How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The situation became desperate. Breakfast was a single slice of bread for each person now, and lunch was maybe half a boiled potato. (10.7)
Yikes. Things are not going well for Charlie and his family. No more margarine on the bread, no more cabbage with the potatoes. We can't help but worry about what might happen to them, because they don't seem to be headed for greener pastures.
Quote #8
Everything he did now, he did slowly and carefully, to prevent exhaustion. (10.15)
Charlie isn't just hungry anymore. He's starving. Things are getting dire. This isn't just about being poor. This is about having absolutely no money at all. How in the world can Charlie get himself out of this predicament?
Quote #9
A WHOLE fifty pence!
He held it tightly between his shivering fingers, gazing down at it. It meant one thing to him at that moment, only one thing. It meant FOOD. (10.25-26)
The average kid might see a fifty-pence piece and think of toys, trinkets, pinball, or candy. What does Charlie think of? FOOD. Clearly, he's not your typical kid. And clearly he's got bigger problems than the Veruca Salts of the world.