Foil
Character Role Analysis
Rita and Tendai
Tendai's younger sister is also his foil in the book. How do we know? The two of them are constantly being compared. Rita is brilliant at math, which Tendai is a little jealous of, and she's also headstrong, stubborn, and vocal whenever she disagrees with something. Tendai, on the other hand, tries to keep his cool. We can often tell he's maturing by how he's compared to his sis. She means well, but she's a little younger and less mature than he is, speaking without thinking through the consequences first, unlike her older brother.