Piggy Back Characters

#3 Identify the protagonists and antagonists. Are there any foil characters?

Driving the action with a negative energy, Iago serves as antagonist of the play. Othello is not only the protagonist, but the tragic hero who admits that his downfall: he was "one that loved not wisely but too well; ...one not easily jealous, but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme" (V.ii. 341-343). The two may also be looked upon as foils due to their differences which contribute to the advancement of their character. For example, Othello, in his easy trust, believes Iago over Desdemona. This illustrates Iago's powers of persuasion and Othello's naive nature. As more of a minor character, Roderigo is a foil of Iago. He displays the control Iago had over the minds and actions of those below him. Iago uses Roderigo for financial gain and help in an attempt to kill Cassio. Through the minor characters, the personalities and motives of Othello and Iago are accentuated.

Daddy's Little Girl

O'Brien's daughter Kathleen's ignorance is precious. She's young and seeks answers to complicated answers asked in simple forms. She acts as a foil character to Tim O'Brien because she asks questions to get O'Brien to go further in detail on certain accounts or to explain something in a different way. For instance on page 175 during their trip in Vietnam Kathleen inquires of her father, "'This whole war', she said, 'why was everybody so mad at everybody else?' I shook my head. 'They weren't mad exactly. Some people wanted one thing, other people wanted another thing.'" This exchange between the father and daughter reminds me when I was little and I asked my dad what he did for his job. He had a hard time explaining it in kid terms; I mean, he's an account. He's into numbers and all. But he managed to tell me that he worked with money and helped people put it to good use. I always looked up to my dad for the hard work he does and the people he helps. I imagine Kathleen looked up to her dad and appreciated once she was older all the hard work and fight her dad put into being a soldier and then a writer.

Sure wish my dad could take me somewhere foreign for my tenth birthday!