Foil

Character Role Analysis

Walter/The Dude

Walter Sobchak is The Dude's foil because he's in every way his opposite. Where The Dude is detached, Walter is passionate. Where The Dude is inarticulate, Walter uses highfalutin language. The Dude's personality is steeped in pacifism, while Walter is always in warrior mode. They came out of the '60s with hugely different interpretations of what went down. Walter lives by a strict set of rules, but The Dude just doesn't really care.