(11, April, 2023)
This article is about;
・Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964), a novel written by Roald Dahl.
・The book information, Plot, Main characters list, and my review in terms of English learning material.
・You could check out some sentences quoted from the book.
・It is a fantasy children’s book and easy to read, recommended for all English learners.
※Writer of this article is a Japanese who is learning English as a second language. I have read this book for English learning & Vocabuilding.
１．Prologue
It is famous for the 2005 film version, directed by Tim Burton & acted by Johnny Depp, but this time I have read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964) original English novel written by Roald Dahl. By reading this article, you will know the following things about this classic fantasy novel; Book information, Plot, Main characters list, and my review in terms of English learning material.
For those who are considering to read the book, you can see some quotes in Chapter 3.
It is written in easy British English for children, which is good for all the beginner learners of English. Enjoy the classical masterpiece fantasy of a sweet world.
【読了】
映画化もされたチャーリーとチョコレート工場🍫の原作、Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(邦題「チョコレート工場の秘密」)を洋書で読み終えました📖挿絵入りでストーリーも子供向けで読みやすいので英語学習者なら必読です😀https://t.co/w2X5DQ7l3x#英語学習 #多読 #洋書 #洋書多読 pic.twitter.com/QacswAorHw
— みっちー@英語学習ブロガー (@michi1009_t) March 2, 2023
２．Book Information｜Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964) by Roald Dahl
| Title | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
| Author | Roald Dahl |
| Illustrator | Quentin Blake (1995 edition) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Children’s fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Puffin Books (1995–2006) |
| Publication Date | 1964 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Number of words | 29,743 (appx.) |
Reference：Wikipedia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
・Plot
Charlie Bucket grew up in a poor family in the United Kingdom, living together with his parents and grandparents.
His father works in a toothpaste factory, making little money to survive. He could manage to eat chocolate only once a year on his birthday.
One day, a chocolate factory owner Willy Wonka announced that 5 golden tickets were inserted in Wonka Chocolate all over the world. Those lucky kids who drew the tickets could join the wonderful factory tour. It was advertised sensationally. That chocolate factory was located near Bucket’s house so that Charlie was always enjoying the smell in front of the factory.
Miracle happened to Charlie that he got one of the golden tickets. He joined the factory tour with Grandpa Joe where he saw wonderful sites and weird creatures. Other lucky four kids were all so selfish that they broke factory rules, ended up facing scary grotesque revenge…
・Main Characters
You can check out the following list to know the main characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Willy Wonka：Owner of a chocolate factory.
Charlie Bucket：Main character, who grew up in poor family, joining a factory tour with his grandpa Joe.
Augustus Gloop：German boy, joining the tour. Fat boy addicted to snacks & junk foods.
Veruca Salt：A girl joining the tour from a rich family. No discipline. Her father buys everything she wants.
Violet Beauregarde：Selfish girl, chewing gum all the time.
Mike Teavee：TV addicted boy.
・Review in terms of English learning material～4.5 stars
The book of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is written in simple English, so every level of learners of English could enjoy reading it comfortably. My review of it as a material for learning English is 4.5 stars(among 5), highly recommended for learning purpose. The story is Children’s fantasy. Some may like it, but others may not like its taste. However, it is no doubt that this is a classical masterpiece, good for your tadoku and vocabuilding.
**Tadoku is a Japanese term, means reading a lot for learning foreign language.
・Pros and Cons｜Who should read it?
Here are the good points and bad points of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in my point of view.
✅Pros
・This is a children’s book, written in simple English, easy to read.
・You can enjoy reading with nice illustrations.
・If you like it, you could watch the movie to enjoy further.
✅Cons
・Some may not like this genre: children’s fantasy novel.
・Some scenes are cruel, savage or grotesque in a way.
Like the following pics, letters are poppin and dancing to entertain your reading experience.
Then, who should read out this book? Check the following table.
・Beginners of English learning in Tadoku method, who are ready to try reading “novels”, after reading enough amount of “picture books”.
・Those who watched the movie and liked it.
・All English learners who want to read easy & enjoyable books.
３．Quotes from the book｜Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964) by Roald Dahl
In this chapter, you could check out actual sentences quoted from the book, so read it and decide whether you will try the English novel or not.
(1)Scene of Charlie’s poor family
The house wasn’t nearly large enough for so many people, and life was extremely uncomfortable for them all. There were only two rooms in the place altogether, and there was only one bed. The bed was given to the four old grandparents because they were so old and tired. They were so tired, they never got out of it.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Series) (p.5). Penguin Random House Children’s UK. Kindle 版.
(2)Poor dinings
The only meals they could afford were bread and margarine for breakfast, boiled potatoes and cabbage for lunch, and cabbage soup for supper. Sundays were a bit better. They all looked forward to Sundays because then, although they had exactly the same, everyone was allowed a second helping.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Series) (p.6). Penguin Random House Children’s UK. Kindle 版.
(3)Charlie can afford Chocolate only on his birthday
Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up their money for that special occasion, and when the great day arrived, Charlie was always presented with one small chocolate bar to eat all by himself.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Series) (p.8). Penguin Random House Children’s UK. Kindle 版.
(4)Golden Tickets, hidden in five Wonka Chocolate Bars
Five Golden Tickets have been printed on golden paper, and these five Golden Tickets have been hidden underneath the ordinary wrapping paper of five ordinary bars of chocolate.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Series) (p.40). Penguin Random House Children’s UK. Kindle 版.
(5)Factory tour opening
Outside the gates of Wonka’s factory, enormous crowds of people had gathered to watch the five lucky ticket holders going in. The excitement was tremendous.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Series) (p.110). Penguin Random House Children’s UK. Kindle 版.
４．Epilogue～check out the movie too
This article brought you information of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(1964), the original English novel by Roald Dahl. It is written in quite simple English, so every level of learners can try reading. If you are still concerned about having difficulty reading English novels, check out the 2005 film version first. It will be available in various subscription video services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc..
If you watch the movie after reading, which will make your imaginary chocolate factory into a real visualization. In reverse, if you check the novel after watching the film, you could proceed reading smoothly, recalling scenes in the film. Both ways must be fruitful for your English learning.
→Back to Chapter 2 to check out the book info
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Fin.
