The BFG
The BFG, or Big Friendly Giant, is a 24-foot tall giant. The BFG spends his time collecting dreams and storing them in his home before giving the good ones to children around the world. Unlike the other giants, the BFG does not eat humans, demonstrating immense compassion. Instead, he subsists by eating snozzcumbers, which are absolutely disgusting, and frobscottle, which is not. He taught himself how to write by reading Charles Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby. The BFG has extraordinary hearing, and is also a very fast runner. While he is rather simple, the BFG is still intelligent, as well as exceedingly kind-hearted. He is dedicated to the task of making children happy.
Sophie
Sophie is the protagonist of the novel. She has no last name. She becomes a hero after the giants are caught and prevented from eating any more humans. She is an orphan, and the BFG takes her from the orphanage after she notices him in the beginning of the story. While small, she is very resilient and brave. When the BFG takes her from her orphanage, she quickly regains her sense of self. Sophie is the one who comes up with the idea of how to stop the other giants, and she is the one who convinces the Queen of England to help them.
The character of Sophie represents innocence. She must grow up very quickly when she has to deal with the giant problem. She does this through courage and friendship.
Queen of England
This unnamed Queen of England is based on Queen Elizabeth II. Sophie goes to her when she comes up with her idea of how to stop the giants. Sophie didn’t know the Queen, so she had to sneak into her room at night. She gave the Queen a bad dream about the giants eating humans, and used that to convince her to help. The Queen is very composed, and lets little shake her. She even keeps her cool when the BFG demonstrates his whizzpopping ability, which is an incredible fart. She commands her power well and is wise. The BFG refers to her as Your Majester. She is one of few adults in the story, and represents a wise, mature hand that can control what Sophie can’t. This makes her very helpful and she gives the BFG and Sophie a house at the end of the novel.
Other Giants
The other giants are the antagonists of the story. These giants are very different from the BFG. For one, they are all much taller than the BFG, and dwarf him in comparison. Another difference is that they eat human beings for sustenance rather than the disgusting snozzcumbers. There are nine other giants in the world. Their names are: the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, the Manhugger, the Childchewer, the Meatdripper, the Gizzardgulper, the Maidmasher, the Bloodbottler, and the Butcher Boy. Most of the giants are only mentioned by name, but others play a larger role. The Fleshlumpeater is generally considered to be the cruelest, and is the de facto leader. The Bloodbottler invades the BFG’s home towards the beginning of the story. Each giant has its own hunting methods and preferred hunting grounds. Apparently, every ethnicity tastes differently. The Giants don’t like eating Greeks because they taste greasy. People from Wales taste like fish, people from Turkey taste like Turkish Delight, and so on. The Giants are eventually captured by Sophie and put into a pit, where they can only eat snozzcumbers.
Mrs. Clonkers
Mrs. Clonkers is the head of the orphanage that Sophie is taken from in the beginning of the book. She is supposedly very mean and nasty. Sometimes, she borders on abusive.
Head of the Army
The Head of the Army is very dependent on guns. He is strong-willed, and has difficulty listening to other people’s ideas. This makes him hard to deal with when the giant threat comes to light.
Mary
She is the Queen's Maid.
Mr. Tibbs
He is the Palace butler.
The Head of the Airforce
The Head of the Airforce is very dependent on bombs. He is strong-willed, and has difficulty listening to other people’s ideas. This makes him hard to deal with when the giant threat comes to light.
Fleshlumpeater
He is the largest and scariest giant. He secretly wants to eat the Queen, but fears her many guards. He is a very careful giant. Fleshlumpeater is the leader of the other nine giants and mean to BFG.
