Just curious if each child stood for some specific evil or something. I feel like Augustus Gloop stood for Glutony (his name even has some similarity), but can't quite put my finger on the other kids. Or, was there some other meaning behind each child?
asked Feb 21, 2015 at 0:21
-
I don't know direct connections for all of them but, to add to Agustus, Veruca is greed, Violet is some sort of obsession/pride... that's leading her to hunger for fame (trying to get a world record for longest chewing of a piece of gum), Mike TeaVee is sloth (? He watches a bunch of TV, anyway) and is sort of a know-it-all. To contrast, Charlie is selfless and humble... but even Charlie had some faults, to make him more human.– CatijaFeb 21, 2015 at 0:36
-
... weren't there some other children in early drafts of the book, that didn't make it to the final version?– Gerald EdgarFeb 21, 2015 at 0:38
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
It has certainly been argued in some quarters that the children (and a few other character constitute the Seven Deadly Sins:
- Gluttony - Augustus
- Greed - Veruca
- Pride - Violet
- Sloth - Mike
- Envy - Grandpa Joe
- Lust - Charlie
- Wrath - Willy Wonka
Now, whether Dahl intended these representations to be read is another matter. I would argue Dahl simply wanted each child to be "bad" in their own way, with Charlie being our hero.
Interestingly, he originally drafted over 10 other children to be in the Chocolate Factory, before settling on the five above. Some pages from one of his manuscripts in the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre show his "fourth draft" of the novel's characters:
- Augustus: A greedy boy
- Miranda (a character later cut from the book): A girl who is allowed to do anything she likes
- Veruca Salt: A girl who is allowed to have anything she wants. (Interestingly, note the similarity between her description and Miranda's)
- Violet Beauregarde - A girl who chews gum all day long.
- Mike Teavee - A boy who is crazy about television.
- Charlie Bucket - The child we like best of all
Given that there don't appear to be any interviews where he suggests links between this and the Deadly Sins or other representations of evil, it seems likely that he felt they were simply fun bad characters, who all had interesting flaws that would make for a good story.
answered Feb 21, 2015 at 2:05
OOOH! I think I got them all... and it's based on their last names:
Agustus Gloop - Gluttony, like you said. Gloop is a any thick liquid or sticky substance... sounds like fat? He's constantly eating or complaining of hunger.
Violet Beauregarde - Pride. Beauregard means: Respected; regarded highly - Violet is constantly boasting/bragging about herself and what she's accomplished and she's hungry for more.
Veruca Salt - Greed. Salt was originally a form of money. Worth his salt. Veruca wants everything, when she wants it... and her family gives it to her because they can afford it. She's also selfish and rude, thinking only of herself.
Mike Teavee - Sloth. Color TV had just become a big thing in the Early 60s, when the book first came out. I'm guessing this started a trend of kids sitting around a TV rather than going out to play. Mike Teavee is obsessed with watching TV.
Notice that, in each of these cases, their parents are as much the problem as the kids are.
Agustus' parents feed him whatever he likes
Violet's parents encourage her to win more competitions.
Veruca's parents give her everything she demands.
MIke's parents let him watch as much TV as he likes without trying to curb him.
-
2I would quip that the parents are the problem for allowing their kids to be like this. I think the Oompa-Loompas said as much in their little songs (at least in the original). Nice answer, btw +1 Feb 21, 2015 at 1:05
-
I think Violet specific sin (going with your theme there) would be Pride. Feb 21, 2015 at 1:27
-
@TrishLing Yeah, just having trouble reconciling her hunger for fame with pride... but she does brag a lot...– CatijaFeb 21, 2015 at 2:37
-
Is there any evidence from the creators that this is the case, or is this projection?– JamesFeb 21, 2015 at 3:43
-
@GoodGravy I didn't really do that research, honestly. It's conjecture but it makes sense... I mean, I did research into the definition of the terminology, so I could honestly say this is an educated guess.– CatijaFeb 21, 2015 at 3:55
I've watched this film many times, so I'm pretty sure that Augustus Gloop is Gluttony, Violet Beauregarde is Pride, Veruca Salt is Greed, Mike Teavee is Sloth, Charlie and his grandpa Joe are Lust and Envy respectively, and Willy Wonka himself is Wrath of course. They kind of live the Seven Deadly Sins.
-
2