Foil

Character Role Analysis

Nick Adams and Ole Andreson

This foil becomes evident when we actually see the two men interacting, in the second half of the story. Their dialogue is a clear back-and-forth between a man of action and a man of passivity, an adolescent and a jaded, maybe even washed-up, older man. Nick wants to help; Ole wants to do nothing. Nick is concerned; Ole has resigned himself to not caring. The more we see of Andreson’s traits, the more we are convinced that Nick’s are completely different.