Charlie and The Chocolate Factory has such a bizzaro message actually.
I'm doing the musical for school playing Charlie and it really doesn't know what it wants to be tbh.
The whole point of the story is that Charlie is kind. He's innocent, he's experienced the evil of the world and chooses to remain kind and positive nonetheless.
Then he watches four children, CHILDREN. His own peers!! Get brutally injured, or in the musical version, literally killed, by the man that Charlie has idolised his whole life.
Charlie can't believe it. Wonka and his chocolate factory are Charlie's only escape from the harsh reality of severe poverty. But Wonka is a pyscho who ruins that for him.
Despite all the other ticket winners unsavoury traits or behaviour, Charlie shows compassion towards them. He expresses horror at their fate, questions why they had to experience that at all.
And then Charlie is the last one left. And Wonka gives him the factory. Yes, it's all Charlie has ever wanted, but he's learnt that it's not the idealistic dream that he thought it was.
Really, it should be a 'don't meet your heros' story. That's what it sets itself up to be! A chance for Charlie to remain true to himself, to break the cycle of violence.
But instead, he accepts the factory. He continues idolising Wonka. He doesn't question his behaviour, or even really acknowledge it. He continues the cycle. Takes responsibility for the actions he has at all over times completely disagreed with!
Very unsatisfying character writing, if you ask me.
Is the moral of the story that people living in poverty need to compromise their morals and become evil people to rise out of their situation?
