History Headscratchers / WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory

*** An simpler theory would be that the chocolate bars containing the tickets weren't actually shipped out: Wilkinson himself could have just planted each one on a store shelf with the "normal" bars and then waited nearby to see who bought it. Or, in Veruca's case, he planted it in one of the boxes in the factory and then waited until someone found it for her. Since Mr. Salt's workers had been searching for five days by the time it was found, that probably means that word had gotten out of how incredibly spoiled Veruca was, hence the decision (whether it was Wonka's or Wilkinson's) to target her specifically for lesson-teaching rather than another random person.

Is there some intended symbolism behind everything in Willy Wonka's office being cut in half, or is it just a random Dahl quirk?

*** An simpler theory would be that the chocolate bars containing the tickets weren't actually shipped out: Wilkinson himself could have just planted each one on a store shelf with the "normal" bars and then waited nearby to see who bought it. Or, in Veruca's case, he planted it in one of the boxes in the factory and then waited until someone found it for her. Since Mr. Salt's workers had been searching for five days by the time it was found, that probably means that word had gotten out of how incredibly spoiled Veruca was, hence the decision (whether it was Wonka's or Wilkinson's) to target her specificially for lesson-teaching rather than another random person.

** "The (Grim) Reaper" is an old term for death. The Reaper, in most traditional depictions, carries with him/her/it a scythe which is used to cut down -- or "mow" -- the souls of the living. And he's 'grisly' because his business is rather grim and macabre (he's also technically 'gristly' because he tends to be depicted as a skeletal figure, meaning he's somewhat sinewy). Wonka is basically creeping everyone out by melodramatically pondering whether they've entered some kind of portal leading to their deaths.

** "The (Grim) Reaper" is an old term for death. The Reaper, in most traditional depictions, carries with him/her/it a scythe which is used to cut down -- or "mow" -- the souls of the living. And he's 'grisly' because his business is rather grim and macabre (he's also technically 'gristly' because he tends to be depicted as a skeletal figure, meaning he's somewhat sinewy). Wonka is basically creeping everyone by melodramatically pondering whether they've entered some kind of portal leading to their deaths.

** Quite possibly; hiding five golden tickets among millions of chocolate bars around the world ''is'' quite the undertaking, to be fair. Though there is a [=WMG=] floating around that Wonka either deliberately chose these specific children to visit his factory or, if we don't buy that he's quite so omnipotent, actually had his "Slugworth" employee plant a "ticketed" chocolate bar at a time and place of his choosing to make sure it was found by someone; if the latter specifically is true, then presumably Charlie's ticket was planted last-minute for dramatic effect, and close enough to the factory that the lucky winner wouldn't have far to travel in order to make it to the tour (or, if the former is true, then Wonka knew Charlie lived close by and so knew he could take his time).

** It's slightly discouraging that this is a headscratcher; it's ''because'' Charlie is "an honest kid". Whether Wonka knows about the deal with Slugworth or not, Charlie has ''stolen'' the Gobstopper. It's not his to keep. If he kept it, he would cease to be an honest kid, because swiping someone else's property after they've made it clear you're not to touch it and sneaking it away with you is a dishonest act. Returning it to Wonka is basically Charlie owning up to what he did and making restitution for it.