike does not seem too concerned
with the Golden Ticket that he got successfully, but just as Augustus, Veruca
and Violet, Mike also showed an excessive attitude over his obsession with
television He'll be very angry if anyone bothers or blocking hos focus while he
watching television, as if his eyes are glued on the television screen
“
’The Teavee household, […] was crammed, like all others,with excited visitors
when our reporter arrived, but young Mike Teavee, the lucky winner, seemed
extremely annoyed by the whole business. “Can’t you fools see I’m watching
television?” he said angrily, “I wish you wouldn’t interrupt!” " (p. 44)
Are there no other
activities that can be done by Augustus, who consider eating as a hobby and the
only activity that can make him interested? Should Veruca crying constantly
just like almost yelling and kicking with raging despite her father had tried
to find a Golden Ticket for her? Is it reasonable for Violet to chew the gum
all time and mean to other people by sticking her chewing gum on the elevator
button? Whether Mike reaction when there are people who disturb his focus when
watching television and shouting to he reporter who (supposedly) much older
than a nine-year-old boy could be considered as a reasonable act?
Obsession and excessive attitude shown by
those children over something they like and they want to seem already beyond
reasonable limits (which is called “unnatural desires”) and “unnecessary
desires” because if Augustus Gloop reduce or limit the appetite, if Veruca not
get a Golden Ticket, if Violet did not manage to break the record for gum
chewing, and if Mike can't watch television, though it really isn't a problem.
They will not get hurt or die. Because eating with monstrous portion, chew gum,
get a Golden Ticket, and watching television only serves as a "variation”
in their lives.
As is often said by the
sages that everything which is exaggerated for sure will bring bad effects.
Likewise with these children who eventually had to accept the 'punishment' for
not being able to control their desires in order to remain within normal limits
/ reasonable.
In the chapter
"Augustus Gloop Goes Up the Pipe", Augustus had been warned not to
approach the chocolate river, but he ignores the shouts that warned him to stay
away from the river. Augustus, who thought his hobby is eating and food are the
only thing that can attract his attention was not concerned with his situation
“But
Augustus was deaf to everything except the call of his enormous stomach. He was
now lying full length on the ground with his head far out over the river,
lapping up the chocolate like a dog.” (p. 81)
He wasn't even paying attention to his own position
for being too preoccupied with chocolate flowing in the river in front of him
and eventually he fell into the river
“For
suddenly there was a shriek, and then a splash, and into the river went
Augustus Gloop, and in one second he had disappeared under the brown surface.”
(p. 82)
Violet Beauregarde who
cannot control herself when entering the room where the giant machine to make
the little strip of Wonka's magic chewing-gum that can replace breakfast,
lunch, and supper. As mentioned previously, violet has the great interest and
ambition to the gum. Although in the chapter “Good-bye Violet” Wonka already
explained that the product has not been perfected, she does not care and still
chewing it.
“
‘…just so long as it’s a piece of gum and I can chew it, then that’s for me! And quickly she took her
own world-record piece of chewing-gum out of her mouth and stuck it behind her
left ear. ‘Come on Mr Wonka,’ She said, ‘hand over this magic gum of yours and
we’ll see if the thing works.” (p. 105)
As a result, Violet’s body began to swell and change
its color to purple like a giant blueberry when chewing gum has entered the
'dessert stage'
“Her
body was swelling up and changing shape at such a rate that within a minute it
had turned into nothing less than an enormous round blue ball –a gigantic
blueberry, in fact- and all that remained of Violet Beauregarde herself was a
tiny pair of legs and a tiny pair of arms sticking out of the great round fruit
and little head on top.” (p. 107)
Veruca Salt, the girls
who come from families that could be considered rich and her parents able to
buy anything for Veruca by using his wealth. He always wants anything which
belongs to others, such as when she wanted a Golden Ticket after Augustus Gloop
became the first person to get it. Because her parents always buy whatever she
wished and desired by Veruca, she grew into a selfish girl who always ask for
various things she saw.
In the chapter “The
Oompa-Loompas” Veruca begs her father to get her an Oompa-Loompa,
“Daddy!
I want an Oompa-Loompa! I want you to get me an Oompa-Loompa! I want an
Oompa-Loompa right away! I want to take it home with me! Go on. Daddy! Get me
an Oompa-Loompa!” (p. 80)
In the chapter
"Down The Chocolate River", this girl asked her father to buy her the
same items as which belong to Willy Wonka,
“Daddy!
[…] I want a boat like this! I want you to go buy me a big pink boiled-sweet
boat exactly like Mr. Wonka’s! And I want lots of Oompa-Loompas to row me
about, and I want a chocolate river and I want…I want…” (p. 91)
Chapter "Veruca in
The Nut Room" is Veruca’s climax. This time, Veruca wants a squirrel after
seeing trained squirrels which worked for Willy Wonka,
“Hey, Mummy! […] I’ve decided that I want a
squirrel! Get me one of those squirrels!” (p. 120)
“I
don’t care about that! […] I want one. All I’ve got at home is two dogs, four
cats, and six bunny rabbits and two parakeets, and three canaries, and a green
parrot, and a turtle and a bowl of goldfish and a cage of white mice and a
silly old hamster! I want a squirrel!”
(p. 120)
Her desire has been
unable to be stopped until she gets recklessly into a special room where the
squirrels are working to take a squirrel that she wanted. Unfortunately, the
squirrels which saw her once rushed to Veruca’s body
“She
reached out her hands to grab the squirrel…but as she did so…in that first
split second when her hands started to go forward, there was a sudden flash of
movement in the room, like a flash of brown lightning and every single squirrel around the table
took a flying leap towards her and landed on her body.
Twenty-five
of them caught hold of her right arm, and pinned it down.
Twenty-five
more caught hold of her left arm, and pinned that down.
Twenty-five
caught hold of her right leg and anchored it to the ground.
Twenty-four
caught hold of her left leg.
And
the one remaining squirrel (obviously the leader of them all) climbed up on to
her shoulder and started tap-tap-tapping the wretched girl’s head with its
knuckles.” (p, 121)
and treat it as if she was a nut that must be
sorted
“The
squirrel on her shoulder went tap-tap-tapping the side of her head with his
knuckles.
Then
all at once, the squirrels pulled Veruca to the ground and started carrying her
across the floor.” (p. 122)
The last, Mike Teavee
who became very excited when he sees a chocolate that can be taken from the
television screen because he was obsessed with television. In the chapter
"Mike Teavee is Sent by Television", he could no longer withstand the
excessive desire for trying to insert himself into the magical television as
Charlie takes the chocolate from that television although Wonka had warned him
not to do so.
“But
Mike Teavee was already off and running. The moment he heard Mr Wonka saying,
‘I’m pretty sure it could…of course it could,’ he turned away and started
running as fast as he could towards the other end of the room where the great
camera was standing. ‘Look at me!’ he shouted as he ran. ‘I’m going to be the
first person in the world to be sent by television!’ “(p. 139 - 140)
As his punishment, Mike Teavee managed to get out of
the television with a much different form. The size of Mike’s body has been
turned into a very mini because as explained by Mr. Wonka in the chapter “The
Television-Chocolate Room”,
“
‘It has to be big, […] because wehenever you send something by television, it
always comes out much smaller than it was when it went in. Even with ordinary
television, when you photograph a big man, he never comes out on your screen
any taller than a pencil, does he?...’ ” (p. 137)
Those punishments that
received by the children can be regarded as a just retribution because they
(gluttonous Augustus; Violet, who is lack of manners; Mike, who is lack of
self-control, and spoiled Veruca Salt) have failed to live up to a moral ideal.
But when referring to Heidegger in the following Dahl and Philosophy,
“Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) […] suggests
that most people are essentially shaped by the world around them. They don’t
spend very much critically reflecting on who they are and what they want to be.
[…], they exist in the world as a projection of their history and environment-“
(in “Dahl and Philosophy”, p. 109)
and if we look back at the reactions of the parents
when their children are in an unpleasant position in this novel, then the
punishment/reward received by the children as well as their failure to live up
to the ideal of a moral truth cannot be separated from parental influence.
In
the case of Augustus Gloop, from the beginning of his appearance, his mother
has already indicated that she was pleased and proud with Augustus who consider
eating is his hobby.
“Eating
is his hobby, you know. That’s all he’s interestd in. But still, that’s better
than being a hooligan and shooting
off zip guns and things like that in
his spare time, isn’t it? And what I always say is, he wouldn’t go on eating
like he does unless he needed
nourishment, would he? It’s all vitamins,
anyway.” (p, 34)
Veruca Salt has also
become a selfish, temperamental, and less (or even no) respect others because
his parents always undertakes all Veruca’s requests because they are accustomed
to using money/wealth to fulfill any of her desire because it’s the only way
that will stop Veruca from raging. When Veruca was interviewed about how could
she got a Golden Ticket, Mr. Salt sets forth how he bought the Wonka bars in
great numbers with reason:
“Well,
I just hated to see my little girl feeling unhappy like that so I vowed I would
keep up the search until I’d got her what she wanted.” (p. 37)
If only because he does
not want to see his daughter crying because she wanted a Golden Ticket badly,
whether or not there are other ways that are more reasonable and sensible? The
notion that Veruca’s parents rely on their wealth for her daughter's happiness
is not only seen from how often Veruca asks for things that are not for sale.
As living beings can also be purchased if you have abundant wealth
“
‘Very well, Wonka,’ he said importantly, taking out a wallet full of money,
‘how much d’you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price.’ “ (p. 120)
On Violet, things
happened seems more confusing; When she asks Willy Wonka for the magic gum
forcibly, her mother rebuked his behavior is considered shameful
“
‘don’t let’s do anything silly, Violet.’ ” (p. 105)
But, when Violet had started chewing gum and explain
a various textures, aromas, and the delicacy of a variety of dishes contained
in a thin piece of magical chewing gum, her mother actually looks very
supportive of what is being done by her daughter,
“
‘Keep chewing, baby!’ said Mr Beauregarde. ‘Keep right on chewing! This is a
great day for the Beauregardes! Our little girl is the first person in the
world to have a chewing-gum meal!’ ” (p. 106)
Instead, Mike Teavee’s
parents did not prevent their son to step closer to the Television-Chocolate at
all, this could be the description of the attitude of those who are not too
concerned with what others have done including not paying much attention to
Mike's inability in controlling himself against his interest in television. But
when Mike had to be punished (turned into a human-sized mini), Mr. Teavee take
decisive action with plans to keep Mike out from television.
“
‘… I’m throwing all television set right out the window the moment we get home.
I’ve had enough of television!’ ” (p. 143)
In this section there is a suspicion that the
reaction shown by Mike when there are people (journalists) who accidentally
blocking his view towards the television when interviewing the children who get
the Golden Ticket, as well as a habit to equip himself with various toy weapons
could be the influence of his father who seemed to be very firm.
The
influence of parents or the environment also expressed by Heidegger in his
writings about "Dasein" or in English means “existence”:
“In
talking, Dasein Expresses itself [spricht sich … aus] not because it has, in
the first instance, been encapsulated as something ‘internal’ over against
something outside, but because as Being-in-the-world it is already ‘outside’
when it understands” (in “Being and Time”, p. 205)
Consciously or
unconsciously, parents actually play a major role to built the good or the bad
of their children's personality, according to Sartre:
“Human
reality is not something which exists first in order afterwards to lack this or
that; it exists first as lack and in immediate, synthetic connection with what
it lacks” (in “Being and Nothingness”, p. 89)
It's true, the identity of the parents can be
temporarily attached to their children’s –"like father, like son" or "like
mother, like daughter" or something similar to that- because children will
always imitate or mimic their parents before they can make their own decisions
for every chance in their life. Unfortunately, if the parents ignore this issue
in a long period of time, this will shut down the actual identity owned by
their children.
In
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," issues regarding the identity
formation seems to be dangerous because of unnatural attitude as greedy,
spoiled, lack of respect, and temperamental contained within Augustus Loop,
Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee actually manifest as an
identity that never protested or questioned by themselves so that they are each
taking their given identity for granted while there is abnormal behavior that
is already embedded in their “given identity”.
To
prevent it becomes prolonged, one of the actions that can be done is by
removing/separating them from their identities that has been “contaminated”with
abnormalities
“A
person is either cut off from society or marginalized through isolation or
prescribed some type of treatment to correct their “abnormal” behavior such as
psychotherapy or medicine (not of the “marvelous kind”). (in “Dahl and
Philosophy”, p. 113)
Through various accidents that cause these four
children experienced some changes in their physical form which is permanent.
Augustus Gloop who was very fat become as thin as a straw, Violet Beauregarde
despite the size of her body back to normal but her face became purple, Veruca
Salt and her family are simply covered with rubbish, and Mike Teavee who
previously have a posture that is not too high turn into very high (about 10
feet) and he is also very thin (as thin as wire).
The
physical changes experienced by the four children at first glance do look a bit
outrageous, but if but if we go back on the understanding that this is a
fantastic novel, there is no problem with the physical changes that occur to
the four children who are involved in this story.
“…the
lacking is of the same nature as the existing; it would suffice to reverse the
situation in order for it to become the existing to which the lacking is
missing, while the existing would become the lacking.” (in “Being and
Nothingness”, p. 86)
Even so, they could break away from the "given
identity" as greedy, spoiled, lack of respect, and temperamental beings
and fix the “abnormal” behavior that previously existed in each of them.
Work
Cited:
Dahl, Roald. (1990). Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory. In THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF CHARLIE
AND MR WILLY WONKA (pp. 11-160). Puffin Books
Dale, M. Timothy., & Joseph J. (2014).
SHATTERING THE GLASS ELEVATOR: Authenticity and Social Order in the Works of
Roald Dahl. In Held, M. Jacob (Ed.), ROALD
DAHL AND PHILOSOPHY: A Little Nonsense Now And Then (pp. 107-119). United
Kingdom: Rowman & Littlefield
Heidegger, Martin. (1962). Being and Time (John Maquarrie & Edward Robinson, Trans.).
Oxford: Blackwell
Rider, Benjamin. (2014). EPICURUS AND THE CHOCOLATE
FACTORY. In Held, M. Jacob (Ed.),
ROALD
DAHL AND PHILOSOPHY: A Little Nonsense Now And Then (pp. 7-18). United
Kingdom: Rowman & Littlefield
Sartre, J. Paul. (1993). Being and Nothingness (Hazel E. Barnes, Trans.). Oxford: Blackwell
Todorov, Tzvetan. (1975). The Fantastic. New York: Cornell University Press
