Foil

Character Role Analysis

Ruben Iglesias, Vice President; President Masuda

President Masuda and his vice president, Ruben Iglesias, are foils to each other. President Masuda seems to come from money; Ruben is middle class. The president is lax in his duties as a host, skipping the birthday party he'd promised to attend so he could watch his favorite soap opera. (At least he had a good reason?)

Ruben, in contrast, is a dutiful host and even seems to enjoy hosting. Even as a hostage he takes pride in caring for the house and the people in it as a good host should. While the book doesn't go into a lot of detail, we get the sense the president may neglect some of his other presidential duties as well, while Ruben seems to be excellent at his vice presidential role. (See the "Characters" section for more info on that topic.)