Foil

1. Foil • Definition: a secondary character who contrasts with a major character • [fɔɪl] • http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Foil?o=100074

2. Literary Examples • “Great hearts, my dear master, should be patient in misfortune as well as joyful in prosperity. And this I judge from myself. For if I was merry when I was Governor now that I'm a squire on foot I'm not sad, for I've heard tell that Fortune, as they call her, is a drunken and capricious woman and, worse still, blind; and so she doesn't see what she's doing, and doesn't know whom she is casting down or raising up.” – Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote • "The relations between us in those latter days were peculiar. He was a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and I had become one of them. As an institution I was like the violin, the shag tobacco, the old black pipe, the index books, and others perhaps less excusable.” -The Adventure of the Creeping Man, ConnanDoyel • “Now, sir, young Fortinbras, of unimproved mettle hot and full, hath in the skirts of Norway here and there shark'dup a list of lawless resolutes, for food and diet, to some enterprise that hath a stomach in't; which is no other- as it doth well appear unto our state- but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands so by his father lost.” Hamlet, WilliamShakespeare

3. Literary Analysis • Miguel de Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote, is about a man’s adventures in Spain while fighting wars. Quixote was a dreamy, thin man, but his friend SanchoPanza was fat. The term foil applies to the novel Don Quixote because the contrast between the two men causes problems in their friendship. Panza is completely different from Quixote because he is fat. • ConnanDoyles’ purpose in writing The Adventure of the Creeping Man was tell about Professor Presbury's and Alice's engagement that didn’t go as well as they planned. Holmes and Watson are the main characters in the book that work together as partner and solve crimes. Foil applies to the The Adventure of the Creeping Man becauseWatson short and stout and Holmes is tall and lean. Watson is funny and dumb, but Holmes is serious and smart. They work together creating a comic foil that is enjoyable. • William Shakespeare's purpose of Hamlet was to tell about the young man named Hamlet and explain in detail the problems that occurred in his family. Throughout the novel, Fortinbras attempts to take the land back from Hamlet and his family. Fortinbras’ failed attempts at recapturing the land and getting revenge on Hamlet makes him the tragedy hero. Later in the novel Fortinbras establishes himself as a foil to Hamlet because Hamlet seeks revenge on his father.

4. Work Cited • "Foil | Define Foil at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Foil?o=100074. • “Novel Guide, Free Study Guides, Book Notes, Book Reviews & More....” Novelguide.com / Novel Analysis. October 10, 2010. <http://www.novelguide.com/donquixote/toptenquotes.html>. • “Quotes from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes” amk.ca.com / Ouotations. October 10, 2010. <http://www.amk.ca/quotations/sherlock-holmes/page-11> • “Hamlet” schoomp.com / Hamlet Revenge Quotes. October 10, 2010. <http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/revenge-quotes.html>