Is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Dante's Inferno?

I read this "article" today about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being a retelling of Dante's Inferno. I haven't done any literary analysis for awhile, and this seemed like more fun than grading. So...

My initial response to this is that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't a retelling of The Inferno. This seems like a good bit of click bait for people who haven't read Dante's Inferno. When you boil both works down to their bare essentials, there are similarities. But....I don't buy it. But, let's examine it. After all, the video basically makes the argument that the two works are the same because there's a boat and Wonka says, "Hell." Is there something more?

A few notes: I am in no way a Dante scholar. I am currently reading The Divine Comedy for the first time. Secondly, I am basing what happens in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the book, not the film.

Firstly, the whole purpose behind the Inferno is that Dante finds himself aimless and sinful. He wishes to make himself worthy of Heaven (or really, Beatrice, a woman in his life). Dante is guided through Hell by Virgil. There, Dante sees the sinners punished for all eternity in accordance to their sins. Finally, they reach the bottom of Hell to find Satan frozen in ice. Dante and Virgil climb down Satan, and get into Purgatory.

So, who is Dante? It must be Charlie, as he is the one that tours all the way through the factory. But, what is Charlie's sin? By all accounts in the book, Charlie is a good kid. He wants to go to the factory, but does not have the means to win the competition like other people do. Charlie wins the ticket when he finds some money on the street, goes and buys two candy bars. You could argue that he sins by not giving the money to his family, but I call that a stretch. Charlie does not share Dante's motivation for going into the factory/Hell.

Secondly, who is Virgil? At first glance, it might be Grandpa Joe. But, Grandpa Joe doesn't know any more about the factory than Charlie does (outside of knowing about Oompa Loompas). Rather, the best fit for Virgil in Wonka himself. Virgil lives in Hell (Limbo, actually, since he died before Christ came to be). He guides people through the factory. Interestingly, Wonka shows little remorse for what happens to the children. Similarly,  Virgil shows no remorse for the sinners, and even rebukes Dante for doing so at one point.

The other children could lend some interesting similarities. Augustus Gloop is gluttonous, and falls into a chocolate River. He then gets stuck in a tube. A similar fate befalls Varuca Salt. Both punishments echo the punishment of those who abused Church offices, which is to be buried upside down, with their feet sticking into the air. But, neither Gloop nor Salt abuse their office, so the similarities end there. For what its worth: the gluttons spend eternity walking around in frozen slush, which I guess the fudge processing center might resemble in look, but not in any other quality.  The greedy, like Salt, walk with giant weights. Her punishment doesn't line up with Dante.

A better similarity though is the punishment that befalls Violet Beauregarde. Violet steals gum, and is transformed into a blueberry.  In Hell, thieves are punished by having eternally changing identities. Demons force their way into the thieves, changing the form and look. The only way to get a human form back is to steal it. This is all quite painful (and disturbing). So, the punishment seems to fit with The Inferno, though on a lighter scale. The transformation does hurt Violet, and she is permanently changed afterwards.

Mike TeeVee is an odd case though. He loves TV, which isn't a sin. You could argue that he is slothful, and rots his brain. You could also argue that by relying on television, and not books, he sins against art. These sinners are punished by being forced to lie on burning sand. The TV room, with its plain whiteness, might evoke a similar image. Additionally, flakes of fire rain down on them in Hell, while TeeVee is struck by radiation. I'd call this a stretch (No pun intended, given what happens to Mike) but, like Violet, there is maybe a toned down version of the punishment.

Interesting side note: 3 of the 4 are located in the Seventh Circle of Hell. Gloop is in Circle 3.

Another interesting side note, is that in Dante's Inferno, the sinners more or less choose to be there. They reject God, and so they are condemned to Hell. The four children, or at least their parents, do not take responsibility for their actions.

At the end of the book, Charlie finds out that he won a competition. His reward is ownership of the factory. This seems like an odd reward if we follow the comparison.  He gets to live in Hell? Wonka, Charlie and Joe fly off in a glass elevator (which evokes the image of ascending to Heaven, but Dante does not go straight to Heaven. He and Virgil climb down Satan to the other side of the world, and then ascend Purgatory. However, I'm going to overlook that, as a retelling isn't going to be matched detail for detail.) But still, if the Factory is Hell, then why would Charlie want to live in it? Why would he want to run it? Dante is horrified by what he sees, and his trip through the Inferno spurs him to assure he does not end up there.

I will say, there are some striking similarities, more so than I thought at first glance. But, there are points where a comparison falls a part. One, Charlie and Virgil do not share the same motivation for entering the factory or Hell. Secondly, Charlie would be rewarded with owning Hell. The motivation and reward are two major aspects of any work of literature, and because these two works do nit coorelare, I find it hard to call Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a retelling of Dante's Inferno. Was Dahl inspired by Dante? Perhaps, but to call Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a retelling of The Inferno isn't quite accurate.

Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***

Today was my last day of Winter Break, and I really wanted to avoid leaving the house. This is for two reasons. 1) It was the last day of Winter Break, so I didn't want to go anywhere. 2) The high was negative three degrees today, so why WOULD I want to go outside. And so, even though my to-do list indicated that I needed to go to the school, I decided to not do that.

It's ok, I printed off things before break because I was feeling especially on top of it, for whatever reason, so I'm good to go.

Now, my to-do list did have me do quite a few things around the house, and I decided to give a listen to an audio book. I've fallen so far behind on my podcasts, I don't even know where to begin with them. So, I purchased an audio book that I had figured I was going to purchase eventually, either audio or in print, and gave it a go. The book was The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson. I should add that I am not a reader of Mark Manson's blog (I didn't know about him until I listened). Honestly, I chose this book because it's title amused me, and I figured I could stretch my chores into the 5 and half hours listening to the book required.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (I need an abbreviated title. The Subtle Art? TSAONGAF?) was incredibly enjoyable to listen to. I sincerely mean that. It is, at it's core, a self-help book. I'm not usually one for those types of things. I'm not going to pretend that I have everything figured out, and I'm not going to criticize people that read self-help books, it's just not my thing. But, again, amusing title. I figured it would be a self-help book with a twist.

I was not disappointed.

Manson argues that what he means by "not giving a fuck" is not a glorious indifference to everything. It is not an advocation of being uncaring. Instead, it's the opposite. It's caring a lot about specific things, people, ideas, yourself, and not caring what others have to say about it.

One of Manson's main points is that one of society's problems is that we care too much (I'll avoid his preferred term, if only because I try to keep my online writing PG....maybe PG-13). People who lose it over baristas that short change them on accident, or get wrapped up in the cancellation of a TV show, these things become so important to them and are a big deal because there is a lack of caring about other things. Manson argues that it's better to let that sort of thing go (Not GAF, if you will) and instead focus on what matters.

His other main point is that sometimes the person that you can't or shouldn't GAF about is yourself. Sometimes, we are the person holding us back. Do you want to be a writer? Do you want to ask that woman out? Do you want a promotion? What's stopping you? It might be yourself. If it is, Manson doesn't say, "That's wrong! Believe in yourself!" He says to question why. Maybe you haven't taken the plunge to be a writer because you're unsure of your skills. Maybe you don't feel comfortable in relationships. Maybe you simply haven't put your foot in the door. Sometimes, Manson writes, we have to look at ourselves to better understand our values, and see if what we say we want is what, in actuality, we want.

I don't know how much of Manson's argument is really new. I don't read a lot of self-help books, so I can't compare it. But, when I think about his argument, really, it seems like a lot of what you would find in any self help book. Think critically about yourself, your actions, and your desires. Here's some tips on maintaining close, personal relationships. Here's some harsh truths that people don't want to accept. But, he packages it around some really entertaining anecdotes, uses enough shock language to keep you engaged (Not just vulgarity. At one point he writes that a possible solution to finding a baby on your doorstep is to feed it to a pit bull. It should go without saying that Manson does not advocate this course of action and he did write immediately afterwards that every decision has consequences), and has some refreshing bluntness to make it stand out a bit.

Since, this blog includes the words "I Think" in the title, I figure this would be a good time do so. I have some goals, so let's apply Manson's line of thinking to them.

1) Write more. Why do I want to do this? I've always enjoyed writing. So, on the surface level, it's about doing something that is enjoyable. But, this year, I have said I want to write 1,000 words per day that are not work related. This ocassionally sounds insane to me. But, why do I want to do it? Part of it is because I've always thought that I could write, but never went about writing. Sure, I've done National Novel Writing Month and cranked out some crappy half-finished novels. But, I haven't written. So, I'm saying that every day, I'm writing. What's held me back from writing in the past? Myself. As Manson says, you are responsible for your actions. I can always say that I had a lot of school or work, but...eh. I found time to watch all of Breaking Bad.

2) Get down to 200 pounds. Manson actually talks about losing weight in his book, in that it is a short term goal that's good, but if you don't have one to replace it, then you can feel inadequate. I've made some progress towards this goal (I've lost about 20 pounds since August.) But, I've tried for years to lose weight. My Timehop is littered with statuses about "Hitting the gym!" and "Have to lose weight". But, I've really committed myself this time, and have seen results. Like my writing, I've decided that exercise is a priority. I've decided nutrition is a priority. So, I have tracked my food, and made sure I work out for 30-60 minutes each day. I've made the time. Once I get to 200, I don't know what will replace it. But, I know I'll have to be vigilant to maintain.

3) Save money. I think a lot of the same things can be applied to my quest to save money. It's about long term planning, and making priorities. Do I want to buy a house, or do I want a new Kindle? Do I want to have a savings cushion, or do I want the latest tech gadget? If I can carve out time for writing and exercise, then I need to carve out priorities with money. What's really important? What do I really need? I think it's ok to treat yourself every now and again, but instead of looking at what I could get in the short term, it's time to squirrel some away and think long term.

Overall, I thought Manson's book was very interesting, and it certainly gave me something to think about. And really, isn't that all you can hope for in a self-help book, even if it doesn't market itself as a self-help book?

Relaunching with a reading challenge

On my Facebook account, I have documented books that I read. Since books usually prove to be more photogenic than me, my feed in usually a lot of pictures of books. I've sometimes thought of doing more in-depth reviews, possibly video ones. But, I figure for now, I might do so on my blog here. After all, I have it. So...

Two things on the agenda today. One: a review of my latest book, and two: a reading challenge.

The first book finished in 2017 was an audio book. I listened to "The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that will Shape Our Future"  I wasn't sure about the audio book format. I enjoy podcasts, but tend to lose focus on them if they are longer than 30 minutes. I also worried about being able to keep things in my head in between listening sessions. I re-read things a lot actually, to try and understand them, so an audio version might make that harder.

All in all, the format was decent. I listened while on the treadmill. I'm not rushing out to buy a bunch of audio books, but might get one if I ever have a long distance road trip that I'm making by myself. Maybe I'll explore this type of reading later, but on to the review.

I thought the book was really interesting. I like the title, "The Inevitable". There's a lot of uncertainty in the world today. No matter your political beliefs (I am on the left, in case you were wondering) this is a time where a lot is unknown. Kelly argues, not explicitly but through his title, that regardless of who is in power, these technological advances are happening. A smart move to use a title like this with a book that focuses on the future.

Kelley explores things like artificial intelligence. One of the most interesting things from that section is that when we design AI, we will want to make sure that it does not have a conscious. Kelly argues that we wouldn't want a medical AI wondering if it should have majored in finance. The goal will be to create AI's that are not exactly like us, but hyper-focused on a service.

One thing that I didn't really like about the book is that Kelley seemed very light on details to one main question: what will we do? He points out that the industrial revolution made a high percentage of jobs obsolete, and that we are on the verge of a similar event in human history. But, as to what will replace those jobs, Kelly hand waves it away, saying that there's no way of knowing what jobs there might be. I'm sure this is the case, but it wasn't reassuring.

That said, I don't know that Kelly was trying to reassure the reader. This is what is happening, your worries be damned. He doesn't come out and say that, but again, going back to the title, these are events that are going to happen.

I bring this up because at times when listening to this book, I felt we were headed to technology driven dystopia. When Kelly depicts services that will plan your day, from what you wear to how you get to work, I wondered where the space for critical thinking was in this society. As an educator, I wondered what sort of skills we would need to impart on students for them to navigate this world, but a lot seems to be done for you automatically.

But then, Kelly would describe things like having easier access to information, and I thought maybe the future would be alright. I rather liked the idea hyperlinked books that will lead to a true World Library. I especially liked the part where said library would fit into your bag.

Again, Kelly basically argues (not directly) that whether you like it or not, the future is coming and this is what he thinks it will look like. He did a good job of depicting in broad strokes what this world would look like, but it was missing some details that would have given me a better picture.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.

Now, on to item 2!

I'm doing the 2017 Reading Challenge from the blog Modern Mrs. Darcy. There are two to choose from. I'm doing both.  I hope to use this blog as a way to talk about the books that I'm reading for the challenge and other thoughts.

Here's to a healthy and book filled 2017!