One of the Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds in 2016 was $24,339 for a family of four with two children under age 18 and, according to their 2017 estimate, 37.9 million Americans lived in poverty. Poverty in literature is not uncommon either but whether one grows up in reality or fiction, lives that are young and poor can overcome their experiences and that’s what we’ll be exploring in today’s Counterparts in Literature.
Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
According to The Borgen Project’s webpage, young Charlie lived with his parents and four grandparents in a little wooden house and was extremely poor. But he found the golden ticket in a Wonka chocolate that enabled him to enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
“Charlie’s personality and good education leads him to become Wonka’s successor. His good manners and the way he is compared to the spoiled rich kids presents Charlie’s personality positively to the audience.” Charlie obviously defeats his environment and becomes someone many wouldn’t have expected.
Willis Jefferson from Bluebell
My dad pictured Willis Jefferson as a poor, 12 year-old black boy, who in 1927 was facing death on the plains of Kansas during a violent storm. His ‘golden ticket’ came via the rescue and family love of Rowena Kramer, a kindly white woman. Later, we find him on a pathway which will prove his early years didn’t prevent him from becoming a strong man.
“He was nearly abreast of the building when a woman’s scream shattered the rural stillness. He broke his stride, continuing to move in a hesitating half step. A second scream mingled with the echo of the first, and a third ended prematurely as it was smashed back against the lips that had uttered it…Willis had no idea of how long he stood rooted in indecision, nor was he ever certain as to who or what ended his hesitation.”
Some say authors write from personal experience. Is that what made Roald Dahl and my father compose stories featuring Charlie Bucket and Willis Jefferson? Wow…that sounds like the topic for a future post, so until that day, here’s a few ways to further immerse yourself in my dad’s stuff.
- Meet the woman who influenced Willis or check out her Twitter page
- Find out how to get one of dad’s short stories for free – A Tree for Tomorrow; And Above All Honor; or Relocation Nation
- Dig into Dad’s Stuff – My look at what this blog is about