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"Proportional punishment" would be falling into the chocolate and getting wet and going home or turning temporarely blue instead of becoming a ball. So ye, a boring book.

It is not really the severity of the punishments maybe but in what way Wonka delivers them from his position of strength. He is kicking downwards and you are supposed to applaud him.

Sure you can always go with fairy tail logic in wich turning someone into a miniature for being cheeky is not some sort of torture. (I am not sarcastic here).

I also find the story's way of portraying capitalists somewhat strange. The class struggle is just implicit.