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| Edition: | Puffin (Paperback) |
| Author: | Roald Dahl |
| Published: | August 2007 |
| Pages: | 176 |
| ISBN 10: | 0142410314 |
| New: | $2.94 (65) |
| Used: | $0.01 (93) |
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Contents |
Synopsis
Charlie Bucket is a young boy from a poor family, he lives with his parents and both sets of elderly grandparents. From these four, especially Grandpa Joe, he hears stories about the candymaker Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory he built. As time passed, Wonka began to suspect that spies were stealing his recipes to give to rival firms, so he fired all his workers and announced that he was going out of business forever. The factory has since resumed operations, but the gates are still locked and no one knows who works for Wonka now.
Wonka holds a worldwide contest, in which five Golden Tickets are hidden under the wrappers of his candy bars; the prize for those who find them is a day-long tour of the factory. Charlie and four children (gluttonous Augustus Gloop, spoiled Veruca Salt, gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde, and television-obsessed Mike Teavee) win the contest and go on the tour, led by Wonka. As the group moves from room to room, one child after another falls victim to his/her particular vices and is removed.
Charlie is the only child who does not misbehave throughout the tour. Seeing that he is the only one left, Wonka announces that he has "won" the entire factory and will take over the company after Wonka retires. The two board a special glass elevator along with Grandpa Joe, who has accompanied Charlie on the tour, and they are propelled up from the factory, the story continuing in the sequel: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
The Original Story
Responding to criticisms from the NAACP, Canadian children's author Eleanor Cameron, and others for the book's portrayal of the Oompa Loompas as dark skinned and skinny African pygmies working in Wonka’s factory for cacao beans, Dahl changed some of the text, and Schindelman replaced some illustrations (the illustrations for the British version were also changed). That new version was released in 1973 in the USA. In the revised version the Oompa Loompas are described as having funny long golden-brown hair and rosy-white skin. Their origins were also changed from Africa to fictional Loompaland.
Lost chapter
In 2005, a short chapter which had been removed during the editing of the book circulated, entitled "Spotty Powder", was published. The chapter featured the elimination of Miranda Piker, a "teacher's pet" with a headmaster father. Wonka introduces the group to a new candy that will make children temporarily appear sick so that they can miss school that day, which enrages Miranda and her father. They vow to stop the candy from being made, and storm into the secret room where it is made. Two screams are heard, and Wonka agrees with the distraught Mrs. Piker that they were surely ground into Spotty Powder, and were indeed needed all along for the recipe, as "We’ve got to use one or two schoolmasters occasionally or it wouldn’t work." He then reassures Mrs. Piker that he was joking. Mrs. Piker is escorted to the boiler room by the Oompa-Loompas, who sing a short song about how delicious Miranda's classmates will find her.
