Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Chapter 25 : The Great Glass Elevator | Summary

Summary

"My feet are getting tired," whines Mike Teavee. "I want to watch television."

In that case Mr. Wonka suggests, they should take the elevator. As might be expected, it's unlike any elevator Charlie has ever seen. Mr. Wonka explains proudly that it can go in any direction and can visit any single room in the factory. All you have to do is press the button for that room. He adds that the elevator is made of glass so that riders can see out.

Mr. Wonka says Charlie and Mike may each pick one room to visit. Immediately, Mike presses the button that says TELEVISION CHOCOLATE. The elevator leaps sideways, throwing everyone but Mr. Wonka to the ground. When they get up, it swerves and topples the riders again. Next, it begins to climb.

Looking through the thick glass, Charlie sees amazing sights: a fudge mountain, a lake of hot caramel, and an Oompa-Loompa village. Then the elevator begins to plummet again. When it finally stops, everyone but Mr. Wonka is badly shaken up. As they alight from the elevator, Mr. Wonka warns them that the room contains dangerous equipment "and you must not tamper with it."

Analysis

A few unrelated points:

Mr. Wonka says each boy may pick one room to visit. Charlie won't get to do that, but other things will make up for it.

The elevator must take the group to an entirely different section of the factory. The text says Charlie glimpses wonderful things in some of the other rooms. Although they're still underground, it's hard to know how the scenes Charlie glimpses—a mountain, a lake, a village—could fit inside even the largest room. But it's a relief to see that Dahl remembers to give the Oompa-Loompas a place to live.

The list of rooms that readers won't see is, as usual, funny and inventive: "When you hold it [magic hand-fudge] in your hand, you taste it in your mouth."

Most kids like jokes about vomit, and the thought that Mrs. Teavee may throw up in Mr. Wonka's hat will please them—especially since it almost happens twice.

In this book readers may be sure that when Mr. Wonka warns everyone not to tamper with the equipment they're about to see, someone will definitely tamper with the equipment.