Character Analysis
Mr. Tibbs is the castle butler, described as “an imposing personage” (20.2) who is “in supreme command of all the palace servants.” (20.2) Clearly a big deal.
He only appears in one chapter, “The Royal Breakfast,” which shows us how he prepares a humungous breakfast for the BFG. In under a half hour. Which sounds like a stressful task. But still, the Mr. Tibbs chapter gives readers a fun break from the life-or-death killer giants plotline.
So Mr. Tibbs. This guy is a quick thinker. He improvises a chair for the giant using a chest of drawers and piano, and a giant table using a ping-pong table with four grandfather clocks as legs. For a while, it seems like he has the situation under control, but the BFG does stress him out in the end. When he eats all his food (in one bite) and the Queen orders more for him, “Mr. Tibbs swam out of the room muttering unspeakable words to himself and wiping his brow with a white hankerchief.” (20.47) Yikes.
Poor Mr. Tibbs. Guess they don’t train you to serve giants in butler school.