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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Vice and Virtue
Parenting
Poverty and Wealth
Fun, Absurdity, and Wonder
Prejudice and Bigotry
Summary
Analysis
When Charlie reaches his house, he bursts in the front door, shouting for Mrs. Bucket. She’s serving the grandparents their soup, so Charlie rushes into the room and waves his Golden Ticket. In a shout, he tells them how he found the dollar and then the Golden Ticket. Mrs. Bucket stares, and the grandparents freeze. After a minute, Grandpa Joe asks if Charlie is joking. Charlie offers his grandfather the Golden Ticket, and Grandpa Joe leans in close to inspect it.
Now that Charlie knows his life is going to change for the better, all thoughts of conserving energy are gone—he likely believes that he’ll never have to do so again, since he’s won a lifetime supply of Wonka candy. And though Grandpa Joe was the one who talked up how great it would be to find a Golden Ticket, this doesn’t make it any more believable that it’s happened.
Themes
A smile spreads over Grandpa Joe’s face. He looks at Charlie, and suddenly, his cheeks fill with color and his eyes shine. After taking a deep breath, Grandpa Joe throws up his arms, whoops with joy, and leaps out of bed. He dances in his pajamas, cheering for Charlie. At this moment, Mr. Bucket gets home. He’s freezing and tired, and very confused by the sight in front of him. They fill him in, and Charlie offers his father the Golden Ticket.
The Golden Ticket has the same effect on Grandpa Joe as it did on Charlie: now, it’s not so necessary to conserve energy—the family will have enough to eat (albeit in the form of candy) from here on out. Meanwhile, when Charlie gives his ticket to Mr. Bucket and Grandpa Joe, it shows how much he trusts and relies on these figures.
Themes
Mr. Bucket sits down and inspects the ticket: it’s pure gold, hammered into a sheet. On one side is a printed invitation from Mr. Wonka. With prodding from Grandpa Joe, Mr. Bucket starts to read the invitation out loud. Mr. Wonka congratulates the recipient and explains that he’s inviting all the Golden Ticket holders to see his factory. After the tour, they’ll be sent home with trucks loaded with sweets—and if the winners run out of sweets, they can always ask for more.
This ticket is probably the most valuable thing Charlie and his family have ever owned, since it’s made of pure gold. So, it’s valuable on several levels, since winning the lifetime supply of candy also means that the family won’t experience food insecurity in the future. And again, asking Mr. Bucket to read what the invitation says shows that Charlie relies on his father to interpret information like this for him, a sign of trust and respect.
Themes
But the most exciting part of this visit, Mr. Wonka writes, is a surprise. He insists that nobody can imagine what they’re going to see. The tour will take place on February 1, and ticketholders must be outside the factory gates at 10 a.m. with one or two family members—and their Golden Ticket.
Nobody can imagine what the factory tour is going to hold—but by saying this, Mr. Wonka also encourages ticketholders to imagine what might happen. Given Grandpa Joe’s descriptions of how mysterious and awe-inspiring Wonka’s inventions are, it’s likely that the tour is going to be an exciting experience—though its events aren’t something that anyone can predict or control.
Themes
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Mrs. Bucket exclaims that tomorrow is February 1; Charlie found the ticket just in time. Grandpa Joe shouts for Charlie to bathe, iron his clothes, and get ready for the big day. Mrs. Bucket tells Grandpa Joe to calm down and then asks which adult is going to go with Charlie; she can’t because she needs to take care of the grandparents. Grandpa Joe leaps out of bed again and says he’ll go. Mrs. Bucket smiles and asks Mr. Bucket if he wants to go. Mr. Bucket says he’d love to, but Grandpa Joe deserves to go. Grandpa Joe continues to whoop and celebrate. Then, there’s a knock on the door, and when Mr. Bucket opens it, reporters swam into the house. Charlie doesn’t get to bed until after midnight.
While the narrator implied that the other children have one or two parents in their lives, Charlie has six adults who, barring the grandparents’ mobility issues, could conceivably take him to the factory. When Mrs. Bucket insists that she can’t go because she must care for her parents and in-laws, it shows again how loyal Charlie’s family members are to one another. Even the excitement of visiting Mr. Wonka’s factory isn’t enough to take Mrs. Bucket’s attention away from what the novel implies is most important: family.
Themes
