How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
“You is about right! Giants is all cannybully and murderful! And they does gobble up human beans! We is in Giant Country now! Giants is everywhere around! Out there us has the famous Bonecrunching Giant! Bonecrunching Giant crunches up two wopsey whiffling human beans for supper every night! Noise is earbursting! Noise of crunching bones goes crackety-crack for miles around!” (5.6)
Wow, the BFG seems really excited about all this people-eating. Or matter-of-fact, at the very least. No wonder Sophie is terrified. At least, before he tells her he’s a vegetarian.
Quote #2
“The first thing you would be doing, you would be scuddling around yodeling the news that you were actually seeing a giant, and then a great giant-hunt, a mighty giant look-see, would be starting up all over the world, with the human beans all rummaging for the great giant you saw and getting wildly excited. People would be coming rushing and bushing after me with goodness knows what and they would be catching me and locking me into a cage to be stared at.” (6.6)
The BFG’s colorful description of a giant hunt is, sadly, on point. If people did believe there were giants, they’d probably be obsessed with catching him. The only thing the BFG might be getting wrong is by thinking that people will believe Sophie.
Quote #3
“How many giants are there out there?” Sophie asked.
“Nine altogether,” answered the BFG.
“That means,” said Sophie, “that somewhere in the world, every single night, nine wretched people get carried away and eaten alive.”
“More,” said the BFG. (6.40-43)
It’s almost hard for Sophie to comprehend that these arbitrary, pointless deaths happen regularly. Deaths of people who are powerless to prevent themselves from being eaten. To describe that situation as unfair would be an understatement.
Quote #4
“I hated it,” Sophie said. “The woman who ran it was called Mrs. Clonkers and if she caught you breaking any of the rules, like getting out of bed at night or not folding up your clothes, you got punished.”
“How is you getting punished?”
“She locked us in the dark cellar for a day and a night without anything to eat or drink.”
“The rotten old rotrasper!” cried the BFG.
“It was horrid,” Sophie said. “We used to dread it. There were rats down there. We could hear them creeping about.” (7.14-18)
This horrific punishment—for children—is beyond unfair. It’s downright Dickensian. It’s also in line with how children in other Roald Dahl books are treated by adults. Thank goodness for being kidnapped by giants.
Quote #5
“Keep away from him,” Sophie pleaded.
“Not possible,” the BFG answered. “He is galloping easily two times as quicksy as me.”
“Shall we turn back?” Sophie said.
“Turning back is worse,” the BFG said. “If they is seeing me running away, they is all giving chase and throwing rocks.” (11.20-23)
Like a kid in a playground full of bullies, the BFG is trapped. Now that the giants see him, there’s no getting away. Sounds like a trogglehumper come true.
Quote #6
“But human beans is squishing each other all the time,” the BFG said. “They is shootling guns and going up in aerioplanes to drop their bombs on each other’s heads every week. Human beans is always killing other human beans.” (11.77)
Notice how the BFG uses the word “squishing” to describe shooting and bombing. To him, there’s no difference between what the humans and the giants do. Plus, the word “squishing” makes it sound not so horrible as what really happens. What do you think—is there a difference between giants eating humans and humans going to war with each other?
Quote #7
“For years and years I is sitting here on this very rock every night after night when they is galloping away, and I is feeling so sad for all the human beans they is going to gobble up. But I has had to get used to it. There is nothing I can do. If I wasn’t a titchy little runty giant only twenty-four feet high then I would be stopping them. But that is absolutely out of the window.” (15.8)
Being only twenty-four feet tall, the BFG is pretty limited. But think of the parallel: how many injustices are accepted by humans who think there’s nothing they can do about them?
Quote #8
“I is never showing myself to human beans.”
“Why ever not?”
“If I do, they will be putting me in the zoo with all the jiggyraffes and the cattypillars.”
“Nonsense,” Sophie said.
“And they will be sending you straight back to a norphanage, the BFG went on. “Grown-up human beans is not famous for their kindnesses.” (15.15-19)
The BFG seems to think Sophie’s orphanage is about the same as a zoo—which he’s sure is where he’d end up if the human beans found out about him. He’s right, in a way. They are both forms of captivity. Even if in zoo, he’d be looked at all the time, and Sophie is pretty hidden from the world in her orphanage.
Quote #9
The BFG made a rush at the Fleshlumpeater, but the colossal fifty-four-foot-high giant simply knocked him over with a flick of his free arm. At the same time, Sophie fell off the BFG’s palm on to the ground. Her mind was racing. She must do something! She must! She must!” (21.115)
This is how Sophie feels about injustice. When something bad is about to happen, she feels an obligation to try and stop it. Don’t forget: not everyone feels the same way as Sophie. There are people whose reaction to seeing an angry giant would be to run.
Quote #10
“Why is they putting us down here in this grobsludging hole?” they shouted at the BFG. “Because you is guzzling human beans,” the BFG answered. “I is always warning you not to do it and you is never taking the titchiest bit of notice.” (22.7-8)
Justice is served! In this scene, we readers have the satisfaction of seeing the people-eating giants getting what’s coming to them. And it’s about grobsludging time.