Foil

Character Role Analysis

America

Okay, so we know we said that America is the antagonist, but it's not America's fault that it antagonizes Shirley. See, it only does so because it's so stinking different from everything she's ever known before. For this very same reason, we're calling America Shirley's foil. Foils offer contrast to characters, helping us see them more clearly, and while usually this is a dynamic that exists between formal characters, it is exactly what America does for Shirley in this book.

America is the player in the story that marks Shirley as an outsider time and again, so that when she finally does find her footing on its soil, we understand in no uncertain terms just how far she's come. Go team.