Dahl populates this novel with deliberately exaggerated, almost cartoon-like characters. Each of the four ‘bad’ children represents a different kind of bad behaviour — greed, vanity, selfishness and obsession. Charlie alone represents goodness, kindness and gratitude.
Charlie is the hero of the novel — poor, kind, patient and honest. He never complains about his poverty, is grateful for small things (a single annual chocolate bar) and treats everyone with respect. Dahl makes Charlie almost entirely good, as a deliberate contrast to the four other children. He earns his reward not through cleverness or skill but through his character.
The mysterious owner of the chocolate factory is one of Dahl's most memorable creations. He is eccentric, theatrical, and apparently indifferent to the fate of the children who misbehave — yet his reactions have a dark comic quality. He has spent his life creating magical confections and is looking for a worthy heir. He is childlike in his enthusiasms but possesses total authority in his factory.
A very large, greedy boy from Germany who falls into the chocolate river while drinking from it. He represents the sin of gluttony — an excessive, uncontrolled appetite.
An American girl obsessed with chewing gum who ignores Wonka's warning and chews an experimental three-course-dinner gum. She turns into a giant blueberry. She represents vanity and the refusal to listen to good advice.
A spoiled English girl whose parents buy her everything she demands. She tries to take one of the factory's trained squirrels and is deemed a 'bad nut' and thrown away. She represents selfishness and the damage done by parents who never say no.
A boy obsessed with television who shrinks himself to microscopic size by stepping into the Wonkavision transmitter. He represents the dangers of mindless, passive entertainment — an irony Dahl clearly enjoyed.
Charlie's elderly grandfather, bedridden along with three others, who comes to life with excitement when Charlie wins the ticket. He accompanies Charlie on the tour. He represents the importance of joy, wonder and enthusiasm at any age.
Charlie's parents are poor but loving. Mr Bucket works in a toothpaste factory and loses his job during the winter. Their poverty is real but their love for Charlie is total. They contrast sharply with the parents of the four bad children, who indulge or simply ignore their children's worst qualities.
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