La torta in cielo –Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A comparison of two literary works for children by Roald Dahl and Gianni Rodari
La torta in cielo –Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A comparison of two literary works for children by Roald Dahl and Gianni Rodari

Summary/Abstract: The article presents two works of children’s literature by Roald Dahl and Gianni Rodari, respectively, which are well known and yet rarely compared to one another except within a general analysis of their authors’ literary work. Here we will first compare the lives and works of the two authors so that we may elucidate the reasons for the choices they made in their literary creation. We will then underline the differences between the two texts─differences that are obvious to a first-time reader, yet poignant. Finally, through a close, detailed reading of the phrases, the unexpected commonality of the works will be deduced, both in their writing style and in their use of narrative devices to attract the attention of young readers, such as the use of colours. From the discovery of these common points, the recognition of the underlying idea that we find in both works arises. Both works are thus useful for the young audience without, however, being didactic.

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