Foil

Character Role Analysis

Steinbeck and The Cheerleaders

As we mentioned in "Antagonist," Steinbeck and the Cheerleaders are on pretty opposite ends of the whole rhetoric spectrum. In Steinbeck's view, the Cheerleaders are all about getting attention, getting loud, and getting racist—selfish, unpleasant stuff.

But while Steinbeck is similar to the ladies in that he calls out things that he doesn't like, his writings and observations are offered to enhance collective understanding, not to get glory by making a spectacle out of himself.

To that point, unlike the Cheerleaders with their "mission," Steinbeck tries not to draw attention to himself, wanting to be as anonymous as possible when he goes about. The Cheerleaders, by contrast, seem to love the publicity they're getting, as you can see when "Nellie," the head cheerleader, shows up to the protest with the cheerleaders' press clippings to pass around and coo over.