The Oompa Loopos: Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory
1337 Words6 Pages
The typical fun friendly Charlie and the chocolate factory tale children all across the world have grown up fantasizing over, only know the front cover up story. Little do children know about the history and origin of the original story before it was sugar coated. It depicts the oompa loompas In the original story coming from a foreign setting, eating caterpillars and coming to work for Willy Wonka. Society back in the 70’s reacted harshly when the story was released citing that it was racist and stereotypical towards African slaves. The oompa loompas showcase in the novel, black skinned short workers. Having small little workers in general could also give off an impression to viewers that they are automatically prone to labor and no sense…show more content… In the novel, the Oompa Loompas are described as “pygmies…imported directly from Africa, Their skin is almost black” and that they also once lived in the depths of jungles surrounded by many fierce dangerous creatures. The oompa loompas were imported to the factory in “large packing cases with holes in them.” In exchange for their work around the factory, they were given all the chocolate and cacao beans they wanted to their pleasure. The entire oompa loompa tribe, after leaving the jungle, worked within the factory and had never been outside of Wonka’s huge factory. The Oompa Loompas are described as a group of people who live within tribes in a secluded domain setting. In the novel, they appear not to speak English, but instead their own unique language. Willy Wonka speaks with to them in their language to strike a deal for their services in exchange for cacoa beans the oompa loompas heavily value. The tribes ate a variety of bugs and other weird type of foods as described in the novel; “And they were living on green caterpillars, and the caterpillars tasted