The BFG
Quotes from the Book
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install A lovely bookshelf on the wall. Then fill the shelves with lots of books.
Everything in this room is edible. Even I'm edible. But, that would be called canibalism. It is looked down upon in most societies.
Mr. Wonka: "Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted." Charlie Bucket: "What happened?" Mr. Wonka: "He lived happily ever after.
You should never, never doubt something that no one is sure of.
I've heard tell that what you imagine sometimes comes true. -Grandpa Joe
Whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all if it hasnt been whipped with whips, just like poached eggs isn't poached eggs unless it's been stolen in the dead of the night.
The most important thing we've learned, So far as children are concerned, Is never, NEVER, NEVER let Them near your television set -- Or better still, just don't install The idiotic thing at all. In almost every house we've been, We've watched them gaping at the screen. They loll and slop and lounge about, And stare until their eyes pop out. (Last week in someone's place we saw A dozen eyeballs on the floor.) They sit and stare and stare and sit Until they're hypnotised by it, Until they're absolutely drunk With all that shocking ghastly junk. Oh yes, we know it keeps them still, They don't climb out the window sill, They never fight or kick or punch, They leave you free to cook the lunch And wash the dishes in the sink -- But did you ever stop to think, To wonder just exactly what This does to your beloved tot? IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD! IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD! IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND! IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND! HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE! HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE! HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES! 'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say, 'But if we take the set away, What shall we do to entertain Our darling children? Please explain!' We'll answer this by asking you, 'What used the darling ones to do? 'How used they keep themselves contented Before this monster was invented?' Have you forgotten? Don't you know? We'll say it very loud and slow: THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ, AND READ and READ, and then proceed To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks! One half their lives was reading books! The nursery shelves held books galore! Books cluttered up the nursery floor! And in the bedroom, by the bed, More books were waiting to be read! Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales And treasure isles, and distant shores Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars, And pirates wearing purple pants, And sailing ships and elephants, And cannibals crouching 'round the pot, Stirring away at something hot. (It smells so good, what can it be? Good gracious, it's Penelope.) The younger ones had Beatrix Potter With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter, And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland, And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and- Just How The Camel Got His Hump, And How the Monkey Lost His Rump, And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul, There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole- Oh, books, what books they used to know, Those children living long ago! So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install A lovely bookshelf on the wall. Then fill the shelves with lots of books, Ignoring all the dirty looks, The screams and yells, the bites and kicks, And children hitting you with sticks- Fear not, because we promise you That, in about a week or two Of having nothing else to do, They'll now begin to feel the need Of having something to read. And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy! You watch the slowly growing joy That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen They'll wonder what they'd ever seen In that ridiculous machine, That nauseating, foul, unclean, Repulsive television screen! And later, each and every kid Will love you more for what you did.
But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance is there. The chance had to be there.
I am the maker of music, the dreamer of dreams!
Of course they're real people. They're Oompa-Loompas...Imported direct from Loompaland...And oh what a terrible country it is! Nothing but thick jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the world - hornswogglers and snozzwangers and those terrible wicked whangdoodles. A whangdoodle would eat ten Oompa-Loompas for breakfast and come galloping back for a second helping.
Mr Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change colour every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and sugar balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And, by a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds' eggs with black spots on them, and when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little DARKRED sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue.
EATABLE MARSHMALLOW PILLOWS LICKABLE WALLPAPER FOR NURSERIES HOT ICE CREAMS FOR COLD DAYS COWS THAT GIVE CHOCOLATE MILK FIZZY LIFTING DRINKS SQUARE SWEETS THAT LOOK ROUND
And in that one grey hair I saw my whole life and I said "I think I need a hair.
However small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was there.
There is something about very cold weather that gives one an enormous appetite. Most of us find ourselves beginning to crave rich steaming stews and hot apple pies and all kinds of delicious warming dishes; and because we are all a great deal luckier than we realize, we usually get what we want—or near enough.
Rainbow drops - suck them and you can spit in six different colours.
Oh, my sainted aunt! Don't mention that disgusting stuff in front of me! Do you know what breakfast cereal is made of? It's made of all those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners!
We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want - or near enough.
Is she the only one at fault? For though she’s spoiled, and dreadfully so, A girl can’t spoil herself, you know. Who spoiled her, then? Ah, who indeed? Who pandered to her every need? Who turned her into such a brat? Who are the culprits? Who did that? Alas! You needn’t look so far To find out who these sinners are. They are (and this is very sad) Her loving parents, MUM and DAD. And that is why we’re glad they fell Into the garbage chute as well.
Don’t argue, my dear child, please don’t argue!” cried Mr. Wonka. “It’s such a waste of precious time!
Oh, books, what books they used to know, Those children living long ago! So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
He turned and reached behind him for the chocolate bar, then he turned back again and handed it to Charlie. Charlie grabbed it and quickly tore off the wrapper and took an enormous bite. Then he took another…and another…and oh, the joy of being able to cram large pieces of something sweet and solid into one's mouth! The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one's mouth with rich solid food! 'You look like you wanted that one, sonny,' the shopkeeper said pleasantly. Charlie nodded, his mouth bulging with chocolate.
Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” And at the same time, his long bony body rose up out of the bed and his bowl of soup went flying into the face of Grandma Josephine, and in one fantastic leap, this old fellow of ninety-six and a half, who hadn’t been out of bed these last twenty years, jumped on to the floor and started doing a dance of victory in his pajamas.
There’s no earthly way of knowing Which direction they are going! There’s no knowing where they’re rowing, Or which way the river’s flowing! Not a speck of light is showing, So the danger must be growing, For the rowers keep on rowing, And they’re certainly not showing Any signs that they are slowing. . . .
I, Willy Wonka, have decided to allow five children – just five, mind you, and no more – to visit my factory this year.
So shines a good deed in a weary world.
Did you know?
- The book was first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in 1964, eleven months before its UK release by George Allen & Unwin.
- The first US edition was illustrated by Joseph Schindelman.
- Roald Dahl said the story was inspired in part by his schooldays at Repton School, where chocolate companies sent boxes of new bars for the pupils to taste.
- There are five golden tickets hidden inside Wonka Bars, and each is found by a different child.
- Dahl wrote a sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, published in 1972.
About Roald Dahl
More by Roald Dahl
All books by Roald Dahl →About the book
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in 1964. It follows Charlie Bucket, a kind and poor boy who lives in a cramped house with his parents and four bedridden grandparents. When the reclusive candy maker Willy Wonka hides five golden tickets inside his chocolate bars, offering the finders a tour of his mysterious factory, Charlie against all odds becomes one of the winners.
Alongside Charlie, four other, less virtuous children win tickets: the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, the spoiled Veruca Salt, the gum-obsessed Violet Beauregarde, and the television-addicted Mike Teavee. As Wonka guides the group through his fantastical factory, staffed by the diminutive Oompa-Loompas, each ill-behaved child meets a comic misfortune tied to their particular vice. The book's central themes contrast greed, gluttony, and indulgence with humility, gratitude, and good character.
The story was inspired in part by Dahl's boyhood experiences of chocolate companies during his schooldays at Repton School. It became one of Dahl's most beloved and enduring works, spawning a sequel, stage musicals, and several film adaptations, and remains a staple of children's literature more than half a century after publication.
Key characters
- Charlie BucketPoor, kind-hearted boy who wins a golden ticket
- Willy WonkaEccentric, reclusive owner of the chocolate factory
- Grandpa JoeCharlie's grandfather, who accompanies him on the tour
- Augustus GloopGreedy, gluttonous ticket winner
- Veruca SaltSpoiled, demanding ticket winner
- Violet BeauregardeGum-chewing, competitive ticket winner
- Mike TeaveeTelevision-obsessed ticket winner
Book details
- First published
- 1964
- Length
- 162 pages
- Reading time
- 2 hours
- Author
- Roald Dahl
- Genre
- Classics
- Goodreads rating
- 4.17 (945k ratings) →
- First line
- “These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket.”
Series & reading order
- 1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 2 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Movie & TV adaptations
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
If you liked this, read…
- 1James and the Giant PeachAnother whimsical Roald Dahl adventure with a lonely child hero
- 2MatildaDahl's story of a gifted child triumphing over cruel adults
- 3The BFGDahl fantasy pairing a child with an eccentric larger-than-life figure
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