trouble with the hero Jordan, yet he is a main character as his wife Pilar is. Minor characters are those in remote and static relation with the hero. It is wrong to thinthat minor characters are all unimportant. In some novels, one or some of the minor characters may serve a critical role, structurally or interpretationally. Foil characters are ones that help enhance the intensity of the hero by strengthening or contrasting. They may be main characters or minor characters. In a word, they serve as foils to the hero or heroine. Cohn in The Sun Also Rises is a good example. He is one of the main ch aracters. Like Jae, he is also “lost,” trying vainly to escape the past by courting women and drinking. But during their stay in Spain, Cohn displays qualities in contrast to those cherished by Jak e, which makes Ja e realize his own problems and finally find a solution, though temporarily. Cohn wors mainly by contrast. Wilson in The Great Gatsby work s by presenting. Gatsbyost his lover to Tom and Wilson lost his wife to Tom. By presenting Wilson’s case the novelist intends to point out the profound cause of Gatsby’s tragedy. Dr. Watson in the stories of Sherloc Holmes serves as a foil to the hero, rendering the detective smarter than he would otherwise appear to the reader. By the degree of their development, characters can be grouped as round characters and lat characters. This division is proposed by E.M Forster. Round characters are fully developed while flat characters are not. Or we can say that round characters grow while flat characters do not. Usually the reader is allowed access to the inner life of the round character and permitted to learn about many sides of the...
