Chapter 1 begins with an introduction to the oldest members of Charlie Bucket's family—and they are old. Then the reader meets Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, Charlie's parents, and finally Charlie himself: "He is pleased to meet you." Charlie and his family live in a two-room house "on the edge of a great town." It's a wretched existence. Charlie's grandparents occupy the family's one bed. His father's job screwing on toothpaste caps brings in less than half the money the family needs. They subsist on bread and margarine, potatoes, cabbage, and cabbage soup. This is hard for the whole family, but especially for Charlie, who is still growing. Charlie loves chocolate above all else, but he gets to taste it only on his birthday. It's torture—"the most terrible torturing thing you could imagine"—that the world's largest and most famous chocolate factory is within sight of Charlie's house. The chocolate from Wonka's Factory scents the air for half a mile around. On his way to and from school Charlie walks by the factory gates, inhaling the chocolate fumes and yearning to see what's inside the building.
Chapters 3, 4 and 5:
Grandpa Joe continued to share stories of Mr. Wonka and his factory. He spoke of the time the factory had to be shut down because workers were stealing his secret recipes and selling them to other candy makers. He then shared of how the factory reopened with special worker, tiny workers no taller than his knee. Nobody ever went in or out again. As he was sharing this story, Charlie's dad, Mr. Bucket came into the house waving a flyer that stated Mr. Wonka was going to open his factory to five lucky children for a tour and a special gift. Charlie is feeling very down on his look knowing that he only get once chance of making his way into the factory for his birthday is coming up soon and this is the one day he gets a chocolate bar.
Chapters 6 and 7:
The day after the Golden Ticket contest is announced, a nine-year-old boy named Augustus Gloop finds a ticket. Augustus is a terrifically obese boy who eats so many candy bars that it would have been strange for him not to come across one with a Golden Ticket inside. On the day before Charlie's birthday, the second Golden Ticket is found. This time, the finder is a rich girl named Veruca Salt, whose doting father buys thousands of candy bars and has his workers unwrap them until a ticket turns up.Charlie's grandparents are loud in their criticism of both children's indulgent parents. Even Charlie thinks Veruca Salt wasn't playing fair. Charlie gets his annual chocolate bar for his birthday. His family waits eagerly for him to open it, but Charlie is reluctant, fearing the disappointment that's almost certainly in store. Charlie tears off a small corner of the paper, then quickly rips it down the middle. A plain, ticket-less chocolate bar falls into his lap.
Chapters 8, 9 and 10:
When Mr. Bucket comes home from work on the night of Charlie's birthday, he brings news that the third and fourth Golden Tickets have been found. The third was found by a girl named Violet Beauregarde. Violet's passion is gum, which she chews nonstop. She took time off gum-chewing to buy Wonka candy bars, but as soon as she found the ticket, she went back to gum. The fourth ticket-finder is nine-year-old Mike Teavee, a toy-pistol-toting TV addict. Mike won't stop watching television long enough to tell reporters how he found the ticket. Once again, Charlie's grandparents are disgusted by the behavior of the latest winners, and both children do seem loathsome.It certainly seems as if the four Golden Ticket winners are an undeserving bunch. And now there's only one chance left. When Charlie comes home from school the next day, Grandpa Joe is the only grandparent who's awake. He whispers to Charlie that he's been hoarding a dime and wants Charlie to spend it on another Wonka candy bar. Charlie protests, but his grandfather insists. So Charlie steals out of the house, buys a candy bar, and comes back. Charlie sits close to Grandpa Joe so they can open the bar together. Then Grandpa Joe opens the wrapper—and there's a plain candy bar inside with no ticket. The weather turns cold, and after a big storm, the Bucket house is four feet deep in snow. The snow is followed by days of freezing winds. Everyone in the family is hungry, Charlie most of all. Then Mr. Bucket loses his job when the toothpaste factory closes. He begins shoveling snow, but the pennies he makes don't come close to providing for his family. On one particularly wretched afternoon Charlie is struggling home when he suddenly spots a dollar bill in the gutter, half buried under snow. Carefully Charlie pulls it out. It is a dollar! Charlie can think of only one thing: food. He makes his way toward the nearest store, planning to buy himself a candy bar and then take the change home to his mother.
Chapters 11 and 12:
Charlie goes into the store and buys a Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight. He wolfs it down and feels much happier. There are nine dimes in change. He'll have just one more. He tears off the wrapper—and sees a flash of gold. He's found the fifth Golden Ticket. The shopkeeper goes into a frenzy of excitement, and a crowd quickly gathers around Charlie. When people start offering to buy the ticket, the shopkeeper helps Charlie through the crowd and tells him to go right home. Charlie rushes off toward home, pausing only to wave at the chocolate factory as he passes it. Charlie bursts through the front door, callingout his fantastic news. Grandpa Joe asks softly whether Charlie is joking, but when the boy shows him the ticket, the old man jumps up and does a victory dance. The ticket bears Mr. Wonka's greetings and his promises of amazing treats in store—as well as "enough delicious eatables" to last a lifetime. The text goes on to say that on February 1, each ticket-bearer and one or two family members must be waiting at the factory gates at 10:00 a.m. sharp. Grandpa Joe rushes to claim the privilege of escorting Charlie. At this point a swarm of journalists and photographers pour into the little house. It's nearly midnight before they're all gone and Charlie can go to bed.
Chapters 13 and 14:
Huge crowds have gathered in front of Wonka's factory to watch the Golden Ticket holders go in. People in the crowd excitedly talk about the winners. Someone points out that Violet Beauregarde is still chewing the three-month-old stick of gum. Another onlooker comments on how enormous Augustus Gloop is. "Look at all those crazy pistols he's got hanging all over him!" yet another person shouts about Mike Teavee. A fourth person is eager to see Veruca Salt, whose father gives her anything. "She only has to start screaming for it and she gets it!" Charlie overhears someone wondering why he's not wearing a coat. He squeezes Grandpa Joe's hand. A church clock begins to strike 10, and the factory gates slowly swing open.Mr. Wonka is standing just inside the gates. His appearance is extraordinary. He's wearing a top hat and sporting a gold-topped cane. His eyes are "most marvelously bright," and he looks "quick and sharp and full of life!" Mr. Wonka asks the winners to come forward one at a time, welcoming each of them effusively. Mr. Wonka warns everyone to stay together when they get inside. "I shouldn't like to lose any of you at this stage of the proceedings!" The iron gates slowly close behind the group as Mr. Wonka leads them through a big red door. The air inside is deliciously warm, and "all the most wonderful smells in the world" seem to surround them. Mr. Wonka hurries them along a wide corridor and then makes a quick series of turns. Passages lead in all directions. Mr. Wonka points out that all the passages slope downward: the most important rooms in the factory are underground, where he has all the space he wants. The passages are sloping downhill more and more steeply as Mr. Wonka leads the group up to a metal door. On the door is printed THE CHOCOLATE ROOM.
Chapters 15 and 16:
An amazing sight greets the visitors when Mr. Wonka opens the door to the Chocolate Room. They're looking down at a beautiful valley with green fields, trees, blossoming shrubs, and a flowing brown river with a huge waterfall. Beneath the waterfall enormous glass pipes lead to the ceiling and carry the brown liquid away. A brown river doesn't sound very enticing until Mr. Wonka explains the liquid is melted chocolate—enough to fill every bathtub and swimming pool in the country. The function of the waterfall is to make the chocolate light and frothy. Not just the river is delicious: everything in the room is made of candy, including the grass they're standing on. The group is nibbling on grass and buttercups when Veruca Salt lets out a shriek of excitement. Pointing, she screams, "It's a little person! It's a little man! Now everyone sees the little man. And he has company. Five tiny figures are staring at the group from across the river. These, Mr. Wonka explains, are Oompa-Loompas. Mr. Wonka explains he brought the Oompa-Loompas all the way from Loompaland, a terrible country inhabited by dangerous beasts. All the Oompa-Loompas had to eat was green caterpillars. The food they loved most was cacao beans, which were almost impossible to find. Mr. Wonka told the Oompa-Loompas they could have all the cacao beans they wanted if they'd come and live in his factory, they couldn't wait. So he smuggled them over in packing cases, "and they all got here safely. They're wonderful workers ... love dancing and music ... They like jokes.” Veruca Salt interrupts to say she wants her father to get her an Oompa-Loompa to take home with her. While Veruca is shrieking, Augustus Gloop sneaks down to the edge of the river and kneels on the bank, "scooping hot melted chocolate into his mouth" as fast as he can.
Chapters 17 and 18:
When Mr. Wonka realizes what Augustus is doing, he begs him to stop. Augustus pays no attention. He leans so far over the riverbank that he topples in. Mr. Gloop prepares to dive into the river, but Augustus is sucked into the mouth of one of the glass pipes before his father can do anything. Augustus starts to shoot up the pipe, but he gets stuck. The melted chocolate builds up behind him until the pressure dislodges the boy. Up again he goes, and disappears from view. A giggling Mr. Wonka tries to reassure Mrs. Gloop. He summons an Oompa-Loompa and asks him to take Mr. and Mrs. Gloop to the Fudge Room, where that particular pipe leads. As the Gloops are hurried away, the five Oompa-Loompas on the far side of the river begin dancing and beating tiny drums. Then they begin to sing a long song that begins "Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop! The great big greedy nincompoop ..."Mr. Wonka promises that Augustus will be all right. He urges the rest of the group to follow him to the next room, where a pink rowboat boat is waiting in the river. It's Mr. Wonka's private yacht, carved out of an enormous boiled hard candy. The adventure has already been so amazing that Charlie wonders how there can be any "astonishments" left to see. As he and Grandpa Joe savor mugs of melted chocolate, the boat heads into a huge tunnel at breakneck speed. They pass colorful doors with enticing signs—"ALL THE CREAMS;" "WHIPS—ALL SHAPES AND SIZES"—and finally arrive at a bright red door. "Stop the boat!" yells Mr. Wonka.
Chapters 19 and 20:
The sign on the red door reads "Inventing Room." Mr. Wonka explains it's the most important room in the whole factory. Until now he's the only person who's ever been inside it. Charlie thinks the place looks like a witch's kitchen, but it's clear this is Mr. Wonka's favorite room. He skitters around lifting pot lids and turning knobs. Then he rushes over to the Everlasting Gobstopper machine, which makes candy that never grows smaller no matter how long it's sucked. Next he shows the group a saucepan filled with bubbling purple stuff—Hair Toffee, says Mr. Wonka. And now, if they'll all follow him, Mr. Wonka has something new to show them—something he's very proud of.A gigantic machine stands in the center of the Inventing Room. When Mr. Wonka presses a few buttons, the machine rumbles into life. After a long interval of rumbling and shaking and whizzing, a tiny drawer pops out of the machine. In the drawer is "a little grey strip." For a second no one knows what it is. Then Violet Beauregarde recognizes it. "By gum, it's gum!" she shrieks.
Chapters 21 and 22:
Mr. Wonka explains the little gray stick of gum is a three-course dinner. Each stick replaces an entire meal. Chewing a stick is exactly like eating food; it even fills you up. Violet Beauregarde, the gum-chewing fanatic, is wild to try the new invention. She sticks her own gum behind her ear and orders Mr. Wonka to hand over the magic piece. Mr. Wonka gently tries to dissuade her, saying the formula's not quite right—but suddenly Violet grabs the gum, pops it into her mouth, and begins chewing away. "Don't!" says Mr. Wonka, but Violet is already enjoying hot, creamy tomato soup. Then the soup changes into roast beef and a buttered baked potato, both delicious. Finally comes third course: blueberry pie. She doesn't realize her face is turning the exact color of a blueberry. Her father orders her to spit out the gum, but it's too late. Violet's whole body is now a "brilliant purplish-blue." And she's swelling up. Before a minute is up, Violet has turned into an enormous blueberry with tiny arms, legs, and head. Mr. Wonka explains that this always happens. So far, 20 Oompa-Loompas have turned into blueberries. He summons two Oompa-Loompas and asks them to roll Violet to the Juicing Room.Before anything else can go wrong, Mr. Wonka hurries everyone out of the Invention Room. Once more he's in a tremendous hurry, and he leads them through a confusing warren of corridors, past enticing rooms that there's no time to visit:
Lickable Wallpaper for Nurseries
Hot Ice Creams for Cold Days
Cows That Give Chocolate Milk
Fizzy Lifting Drinks
Square Candies That Look Round Abruptly Mr. Wonka stops in front of the last door. "I am very proud of my square candies that look round," he announces. "Let's take a peek."
Chapters 23 and 24:
The top half of the door is made of glass, and everyone peers in to see the Square Candies That Look Round. They're white cubes, each painted with a face on one side. "They don't look round to me," says Mike Teavee, who is often the voice of reason in the group. Veruca Salt agrees: "They look completely square." Mr. Wonka points out that they are square. "I never said they weren't ... I said they looked round." Mr. Wonka proves his point by flinging open the door. At the sound of the door opening, the little faces on each cube look around to see who's coming in. "Square candies that look round," says Mr. Wonka triumphantly. Again he urges the group to go faster. Mrs. Salt and Mrs. Teavee are now very out of breath, but Mr. Wonka won't stop to rest, saying that if he goes more slowly, they'll never get there in time.When the group reaches the Nut Room, Mr. Wonka suggests they peek through the glass panel of the door. But he warns them they mustn't go into the room or they'll disturb the squirrels. Inside the Nut Room 100 squirrels are sitting on stools around the table, rapidly shelling walnuts. Mr. Wonka explains they've been trained to extract the nuts in one piece. He points out that the squirrels always tap the nuts first to make sure they're not rancid. Any bad nuts they find are thrown down the garbage chute in the floor. Veruca Salt now decides she wants one of these squirrels. Her father pulls out his wallet, but Mr. Wonka says the squirrels aren't for sale. Angrily, Veruca flings open the Nut Room door and rushes inside. She reaches out to grab a squirrel. In a flash the squirrels leap onto her and pin her down. One of them taps her head with its knuckles, as it's been trained to do with walnuts. Her head must sound hollow, because the squirrels pull Veruca to the ground, drag her across the floor, and throw her down the garbage chute. Mr. and Mrs. Salt rush into the room. When Mrs. Salt bends over the garbage chute to call Veruca, the squirrels push her down the chute. When Mr. Salt bends over the chute, trying to spot his wife, the same thing happens to him. Mr. Wonka hopes this isn't one of the days when the garbage is incinerated. Maybe the Salts will be lucky.