How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The next moment, a huge hand with pale fingers came snaking in through the window. This was followed by an arm, an arm as thick as a tree-trunk, and the arm, the hand, the fingers were reaching out across the room towards Sophie’s bed.
This time Sophie really did scream, but only for a second because very quickly the huge hand clamped down over her blanket and the scream was smothered by the bedclothes. (3.5)
This image, from Sophie’s in-bed point-of-view, is horrifying. A giant hand literally grabs her. It’s like the start to a trogglehumper—but worse, because it’s before she knows there’s a funny word for “nightmare.”
Quote #2
The Giant picked up the trembling Sophie with one hand and carried her across the cave and put her on the table. Now he is really going to eat me, Sophie thought. (5.1-2)
Here we get another snapshot of Sophie’s tiny size: she fits on top of his table. She’s like the size of a plate, or maybe just a spoon. How could someone that small escape a giant? If we didn’t know the book’s initials stand for Big Friendly Giant, we’d think she’s screwed.
Quote #3
“And who please is going to be stopping them?” asked the BFG. “Couldn’t you?” said Sophie. “Never in a pig’s whistle!” cried the BFG. “All of those man-eating giants is enormous and very fierce! They is all at least two times my wideness and double my royal highness!” (6.33)
The BFG’s small size compared to the other giants is another twist in scale. Before this moment, he seemed powerful, but here we learn that compared to other giants, he’s just as weak as Sophie.
Quote #4
Suddenly, there was a crunch as the Bloodbottler bit a huge hunk off the end. Sophie saw his yellow teeth clamping together, a few inches from her head. Then there was utter darkness. She was in his mouth. She caught a whiff of his evil-smelling breath. It stank of bad meat. She waited for the teeth to go crunch once more. She prayed that she would be killed quickly. (9.31)
Shmoop just got real. It doesn’t get much more hopeless than being actually inside a giant’s mouth. We don’t know what’s worse: the fear of slowly and painfully being munched to death, or having to smell the big guy’s breath the whole time.
Quote #5
Suddenly, the Fleshlumpeater shot out two enormous hands and grabbed the BFG around the waist. He tossed him high in the air and shouted, “Catch him, Manhugger!” (11.37)
The tables have turned: just like the BFG grabbed Sophie earlier in the story, now the BFG is lifted by large hands. He’s huge to Sophie, but to the other giants, he’s the size of a ball.
Quote #6
They dumped the poor BFG on the ground. He was dazed and shattered. They gave him a few kicks and shouted, “Run, you little runt! Let us be seeing how fast you is galloping!” The BFG ran. What else could he do? The giants picked up rocks and hurled them after him. (11.44)
In this whole scene, the BFG has no choice. He’s at the mercy of the other giants. He has to run when they say run. At least he’s running in the opposite direction of them.
Quote #7
“Great Scott!” cried the famous voice. “Eighteen girls vanish mysteriously from their beds at Roedean School! Fourteen boys disappear from Eton! Bones are found underneath dormitory windows!” (18.46)
We knew before that children were going to be killed, but the detail about the bones makes the horror of children being eaten feel a bit too real.
Quote #8
At this point, Mr. Tibbs suddenly realized that in order to serve the BFG at his twelve-foot-high-grandfather-clock table, he would have to climb to the top of one of the tall stepladders. What’s more, he must do it balancing a huge warm plate on the palm of one hand and holding a gigantic silver coffee-pot in the other. A normal man would have flinched at the thought of it. But good butlers never flinch. Up he went, up and up and up, while the Queen and Sophie watched him with great interest. It is possible they were both secretly hoping he would lose his balance and go crashing to the floor. But good butlers never crash. (20.37)
Mr. Tibbs, the butler, is both small and impressive in this scene. It reminds us just how funny and odd it would look to have a giant being served by tiny people. Kind of like people being served by ants.
Quote #9
“I is guzzling you nice and slow!” the Fleshlumpeater was saying to the soldier in his hand. “Then I is guzzling ten or twenty more of you midgy little maggots down there! You is not getting away from me because I is galloping fifty times faster than you!” (21.116)
Uh oh, little soldiers. At this moment, it seems like hope could be lost. There is no chance the soldiers could escape the Fleshlumpeater, even if they run. Lucky Sophie’s a quick thinker.
Quote #10
There was only one disaster. Three silly men who had drunk too much beer for lunch decided to climb over the high fence surrounding the pit, and of course they fell in. There were yells of delight from the giants below, followed by the crunching of bones. (23.12)
There’s something especially gory about the sound of human bones crunching. It reminds us that even though the giants are trapped in a hole, they’re just as powerful as ever. At least they’re only powerful inside the hole, though. If you needed convincing not to drink too much beer, now you have it.