Willy Wonka, Dahl’s Chickens and Heavenly Visions

Abstract

This article reconsiders Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 50 years after its initial UK publication, and over a hundred years since Dahl’s birth. It suggests that the book has often been misinterpreted, in that the work is more critical of modern capitalism than is often recognised, capturing a post-World War II shift in sensibilities from a culture of hard work and deferred gratification to one that celebrated consumerism and instant enjoyment. The article explores this idea by taking a psychoanalytical perspective, drawing largely on the work of Jacques Lacan, especially his notions of the superego, enjoyment and desire. It suggests that Dahl was one of a number of writers (Anthony Burgess and Marshall McLuhan are also discussed) who responded to this shift in capitalist relations, not simply in terms of the content of his work but in the way in which he wrote.