Say No To Grandpa Joe: Hard-hearted

Definition

hard-hearted¹ (noun): 1. Feeling no pity or kindness; intolerant.

Evidence

Quotes

Charlie: “Wow, what a beautiful boat!”
Grandpa Joe: “Looks good enough to eat.”²
Mrs. Teavee: “Mike, where are you?
Grandpa Joe (excited): “He's up there in a million pieces.”³
Grandpa Joe: “The little gruber's getting smaller by the minute.”⁴

Observations

Waiting to enter the factory, Charlie has no coat and it is so cold onlookers are shocked.⁵
As Augustus Gloop is sucked into the pipe, Grandpa Joe, does nothing. He even silences Charlie so they can hear the Oompa Loompa's nasty song about poor Augustus.⁶
Grandpa Joe again silences the group to hear the Oompa Loompa's song about the poor departed Salts.⁷
When Mrs. Teavee nearly faints, Grandpa Joe catches her (because she swoons right into him) but he practically throws her to the Oompa Loompas at the first opportunity.⁸
Luckily for her, the Oompa Loompas are more concerned than Grandpa Joe.⁹

Analysis

Throughout the story, Grandpa Joe displays a near complete lack of concern about anyone else. He is sympathetic only to Charlie. When the other children begin to have accidents, he doesn't seem to care.

He is unmoved by beauty, thinking only of his stomach. He makes comments which are callous in the extreme and do little or nothing to comfort the others around him.

In short, he is cold and emotionless. The exact sort of ruthless bastard you'd want to have work for you as a spy.

Footnotes and Sources

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Mel Stuart, US, 100 mins).
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Mel Stuart, US, 100 mins).
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Mel Stuart, US, 100 mins).
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (New York: Puffin Books, 1998) p. 56
Dahl, pp. 74-78
Dahl, p. 116
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Mel Stuart, US, 100 mins).
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Mel Stuart, US, 100 mins).