Foil

Character Role Analysis

Carl Showalter and Gaear Gringrud

Carl and Gaear are a classic pair of foils. Carl is talkative and easily angered, while Gaear says little and thinks less, forming together a perfectly mismatched criminal duo. While their personalities are both superficially distinct, they also share one important characteristic: sociopathy.

They don't hesitate to commit murder, and they have a total lack of concern for what happens to anyone else. Of course, in the end, things don't work out: Gaear kills Carl with an ax.