The BFG

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Sophie. Sophie’s intelligent and curious nature is characterized in her desire to look out onto the dark street, “to see what the world looked like now that the witching hour was at hand” (10). Furthermore, in this exposition, the reader learns that Sophie lives in a dormitory with other girls, where she will be punished if she is caught out of bed, alluding to her unhappy life in the orphanage. Roald Dahl likely drew on biographical aspects of his own childhood in the characterization of the cruel Mrs. Clonkers, who delights in subjecting the girls in the orphanage to punishment. Sophie explains to the BFG that, as punishment, “she [Mrs. Clonkers] locked us in the dark cellar for a day and a night without anything to eat or drink” (39). Dahl’s experiences with vindictive boarding masters, who he condemns for their violent and humiliating methods of discipline, is recorded in his 1984 memoir, Boy: Tales of Childhood. Dahl often drew on the memories of these individuals in his characterization of authority figures, and the hyperbolically cruel adult antagonist is a recurring trope throughout his novels.

A peaceful nighttime scene is set in Chapter 1, which is quickly disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious giant. The tension rises in Chapter 2 as Sophie observes the figure with mounting fear. This tension reaches a climax when Sophie is snatched from her bed by the giant in Chapter 3. The reader is invited to share Sophie’s initial impressions of this giant as sinister and terrifying through the descriptions of his features, such as his eyes which have a “fierce and devilish look about them” (15). Furthermore, figurative language, such as the simile “the nose was as sharp as a knife,” paints the giant as a dangerous and antagonistic character, as does the giant’s decision to snatch Sophie from her bed. The suspense of Sophie’s abduction and her fear at being in the Giant’s cave is maintained through Chapter 4. Her perception of the giant as a brutal beast is characterized in similes, as the narration describes, “she was trembling like a leaf in the wind,” and “his booming voice rolled round the walls of the cave like a burst of thunder” (24). This characterization contrasts the BFG’s actual character, which is revealed in Chapter 5 (15).

The BFG explains that unlike other giants, he is a “nice and jumbly Giant” (30). His claim is supported by the fact that he collects happy dreams in jars to blow into the minds of sleeping children, an altruistic past time, as opposed to the other giants, who spend their nights traveling around the world to eat humans from different countries. The BFG’s compassionate nature and strong moral code is revealed in his refusal to eat humans and in his condemnation of the other giants doing so. He declares to the Bloodbottler that, “eating human beans is wrong and evil” (61).

Compared to the other giants, who are characterized as thuggish and brutal, the BFG is characterized as a sensitive and emotional character. This is revealed in his self-consciousness about his creative manner of speaking. Recognizing the BFG’s sensitive nature, Sophie assures him that she loves his manner of speaking: “‘I is speaking the most terrible wigglish.’ ‘I think you speak beautifully,’ Sophie said. ‘You do?’ cried the BFG, suddenly brightening. ‘You really do?’ ‘Simply beautifully,’ Sophie repeated” (53). The BFG’s humorous tendency to muddle up his words endears him to the reader as well as Sophie. There is a beauty to his garbled language that Sophie recognizes. Dahl celebrates The Joy of Silliness and Imagination through his characterization of the BFG.

This is further established through the garbled but striking imagery conjured by the BFG’s description of the sounds of the world in Chapter 6. He tells Sophie about the music of the stars and explains, “If I is swiggling them [his ears] like this and the night is very clear, I is sometimes hearing faraway music coming from the stars in the sky” (44). He also tells Sophie about the sound of spiders singing, saying, “when they is spinning their webs, they is singing all the time. They is singing sweeter than a nightingale” (46). The BFG’s childlike wonder at the beauty and the mystery of the world is highlighted in his reaction to his own ethereal descriptions: “He seemed almost to be transfigured by the excitement of his thoughts. His face was beautiful in its blaze of emotions” (46). The BFG is characterized as childlike in his abruptly shifting moods and ideas. Immediately after a poignant and emotional moment, he is distracted by his hunger: “[S]uddenly, he seemed to lose interest in the conversation. ‘I is getting hungry,’ he said. ‘It is time for eats’” (47).

Dahl creates humor in these opening chapters through wordplay and puns, as well as through the outlandish description of the giants’ dietary habits, which have them traveling around the world to satisfy their taste buds. This is typical of Dahl’s style, which features unrealistic characters or situations in a humorous manner. The Giants refer to humans as “human beans,” which sounds like “human beings” when spoken aloud, but denotes the humans’ small size compared to the giants, as well as alluding to the fact that—like a bean to a human—the giants eat humans (25). Dahl creates a pun on the word “panama,” which refers to a country in Central America as well as a style of hat; “human beans from Panama is tasting very strongly of hats” (26).

Modern readers may note racist language in Chapter 6 as the Giants go to eat “a nice fat Esquimo” to cool them down if they are hot, which is “like a lovely ice lolly” (37). Furthermore, the BFG explains, “Japanese beans is very small, so a giant will need to gobble up about six Japanese before he is feeling full up” (36). In both cases, humor is attempted by Dahl through relying on demeaning generalizations to mock racial minorities.

The Victory of the Underdog is alluded to as an important theme as both Sophie and the BFG are characterized as underdogs in their respective worlds. Sophie is an orphan and the only adult figure in her life, Mrs. Clonkers, treats her cruelly and, Sophie assures the BFG, will not miss Sophie’s absence. Similarly, the BFG is an underdog in the Giant Country. He explains to Sophie that, “I is the titchy one. I is the runt” (36). Together, these two characters will succeed in both the world of humans and the world of giants, suggesting that underdogs can be powerful despite, or because of, others' perception of their powerlessness.