Foil (literature)

A foil character is either one who is in most ways opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by comparison or contrast.

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A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character; in Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras, whose fathers have been killed, are foils for Hamlet. Or in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abby and Elizabeth Proctor. In Twelfth Night, Olivia has a foil named Viola, because they have both lost a sibling.

Related Topics:
Hamlet - The Crucible - Arthur Miller - Twelfth Night

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An example in modern popular culture is Han Solo in Star Wars, who, in the first film of the series, is a stark contrast to Luke Skywalker.

Related Topics:
Popular culture - Han Solo - Star Wars - Luke Skywalker

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In Gregory Maguire's book ', the character of Elphaba Thropp (who will eventually become the Wicked Witch in question) is said to be a foil for the heroine of Dorothy Gale, from the original novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Reasonings to support this idea include that DOR-o-thy and EL-pha-ba are pronounced similarly, and their personalities and relationships with other characters contrast greatly.

Related Topics:
Gregory Maguire - Elphaba Thropp - Dorothy Gale - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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