Foil

Character Role Analysis

Bobby Phillips/Sheila Borden

Bobby and Sheila serve as perfect foils to each other because they both go through the same thing—waking up invisible—but deal with it in completely different ways. While Bobby tells his parents right away, Sheila just disappears on her own family, and in the end, Bobby is super excited and ready to become visible again, but Sheila doesn't seem interested. She's gotten used to her life as an invisible, solitary person, and she doesn't want to change it. Importantly, while Bobby's invisibility inspires him to really see himself, Sheila takes it as a chance to just hide.