The Similarities Of Foils In Homer's Odyssey

Character foils are important to any story or play as they compare and contrast character traits as the story unfolds. The use of character foils allows the audience to understand a characters way of thought and the actions that they take. Character foils show the moral behaviour and can help the audience see contradictory factors that help advance the plot. Although characters may seem similar, the use of character foils can show their differences. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the use of character foils proves Fortinbras is a stronger political leader over Hamlet, the contrasting view of Laertes as a son in comparison to Hamlet and Horatio being thought of as the better man in contradiction to Hamlet.

A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. In William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", the main character, Hamlet, has three major foils. These foils are his close friend Horatio, Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and the brother of his love, Laertes. These three characters contradict and enhance Hamlet's major characteristics.

In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that

Many of the archetypes in this story were the origin for the archetypes used in todays literature. Two examples in “The Odyssey” are the temptress and the father-son

The Odyssey by Homer is a great text that manipulates the skill of storytelling bringing out the meaning of being human, the spiritual and physical homecoming. It is an archetypal epic expedition essential for understanding ourselves and other modern texts following the same pattern. The text brings out the ancient Greek beliefs and customs that are essential in studying Western Literature through the evaluation of different characters, and the themes manifested are essential in establishing a good foundation for any literature student. The themes therein such as leadership skills, folly, retaliation, mythology, death, ogres, temptation seduction, deceit, and warfare make the text an essential student companion in the quest of comprehending literature.

Father and son relationships in The Odyssey are very important. This novel tells us the story of the hero Odysseus and his journey back home after the Trojan War. His complications start after the fight when he is on his way back. On his journey home, he encounters multiple challenging obstacles. However, Odysseus and the gods are determined to get him back home to his son. In The Odyssey by Homer, we see the importance of father and son relationships between Poseidon and his son Polyphemus and Odysseus and his son Telemachus and we can see which aspects of the relationship that the Greeks valued.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses foils to enhance the characters namely to enhance Hamlet. A foil is a minor character who with their similarities and differences reveals character traits, that of another character opposite to them. The character may also be put in place by the author to give the main character a person to talk to, through this conversation useful information can be received about either the main character or the plot in general. This can be shown through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, also the Ghost of King Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes.

Homeric or epic similes can be found all throughout The Odyssey written by Homer. A simile is the comparison of two unlike objects using like or as. Homer’s similes are considered to be “epic” because of how elaborate they are to help the audience “feel” and picture a scene. One of the most glorified scenes in The Odyssey, full of epic similes, is when Odysseus stabs the eye of Cyclops Polyphemus. As soon as Polyphemus fell asleep from the over-consumption of wine, Odysseus put his plan into motion to escape the Cyclops’ cave. Courage took over Odysseus and Homer writes:

In Book IX of the Odyssey, Homer uses imagery and foreshadow to illustrate how the cyclopes’ loneliness can significantly reveal how Odysseus and his men gets involved in a conflict with the cyclopes later on in the book. Homer uses foreshadow to develop the plot and build suspense. For example, Homer uses imagery to show what it was like when Odysseus encounters the land of the Cyclopes. Using imagery, readers can interpret the Cyclopes’ living conditions as well as their personality. The phrases “screened with laurel”, “cavern yawning”, “A prodigious man slept in this cave alone”, and “he seemed rather a shaggy mountain reared in solitude” shows that the Cyclopes are living in an isolated society and are very lonely on their island. Also,

(If we look back to all the books we have read over the course of our life, we may see that a literary device commonly used by almost all writers would be foils. Foils are often put right next to one another, to emphasize the nature of each character, by putting a good character next to a presumably bad character, so that the bad character will look worse, but the good character will look exceedingly better. We have seen this writing technique in many different types of literature. For example, in mythology with the movie Troy, the foils were King Priam, and King Agamemnon. They may both be kings, but they have very different personalities. King Priam care not just for power, but he also cares for the people of his kingdom; however, King Agamemnon only cares about power.) (This idea of placing somewhat similar, yet mostly opposing characters side-by-side is also undoubtedly presented in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee does an incredible job of creating these opposing characters for Jam and Scout to encounter, so that they can learn what is right and wrong, and so that they could go from innocence to experience.) (In To Kill a Mockingbird, three foils are very highly valued in the children’s transition from their state of innocence to their state of experience; these three foils include, Miss Maudie Atkinson & Miss Stephanie Crawford; Calpurnia and Lula; finally, with Atticus Finch and Mr. Gilmer.)

A foil character contrasts the personalities of another character, which particularly enlightens certain characteristics of the individual. This element portrays these characteristics in an obvious manner, as it benefits the reader or audience. By showing the characteristics of one, it directly heightens the character traits of the other, creating a foil illustration of an individual. Nowhere is this element of literature more prudent than in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as he effectively engages the use of foil characters. In the play, two lovers from opposing, and hateful families fall in love, but the hatred between households lead to their downfall. Characters in the immoral city of Verona are set to represent key themes and

Agamemnon was stabbed to death by the vengeful tag-team. Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, unleashed vengeance upon his mother and her lover. Agamemnon’s family is a foil for Odysseus’ family life. Odysseus’ family loves him very dearly and has done no wrong as he was away. Penelope, unlike Clytemnestra, stays loyal to Odysseus and even creates an ingenious plan to keep the suitors off her back. Telemachos on the other hand has to deal with the suitors who are trying to marry his mother and have been dishonoring his father, Odysseus, eating their fill since they sat their butts on the stools they deem as weapons. Telemachos can’t even stand up to the suitors as Agamemnon’s son took revenge on the people who killed his father. This shows how Telemachos should be as a son and will soon be as he grows up to be more like his father. Menelaos had a long homecoming due to the gods, just as Odysseus had. Menelaos angered the Egyptian gods, due to the lack of knowledge of Egyptian customs. He was able to get home with all of his crew, unlike Odysseus, who was a lone survivor. Although Menelaos had an easier homecoming than Odysseus, he did not have a faithful wife, just like Agamemnon. Helen was the reason for the Trojan War; for Menelaos it was not easy to forgive an unfaithful wife to that degree. He cannot rejoin the present as easily due to all that was lost in Troy, destined to be full of grief for

Foil characters are defined as characters that are used to contrast another character. This character in most cases is the protagonist. Moreover, foil characters tend to be based on the protagonist’s hubris, wherein contrasting the fatal flaw shows how it has ballooned out of control. Foil characters further themes by highlighting the characteristics of certain characters that will help enhance the theme. The role of foil characters in Shakespearean tragedies is to show what could have happened if the protagonist made a different choice. Likewise, this idea is prevalent within Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, this play portrays two children from warring families who meet and fall in love, but eventually kill themselves as their love is not

A foil is a minor character that helps the audience better understand a major character. A foil may exist as a comparison character, with similarities between the two, as well as differences that bring to light an important contrast between the foil and the main character. A foil may also just be someone for the main character to talk to, so we can know and understand their thoughts and feelings. Foils help us understand the obvious as well as the arcane. In the classic tragedy Hamlet, we see William Shakespeare employ foils to illustrate both examples. They become important literary tools that help the reader rationalize the concurrent theme of the play -

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his long journey home. The Epic also includes the stories of Odysseus’ family left behind: the travels of his son, Telemachus, and how plenty, of what we would now call “home wreckers”, suitors pressured his wife, Penelope, into marrying one of them. The characters are beautifully crafted and the story is truly epic. All the elements presented can bring in any reader from any century, the Cyclops, the Gods, the trickery of Penelope, and the disguises of Odysseus, are all legendary literary hooks . There are many things to learn—about writing, about the world around us, the world ahead of us, and the past behind us—from The Odyssey. (26) It is undeniably evident that this ancient text has