The BFG

CHAPTERS 1-8

Reading Check

1. It is “a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world to themselves.” (Chapter 1)

2. He is wearing a “collarless shirt and a dirty old leather waistcoat” as well as short trousers and “ridiculous” sandals. (Chapter 2)

3. He does not eat humans. (Chapter 5)

4. An elephant (Chapter 7)

5. The “snozzcumbers” (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. During the witching hour, Sophie looks out the window to see a “giant” person wearing a black coat with a “very long, thin trumpet” and a “large suitcase” peering into people’s windows. When the giant looks at Sophie, she becomes scared and hides. (Chapter 2)

2. The giant reaches into her room, grabs her, and runs to his cave in Giant Country. She is afraid and convinced that he will eat her. (Chapter 4)

3. The BFG announces that after Sophie saw him, he had to take her because he was afraid that she would reveal to the world that giants exist. He then shows her the area outside of the cave, called Giant Country, where giants roam freely until it is time for them to find a human to eat. (Chapter 6)

4. Sophie is an orphan and lives in an orphanage with nine other girls. The BFG is sad to hear this news, and he is sympathetic when she shares how abusive the orphanage’s manager, Mrs. Clonker, is to the girls. (Chapter 7)

5. The BFG has the ability to hear even the smallest sound, a trait that helps him capture dreams. He tells Sophie that he chooses not to eat humans—even though his options for food are limited and vile—and that he does not have a mother. He also admits that he is embarrassed about the way he speaks. (Chapter 8)

CHAPTERS 9-16

Reading Check

1. In the snozzcumber (Chapter 9)

2. It fizzes “the wrong way.” (Chapter 10)

3. “[G]uzzle” (i.e., eat) (Chapter 11)

4. He blows it into the Fleshlumpeater’s face while he sleeps, causing him to catch the nightmare. (Chapter 13)

5. In his ear (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. The Bloodbottler is a giant who is larger and wider than the BFG. When he enters the BFG’s cave, believing that there is a human, Sophie is able to hide in a snozzcumber. Bloodbottler takes a bite of the snozzcumber, inadvertently biting the piece that Sophie is in; however, he is so revolted by the taste of the vegetation that he spits it, and her, out. (Chapter 9)

2. As he leaves his cave, the BFG runs into the other giants, where they begin to bully him by tossing him around like a ball. Sophie, who is hiding in the BFG’s pocket, is shocked to see the way that the BFG’s fellow giants treat him; however, the BFG reminds Sophie that humans are also not nice to each other, and unlike the other species in the world, humans kill each other. (Chapter 11)

3. Dream Country is a place filled with mist where the BFG goes to catch dreams. Sophie watches him use his net to collect dreams and, inadvertently, nightmares. He saves them in a clear jar. (Chapter 12)

4. Returning to the BFG’s cave, Sophie learns how the BFG categorizes, labels, and stores dreams. He then shows her the differences between pleasant dreams and nightmares, as well as the different types of dreams that boys and girls have. Sophie realizes that “[t]his extraordinary giant [i]s disturbing her ideas. He seem[s] to be leading her towards mysteries that [a]re beyond her understanding.” (Chapter 14)

5. After learning that the giants are heading to England to eat little boys and girls, Sophie develops a plan for the BFG to “mix a dream which [he] will blow into the Queen of England’s bedroom when she is asleep” in order to explain to the Queen that the giants are stealing and eating people. This dream consists of the nine giants stealing and eating the children from their beds, as well as information about Sophie and the BFG. Sophie plans on being in the Queen’s room when she awakens to convince her that the dream is true. (Chapter 15)

CHAPTERS 17-24

Reading Check

1. The giants returning home with full bellies (Chapter 17)

2. By her breathing (Chapter 18)

3. To school (Chapter 19)

4. A “whizzpopper” (Chapter 20)

5. “[F]or new countries” (Chapter 22)

6. “The Royal Dream-Blower” (Chapter 24)

Short Answer

1. Hidden in the Queen’s bedroom, Sophie overhears the Queen relaying her nightmare to the maid, who then informs her that her nightmare matches the news on the front page. As the women discuss the horrid reality of the missing children, the maid discovers Sophie behind the curtain. The maid and the Queen’s interaction does not affect Sophie’s plan, as she is able to segue into telling the Queen the truth. (Chapter 19)

2. Although she is astonished to see a giant, the Queen responds to the BFG with composure and decorum. She invites him and Sophie to breakfast in the palace, where the Queen’s butler, Mr. Tibbs, changes the space in order to accommodate for the BFG’s size. (Chapter 20)

3. Sophie informs the Queen that the giants are responsible for eating people from around the world. The Queen calls various heads of state to confirm this information. After learning that it is true, she calls on the leaders of the British armed forces; with the BFG, they make a plan to catch the giants while they are sleeping and transport them with the Royal Air Force helicopters. (Chapters 20-21)

4. Following the BFG, the Royal Air Force and soldiers arrive in Giant Country to tie up the giants and transport them to England. When Fleshlumpeater wakes up while the soldiers are tying him, Sophie uses the Queen’s brooch to stab him in the ankle, and the BFG continues to tie him up. The group then retrieves the BFG’s jars of dreams before returning to England. (Chapter 22)

5. The giants are kept in a very dark hole where they cannot escape. The BFG brings snozzcumbers along with seeds to ensure that the giants will have nourishment for the rest of their lives. (Chapter 23)

6. The heads of state are elated with the BFG for his efforts, and they send him and Sophie presents from around the world. Sophie teaches the BFG how to read and write properly, and eventually the BFG writes the very novel that the reader has just read. (Chapter 24)