James and the Giant Peach Characters

James Trotter is the novel’s seven-year-old protagonist. At four years old, James lost his parents in a tragic accident and was forced to move in with his evil aunts—the novel’s antagonists, Aunt Sponge and Aunt… read analysis of James Henry Trotter

When James encounters the Centipede in the middle of the giant peach, he’s initially terrified—but the Centipede endears himself to James quickly with his sense of humor. Centipedes are common garden pests (insects that… read analysis of The Centipede

Miss Spider is one of the giant bugs that James finds living inside the giant peach. She’s about the size of a child and is frightening for James at first—she’s the first to announce… read analysis of Miss Spider

The Old-Green-Grasshopper is the oldest and most distinguished of the bugs that James discovers living inside the giant peach. He’s quiet much of the time and leaves most of the talking to the Centipede… read analysis of The Old-Green-Grasshopper

The Ladybug is one of the bugs that James finds living inside the giant peach. She’s one of the kindest and gentlest bugs in the group and takes special care of James—she offers to… read analysis of The Ladybug

James’s Aunt Spiker is one of the novel’s antagonists, along with her sister, Aunt Sponge. True to her sharp-sounding name, she’s tall, thin, bony, and wears spectacles that clip onto her nose. She… read analysis of Aunt Spiker

One of the novel’s antagonists, Aunt Sponge is Aunt Spiker’s sister and James’s aunt. Unlike the skinny Aunt Spiker, Aunt Sponge is extremely overweight and is described as having a face “just like… read analysis of Aunt Sponge

The Cloud-Men are mysterious beings who live on top of the clouds. They generally hide from people traveling by air, but because the peach moves so silently, unlike noisy airplanes, James and his friends are… read analysis of The Cloud-Men

The old man appears mysteriously in Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge’s garden one day with a bag of tiny green crystals. He wears an emerald green suit and has an odd, scratchy beard. Somehow… read analysis of The Old Man

The Silkworm escapes James’s notice for the first part of the journey; he doesn’t fully realize she’s a sentient being until the Silkworm wakes up to spin thread so James can lasso seagulls. She’s… read analysis of The Silkworm

It takes James a while to notice the Glow-worm, as she functions like a ceiling light. She is, according to the Centipede, a female firefly without wings. The Glow-Worm provides light inside the peach… read analysis of The Glow-worm

The Captain of the Queen Mary—an ocean liner that, in the 1950s and 1960s, made regular trips between England and New York City—catches sight of the peach flying high in the air and believes at… read analysis of The Captain