Foil

Character Role Analysis

The Foil

Foils are designed to teach the hero important lessons, and since we're talking about Campbell here, you can usually spot them on the road of trials somewhere. They don't initially seem helpful. They can be tricksters or troublemakers, but there's always a purpose to their mischief. They're here to test the hero, to show him or her what he or she is capable of… and in testing them give them the skills they need to survive. If you want to spot one, look for an apparent enemy interested in something other than destroying the hero. That's a pretty good bet you're looking at a foil.