James And The Giant Peach

Spiker is James’s aunt and one of the two primary antagonists along with her sister, Sponge. Spiker is lean, tall, and wears steel-rimmed glasses which clip on her nose. She and Sponge are cruel and horrible to James and, even on occasion to each other, such as when Spiker claims her sister would make “a lovely Frankenstein,” (8). For the three years that James lives with her and Sponge, Spiker makes his life miserable, forcing him to work and do chores, keeping him pent up in the house with no other children, and constantly insulting and beating him. She does not care for James at all even though he is her relative, and views him as a “disgusting little beast,” and a “filthy nuisance” (2), rather than a member of her family.

Spiker is narcissistic and believes she is very beautiful, referring to her “gorgeous curvy shape,” her “charming grin,” and her “radiant looks” (7) along with other traits. The narrator, on the other hand, describes her as a “ghastly hag” with “a screeching voice and long wet narrow lips” (6). These unattractive traits coupled with the description of spit flying from her mouth as she speaks conjures up an image that is far from beautiful. Spiker is greedy and can be shrewd. She thinks of the idea to profit financially from the peach. In addition to ordering James around, Spiker bosses Sponge around too. Spiker, being slightly more intelligent than her sister, is the dominant of the two aunts. Spiker dies, crushed by the peach as she trips over her sister while trying to save herself. Her frenzy of selfishness, clawing at her sister, is her final act.

James’s Aunt Sponge is one of the two main antagonists along with her sister Spiker. Sponge is short and round and, according to the narrator, “was like a great white soggy overboiled cabbage,” (6). She has small eyes and a sunken mouth. Like her sister, she believes she is very beautiful and dreams of becoming a movie star in Hollywood, claiming that she’d “capture all the nation’s hearts!” (7). She is self-centered and spends much of her time abusing James while she sits around. Despite their opposite looks, Sponge and Spiker’s personalities are very similar. Neither have any empathy or hint of kindness, and both cruelly force James to work and beat him for no reason.

Sponge is the less clever sister and doesn’t think before acting. Her impulsiveness is shown when, upon seeing the peach, she wants to eat it right away, drooling as she looks at it. The only reason she doesn’t eat the peach is because she blindly follows Spiker’s commands. When Sponge asks why she can’t eat it, Spiker’s reason, “Because I say so,” (23) is good enough for Sponge. Sponge is the sister who is in charge, but this does not stop her from poking fun at Spiker any chance she gets, showing her confrontational nature. When facing down the giant peach as it rolls towards them, self-absorbed Sponge tries to run away and save herself rather than help her sister. Both she and Spiker are terrified and “each of them was only thinking about saving herself,” (48-49). In the end, their selfish struggles result in Sponge being crushed by the peach along with her sister.

The Centipede is one of the giant anthropomorphized insects who is transformed after eating the magical tongues James dropped. He is jovial and cheeky, and the noisiest and most vocal of all the insects on the peach. He is a very proud, braggadocios creature, insisting that he has 100 legs, even though he only has 42. On his 42 feet, he wears lace-up boots which he is very attached to. The Centipede is proud to be a pest, even going as far as to say that he is “a shockingly dreadful pest!” (91). Unlike the other insects, who are either loved by people, or wish they were, the Centipede is so self-assured and confident that he embraces the label “pest.”

Centipede’s rowdy, disruptive character makes him a fun and lively companion, but he also enjoys teasing his friends, especially Earthworm. The Centipede takes every opportunity to poke fun at the Earthworm, causing more than a few arguments. He often takes things too far and ends up being unintentionally hurtful. Irritated by his mocking, at one point Earthworm asks Centipede, “why must you always be so rude and rambunctious to everyone?” (88). Centipede’s witty mouthiness occasionally gets him into trouble. For example, he pesters the Cloud-Men until they turn against him and his friends. Despite this, the Centipede is a loved presence on the peach, as the songs he creates lighten the mood and his impulsive nature adds diversity to the group of travelers.

After landing in New York, the Centipede once again shows his playful side as he pokes his giant head over the side of the peach and grins at the terrified officers. As the narrator says, “He seemed to be enjoying enormously the commotion that he was causing” (131). In New York, the Centipede is made the “Vice-President-in-Charge-of-Sales of a high-class firm of boot and shoe manufacturers,” (143), a fitting job given his gregarious nature and many, many feet.

The Earthworm is a worm who becomes human sized after eating the crocodile tongues and is one of the friendly insects that James travels across the ocean with. He is very long, with smooth pink skin. The Earthworm is prone to worrying, partially because he is completely blind so must rely on the others to tell him what’s going on. He even worries when everything is fine—at one point when Centipede asks Earthworm why he looks so concerned Earthworm answers, “The problem is… […] the problem is…well, the problem is that there is no problem!” (61). He is a pessimist who finds it very difficult to see the bright side of anything. As ladybug says, “he loves to make everything into a disaster. [...] He is only happy when he is gloomy,” (59). Due to this gloominess, the Earthworm gives off the impression of being callous to those around him, as if he is too caught up in his own fears to care about others. However, he is sensitive and caring. He is mercilessly teased by the Centipede throughout their whole adventure, and it is clear from the Earthworm’s reactions that he takes many of the Centipede’s comments personally.

Due to his sensitivity, Earthworm can be diffident and unsure of himself, which adds to his fearful and pessimistic appearance. Yet, when faced with having to risk getting pecked to death by birds to help his friends, the Earthworm shows great bravery and faces his fears. This indicates that he truly cares for and trusts the others. He shows this again when the Centipede and James have gone over the edge of the peach and the Earthworm says, “I don’t care a bit about the Centipede, [...] but I really did love that little boy,” (96). The moment emphasizes the Earthworm’s sensitivity, as he is clearly very hurt by the Centipede’s teasing, but also cares deeply for his friends. After landing in New York, James compliments the Earthworm, declaring that he is a vital and useful creature. At this, the Earthworm blushes as he is not used to receiving compliments such as this. He becomes a spokesperson for a face cream company, which works well with his looks and boosts his confidence, allowing him to blossom.

The Old-Green-Grasshopper is the first of the anthropomorphized insects to be introduced and is described as big as a large dog. He is a short-horned grasshopper, with “two short feelers coming out of [his] head” (87). The Old-Green-Grasshopper is the oldest of all the travelers and is a fatherly presence on the peach. He is welcoming and supportive of James and helps him overcome his initial fear of the insects by being warm and friendly. The Old-Green-Grasshopper often praises James’s intellect and problem solving and gives James a sense of belonging on the peach, which he hasn’t felt since his parents died.

The Old-Green-Grasshopper is proud to be a short-horned grasshopper and immediately corrects the Centipede when he calls him a pest. The Old-Green-Grasshopper dispels the stereotype, explaining that he was never a pest, only a musician, a talent he displays on top of the peach when he plays beautiful music for James and the other insects. After playing the music, he once again resumes a fatherly role for James, teaching him about the difference between various types of grasshoppers and about the natural history behind each of the insects on the peach. Throughout the trip across the ocean, the Old-Green-Grasshopper maintains a presence of support and reliability which James has sorely missed. He is an honorable creature who prioritizes his music above the fact that he is an insect, as proven by his joining the New York Symphony Orchestra and becoming a well-loved musician.

The Ladybug, magically enlarged by the crocodile tongues James dropped, is one of the key figures on the giant peach. She is a Nine Spotted Ladybug and explains that the number of spots you have determines the branch of the family you are a part of. She is very proud to have nine spots, insisting that being a Nine Spotted Ladybug is “a fine thing to be,” (91). She is extremely polite and well-mannered (like all the Nine Spotted branch).

Of the insects aboard the peach, Ladybug is the kindest and most gentle, assuming the role of a motherly figure for James. She is the first to welcome him into their group and makes sure to dispel his fear of them. She is very protective and offers James her wing when they are jostled around in the rolling peach. Unlike the others, Ladybug also goes out of her way to explain what is happening to James. For example, when James is terrified that the giant insects want to eat him, she says, “We wouldn't dream of hurting you. You're one of us now, didn't you know that? You are one of the crew. We're all in the same boat” (35). When the peach starts moving and jolts James awake, she goes over to him to him, “In case you don’t know it, […] we are about to depart forever from the top of this ghastly hill that we've all been living on for so long” (43). Ladybug makes sure that James feels like he is a part of their group. As James says, she was his “greatest comfort since this trip began,” (136). In New York, the Ladybug falls in love and marries the fire chief, which ends her recurring nightmare about her house burning down with all her children in it. Her concern about her children is another testament to her motherly nature and caring personality.

Miss Spider is a black spider who also ate the magical crocodile tongues that James spilled. She transforms into a scary-looking human sized spider. However, she is just as sweet and caring as all the other insects, welcoming James into the peach with open arms, like a loving aunt. She comes from a large family who she cares deeply for. Miss Spider hates Spiker and Sponge, who killed both her father and her grandmother, and she rejoices along with the others at the cruel aunts’ deaths. She is emotional throughout the story, often crying when thinking about her loved ones. This illustrates how much she cares for those close to her and her family-oriented nature.

Miss Spider is a proud creature. She spins beautiful silk which she claims is “the strongest there is” (69) and uses it on many occasions to help her friends. She also tells James of how hard life is being a spider, as they have a terrible reputation for no reason. She explains that “I am not loved at all. And yet I do nothing but good. All day long I catch flies and mosquitoes in my webs. I am a decent person” (91). Miss Spider does not hold a grudge against James for being a human; instead she makes him feel welcome and loved among the insects. In New York, Miss Spider sets up a tight rope making factory with the Silkworm, who also spins thread. This allows Miss Spider to continue doing the work she is so proud of while making friends and dispelling the negative reputations spiders incorrectly have.

The Glow-worm is the last insect James notices in the peach. She is a very shy and quiet bug who, as Centipede explains, is not a worm, but a female firefly without wings. She provides the light for the peach as her back can illuminate whenever she needs it to (apart from the time the Cloud-Men broke her lightbulb and she had to change it).

There are a few occasions when the Glow-worm glows simply because she is happy, such as when the peach is lifted out of the ocean by the seagulls. She does not talk much but is like a kindly aunt and welcomes James into the peach, calling him “my dear boy” (42). In New York, she becomes the light inside of the Statue of Liberty’s torch where she helps reduce the electricity bill of the city.