Greed and gluttony

  


It seems when growing up the message of body and eating is first demonstrated in children's texts, whether that be in rhyme, songs, literature or films. Each piece would hold its own message and attempt to represent it in a child friendly way. Emotions would typically be the most effective way for a child to understand. However, these messages seem much more evident in retrospect.  
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory  
"Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop! 
The great big greedy nincompoop! 
How long could we allow this beast 
To gorge and guzzle, feed and feast 
On everything he wanted to? 
Great Scott! It simply wouldn't do!"(17.64) 
 Image result for augustus gloop
Augustus Gloop is the iconic symbol of greed and gluttony within children's literature. He is demonstrated in both the book and the films as, an overweight, unkempt, messy child, who's only solace is food. His interaction with the other children is very limited as he gorges himself on the chocolate river. From a young age we are programmed to associate overweight with being greedy, other factors such as a thyroid problem are too complex to fathom.  
As we grow up our eating is monitored by our parents, following typical myths to encourage healthy eating; such as “eating carrots will help you see better in the dark” “ sprouts will make you big and strong”  
 
Augustus is the epitome of greed, his inability to share further demonstrates this. (The film being a visual aid to portray this), Augustus laughs at the poor boy Charlie, offering him some chocolate then remarking he should have got his own. It's parading his greed to other people. His parents simply fuel his actions as they indulge him. They seem to show their love to him through the use of food. His chunky body highlights his excessive greed.  



The song, humorous, though contains an underlining message. It doesn't allude to the fact that he is overweight, yet plays around with it. Making light out of the fact he has got stuck in the chocolate pipe, that his body is caught, and by some miracle the force of the chocolate has pushed him through. Violets mum states "it's a wonder how that pipe is big enough", all the remarks made at this point centre around his weight, how his greed and gluttony is simply the cause of him getting stuck. There is no worry for his safety as the situation progress, but simply a wondering if he's going to move in the pipe.




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Slowly, the wheels go round and round,
The cogs begin to grind and pound;
We boil him for a minute more,
Until we're absolutely sure
Then out he comes! And now! By grace!
A miracle has taken place!



 

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