This video from the 2005 film adaptation introduces the "naughty" children, representing 4 out of the 7 deadly sins
The seven deadly sins are a prominent idea in the Judeo-Christian religions, being depicted in plays, literature, and art dating back to the middle ages. They are thought of as dispositions toward sin, and a separation from God ("Seven Deadly Sins"). They include pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. The sins all represent abuses or excessive versions of one's natural faculties or passions; for example, gluttony is an abuse of eating ("Seven Deadly Sins").
The sins are represented by the seven main characters in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. One could argue that each child who receives a golden ticket (besides Charlie) embodies many sins, but one more than the others stands out. The three characters with the most moral compass, Charlie, Grandpa Joe, and Willy Wonka, portray their deadly sin at a lower intensity than the other four ticket winners. However, like all humans, they still sin (Maloney 21).
Augustus Gloop embodies gluttony in the novel and films, as he has no control over his appetite (Maloney 22). His never-ending quest to fill his face has tired out his parents, who let him indulge in his eating habits rather than listen to his whining. The first part of Willy Wonka's factory tour is a model of a garden made entirely of edible candy. Augustus begins to devour the room, including the candy grass, bushes, and trees. Wonka has one request for Augustus and the other children; that they refrain from drinking the chocolate river. Augustus, being the glutton that he is, ignores Wonka's instructions and begins to drink the river (SparkNotes Editors). Wonka and his parents warn him not to, but he is "deaf to everything except the call of his enormous stomach" (Dahl 72). The boy falls in the chocolate and gets sucked up one of the pipes. His sin of gluttony resulted in punishment, mimicking the way the Judeo-Christian God deals with sin (Hissan 87).
Gluttony
Pride
Pride is conveyed through Violet Beauregarde, who constantly reflects on her accomplishments. In the novel, she says, “this piece of gum I’m chewing right at this very moment is one I’ve been working on for over three months solid. That’s a record, that is” (Dahl 31). Her pride for her world record gum-chewing consumes her. This sin eventually leads to her demise when she takes a piece of experimental gum, even though Wonka warns her not to. She eagerly chews the gum and turns into a giant blueberry as a punishment for her sin (SparkNotes Editors).
Greed
Greed is demonstrated through the character of Veruca Salt. She is extremely wealthy and spoiled by her parents. Everything Veruca wants, she gets, and if she doesn't get it, she will throw a tantrum (Giovani 143). Her egocentrism leads to her punishment, where she gets thrown down the garbage shoot by squirrels. These squirrels are highly trained, and Veruca being the greedy child she is, wanted one. She, despite the caution of Wonka, enters the room where she squirrels sort through nuts, and they end up throwing her down the garbage chute (SparkNotes Editors). In the 1971 film, the Oompa Loompas sing a song about her sin of greediness, which resembles a bible verse:
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Oompa Loompas: "If you're not greedy, you will go far" (Adams 32-39)
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Scripture: A greedy person provokes conflict, but whoever trusts in the LORD will prosper. (Proverbs 28:25 HCSB)
Therefore, the sin of greed is present in Veruca Salt.
Sloth
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Mike Teavee represents the deadly sin of sloth. He only cares for television and video games, spending hours in front of the TV. When one is slothful, it means they are lazy and don't want to do any work. Mike embodies this trait with his excessive TV watching (SparkNotes Editors). When Mike gets the golden ticket and is being interviewed in the novel, he says, "Can't you fools see I'm watching television?... I wish you wouldn't interrupt!" (Dahl 33). His sloth continues even on the tour of the factory, as all he wants to do is watch TV. Wonka brings the children to the television room, where Mike spies the opportunity to be on television himself. The television room is used to transport chocolate bars, and Mike decides to try to transport himself, again, despite Wonka's caution. He ends up shrinking his entire body in size (SparkNotes Editors). His punishment for his sin of sloth is evident here.
When one thinks of lust, they usually associated with sexual desire. While this is one definition, lust can also be defined as a passionate desire for something ("Lust"). This is the case for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with Charlie bucket being the person lusting (Maloney 19). Because he lives in poverty, he only gets a taste of chocolate once a year on his birthday. During every other day of the year, he lusts for this chocolate "more than anything else" (Dahl 20). When passing the local sweet shop on his way to school, he would "stop and stare and press his nose against the glass, his mouth watering like mad" (Dahl 20). When Charlie finds money on the street, he buys himself two bars of chocolate rather than give it to his parents for more nutritious food. Although this lust for chocolate consumes him, he never complains about not being able to get it more than once a year (SparkNotes Editors. This is what makes his lust for chocolate different from envy.
Lust
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Envy
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Grandpa Joe represents envy. He, like Charlie, lusts for chocolate and a better life. This lust however, has turned into envy throughout his life. His longing has become jealousy, and he criticizes the children who get golden tickets, believing they don’t deserve them. His disappointment when Charlie doesn’t get the golden ticket twice is the greatest out of all the grandparents (SparkNotes Editors). He wants Charlie to get the golden ticket so much that he spends all of his money on a bar. Rather than be like Charlie and shake it off, Grandpa Joe is deeply upset (Valle 90).
Wrath
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Wrath is represented by Willy Wonka. Firstly, Wonka employed many people in the early days of his factory and often interacted with customers. After spies were sent to steal Wonka’s formula, he became outraged and shut down his entire factory. Years later, he reopened his factory, but remained hostile and didn’t interact with anybody (Kachur 225). He also is very short with the children, and in some cases, mean. His wrath takes over when he talks to the spoiled children, saying things like “you talk too much” (Dahl 127).
