Foil

Character Role Analysis

Harley and Leroy for Tayo

Harley, Leroy, and Tayo grew up together in Laguna, and all served in WWII. Their shared experiences make them excellent foils for one another.

Harley and Leroy try to be good friends to Tayo, but they can't quite understand why he's so upset all the time. To deal with the trauma and stress of having served in the war, Harley and Leroy just get drunk . . . really drunk . . . every day. They're not really concerned with the fact that old Ku'oosh's ceremonies haven't succeeded in healing them and reintegrating them back into Laguna society. In fact, they're not even aware that they're sick.

Tayo, on the other hand, can't just drink his troubles away. He's aware that something's not right, and his willingness to undergo a process of healing sets him apart from his friends.

Rocky for Tayo

Rocky is a foil for Tayo in several ways. The boys look different—a fact that Rocky's mother, Tayo's Auntie, is always quick to point out. Tayo's father was white, while Rocky is a hundred percent Laguna. But it's Rocky who's critical of what he sees as Laguna superstition. He enthusiastically accepts the science lessons he learns from the white teachers at school and generally embraces white culture. Tayo, who is half white, is the one who rejects white culture in favor of the traditions of his maternal ancestors.

Old Man Ku'oosh for Old Betonie

Old man Ku'oosh is the medicine man of Laguna, and he's a pretty traditional guy (check out our discussion of him in the section on "Characters.") But when the ceremonies he's been performing for years fail to work on the men returning from WWII, he has the wisdom to send them to see a very different kind of medicine man.

Old Betonie isn't Laguna, he's Navajo, so right off the bat we can see that he's no stickler for preserving the separation of cultural identities. Unlike old Ku'oosh, Betonie doesn't do things the way they've always been done. He takes elements from modern society and incorporates them into his ceremonies, believing that's the only way to deal with modern problems. While it's uncertain at first whether old Ku'oosh will even treat a patient like Tayo, who's half white, Betonie is himself the product of an interracial relationship and sees the mixing of races as inevitable.