Foil

Character Role Analysis

Chester Nez and Roy Begay

Roy Begay is Chester's school buddy and his code-talking partner in the Pacific. The two partners are very similar. They're both serious, and they depend on one another. They work as a team together, and their relationship reflects the cooperation that defines the relationship between all the code talkers.

Even though they're very similar in terms of personality, however, they look very different. Roy is close to "six feet tall" whereas Nez is only "five feet six inches" (10.55). But that's really the only noticeable difference between these men—and, although they don't highlight each other's differences, we learn more about each character by observing their similarities.