charlie and the chocolate factory book 1964

In the early 20th century, chocolate marketing in both the US and England was very tied up in imperialist fantasies and in connecting brown skin with brown chocolate. “I think the mould … is a metaphor for racial stereotype. She said that she loved the “vulnerability and the potential” of the early draft, describing it as “a really powerful racial allegory”. Keyser said that although the story was mentioned by Sturrock and in Lucy Mangan’s Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, it “had never been looked at in great textual detail” before her analysis. In return, he is given a shop in the city, which he names Charlie’s Chocolate Shop. The next day, burglars attempt to steal money and jewellery from the Wonkas’ house – in this version, Mr Wonka is married – but Charlie, hidden in his mould, manages to prevent the robbery. Then he gets taken to Wonka’s house to be the chocolate boy in Wonka’s son’s Easter basket.” It hardens around him, which feels terrible. The mould closes, and the chocolate pours over his body and he is suffocating and nearly drowning in it. Wonka helps him into the mould and gets distracted.

“And of course Charlie Bucket – who in this version is a black boy, and is accompanied by his two doting parents,” Keyser said.Ĭharlie, she added, “ends up in the Easter Room, where there are life-size candy moulds of creatures, and one of these is shaped like a chocolate boy. But Augustus Gloop was named Augustus Pottle and there were two more children: Marvin Prune and Miranda Piker.

According to Keyser, the setup is similar to Dahl’s bestseller, with a magical chocolate factory owned by “Willie” Wonka, and children vying for a golden ticket to visit it. Now Catherine Keyser, a professor of English at the University of South Carolina, has told the New York Times about the original plot of Dahl’s draft, Charlie’s Chocolate Boy.

Charlie and the chocolate factory book 1964