James and the Giant Peach

by

Roald Dahl

The Ladybug Character Analysis

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 protect him and explains things to him when others won’t. A nine-spotted ladybug, the Ladybug insists that she and others in her family are the most refined and polite of all the ladybugs; ladybugs with fewer spots, she claims, are “saucy” or “ill-mannered.” The Ladybug is one of the first to realize that James has the ability to get their group out of dangerous situations, so she’s often the one to suggest they ask James for help when things get scary. After she establishes herself in New York City, the Ladybug marries the head of the fire department. This is because she’s lived her life in fear that her house is on fire and her children are all gone—a reference to a classic nursery rhyme.

The Ladybug Quotes in James and the Giant Peach

The James and the Giant Peach quotes below are all either spoken by The Ladybug or refer to The Ladybug. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Children vs. Adults Theme Icon
).
Chapter 13 Quotes

Already, he was beginning to like his new friends very much. They were not nearly as terrible as they looked. In fact, they weren’t really terrible at all. They seemed extremely kind and helpful in spite of all the shouting and arguing that went on between them.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter, The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

“But my dear friends!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, trying to be cheerful, “we are there!”

“Where?” they asked. “Where? Where is there?”

“I don’t know, the Old-Green-Grasshopper said. “But I’ll bet it’s somewhere good.”

Related Characters: The Old-Green-Grasshopper (speaker), James Henry Trotter, The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Earthworm, The Ladybug
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“None of us three girls can swim a single stroke.”

“But you won’t have to swim,” said James calmly. “We are floating beautifully. And sooner or later a ship is bound to come along and pick us up.”

They all stared at him in amazement.

“Are you quite sure that we are not sinking?” the Ladybug asked.

“Of course I’m sure,” answered James.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), Miss Spider (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker), The Centipede, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 58
Explanation and Analysis:

“You must be crazy! You can’t eat the ship! It’s the only thing that is keeping us up!”

“We shall starve to death if we don’t!” said the Centipede.

“And we shall drown if we do!” cried the Earthworm.

[...]

“You can eat all you want,” James answered. It would take us weeks and weeks to make any sort of a dent in this enormous peach. Surely you can see that?”

“Good heavens, he’s right again!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, clapping his hands.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede (speaker), The Old-Green-Grasshopper (speaker), The Earthworm (speaker), Miss Spider, The Ladybug
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“Is there nothing we can do?” asked the Ladybug, appealing to James. “Surely you can think of a way out of this.”

Suddenly they were all looking at James.

“Think!” begged Miss Spider. “Think, James, think!”

“Come on,” said the Centipede. “Come on, James. There must be something we can do.”

Their eyes waited upon him, tense, anxious, pathetically hopeful.

Related Characters: The Centipede (speaker), Miss Spider (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker), James Henry Trotter
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“Action stations!” James shouted. “Jump to it! There’s not a moment to lose!” He was the captain now, and everyone knew it. They would do whatever he told them.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug, The Silkworm
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

“Those are skyscrapers! So this must be America! And that, my friends, means that we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean overnight!”

“You don’t mean it!” they cried.

“It’s not possible!”

“It’s incredible! It’s unbelievable!”

“Oh, I’ve always dreamed of going to America!” cried the Centipede. “I had a friend once who—“

“Be quiet!” said the Earthworm. Who cares about your friend? The thing we’ve got to think about now is how on earth are we going to get down to earth?

“Ask James,” said the Ladybug.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede (speaker), The Earthworm (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 122
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 37 Quotes

“Don’t be frightened of us, please!” James called out. “We are so glad to be here!”

“What about those others beside you?” shouted the Chief of Police. “Are any of them dangerous?”

“Of course they’re not dangerous!” James answered. “They’re the nicest creatures in the world! Allow me to introduce them to you one by one and then I’m sure you will believe me.”

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug, The Silkworm, The Glow-worm
Page Number: 133-134
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire James and the Giant Peach LitChart as a printable PDF.
James and the Giant Peach PDF

The Ladybug Quotes in James and the Giant Peach

The James and the Giant Peach quotes below are all either spoken by The Ladybug or refer to The Ladybug. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Children vs. Adults Theme Icon
).
Chapter 13 Quotes

Already, he was beginning to like his new friends very much. They were not nearly as terrible as they looked. In fact, they weren’t really terrible at all. They seemed extremely kind and helpful in spite of all the shouting and arguing that went on between them.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter, The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

“But my dear friends!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, trying to be cheerful, “we are there!”

“Where?” they asked. “Where? Where is there?”

“I don’t know, the Old-Green-Grasshopper said. “But I’ll bet it’s somewhere good.”

Related Characters: The Old-Green-Grasshopper (speaker), James Henry Trotter, The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Earthworm, The Ladybug
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“None of us three girls can swim a single stroke.”

“But you won’t have to swim,” said James calmly. “We are floating beautifully. And sooner or later a ship is bound to come along and pick us up.”

They all stared at him in amazement.

“Are you quite sure that we are not sinking?” the Ladybug asked.

“Of course I’m sure,” answered James.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), Miss Spider (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker), The Centipede, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 58
Explanation and Analysis:

“You must be crazy! You can’t eat the ship! It’s the only thing that is keeping us up!”

“We shall starve to death if we don’t!” said the Centipede.

“And we shall drown if we do!” cried the Earthworm.

[...]

“You can eat all you want,” James answered. It would take us weeks and weeks to make any sort of a dent in this enormous peach. Surely you can see that?”

“Good heavens, he’s right again!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, clapping his hands.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede (speaker), The Old-Green-Grasshopper (speaker), The Earthworm (speaker), Miss Spider, The Ladybug
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“Is there nothing we can do?” asked the Ladybug, appealing to James. “Surely you can think of a way out of this.”

Suddenly they were all looking at James.

“Think!” begged Miss Spider. “Think, James, think!”

“Come on,” said the Centipede. “Come on, James. There must be something we can do.”

Their eyes waited upon him, tense, anxious, pathetically hopeful.

Related Characters: The Centipede (speaker), Miss Spider (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker), James Henry Trotter
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“Action stations!” James shouted. “Jump to it! There’s not a moment to lose!” He was the captain now, and everyone knew it. They would do whatever he told them.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug, The Silkworm
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

“Those are skyscrapers! So this must be America! And that, my friends, means that we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean overnight!”

“You don’t mean it!” they cried.

“It’s not possible!”

“It’s incredible! It’s unbelievable!”

“Oh, I’ve always dreamed of going to America!” cried the Centipede. “I had a friend once who—“

“Be quiet!” said the Earthworm. Who cares about your friend? The thing we’ve got to think about now is how on earth are we going to get down to earth?

“Ask James,” said the Ladybug.

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede (speaker), The Earthworm (speaker), The Ladybug (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Peach
Page Number: 122
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 37 Quotes

“Don’t be frightened of us, please!” James called out. “We are so glad to be here!”

“What about those others beside you?” shouted the Chief of Police. “Are any of them dangerous?”

“Of course they’re not dangerous!” James answered. “They’re the nicest creatures in the world! Allow me to introduce them to you one by one and then I’m sure you will believe me.”

Related Characters: James Henry Trotter (speaker), The Centipede, Miss Spider, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Earthworm, The Ladybug, The Silkworm, The Glow-worm
Page Number: 133-134
Explanation and Analysis: