Reviews with content warning for Classism - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

7 reviews

mysticfaerer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

jhbandcats's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is the first Roald Dahl book I’ve ever read despite having seen a few movies based on his works. The author is clearly brilliant but he must have been either quite the misanthrope or overwhelmingly depressed by the state of the world. (I can sympathize with the latter.) His hatred of practically everything except chocolate is evident from the beginning.

While I knew the plot I wasn’t prepared for cavalier meanness. The happy ending makes up for the (not necessarily undeserved) cruelty that precedes it.

Content Warnings

obviousthings's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

genie09's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

katharina90's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

At its core Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is such a magical story that continues to bring joy to children and adults alike.

Unfortunately its flaws are impossible to ignore: repeated body shaming/fatphobia, patriarchal ideas of how women and girls ought to behave, ableist language.

Even the whitewashing of the original text (which introduced the Oompa-Loompas as Africans smuggled to the UK in crates... yikes!) doesn't obscure the icky owner-property relationship between Wonka and his factory "workers".

I'm leaving my 4 star rating in place for now but reading this book definitely involves a lot of cringing these days.

I continue to wrestle with the legacy of authors like Roald Dahl. He was a man who unashamedly held incredibly harmful views and wrote children's books that perpetuate antisemitism, racism, sexism, fatphobia and ableism.

And yet, his stories are whimsical and fun and beloved by so many.

Can we hold space for both of these truths?

Content Warnings

teki_p's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

eliya's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Obviously outdated. First book I’ve actually read myself and finished in like 5/6 years and it was a really easy read, some funny parts. Really frustrating that the kids in the book really didn’t do anything wrong. Very fitting for the time that the punishment very very much does not fit the crime. Poor kids.

Content Warnings

More...