Foil

Character Role Analysis

Foil: Woody and Papa

Woody basically can't help but show Papa up. He's everything Papa's not, so all his goodness makes Papa into a more traumatized, enfeebled man—but since Woody is so good (he's basically a goody-two-shoes in the body of a soldier), he also makes a good foil to Papa's complexity.

Take the moment Woody comes back from Japan:

He brought other trophies, painted scrolls, lacquered trays—things he would have valued only slightly before the war. All of this delighted Papa, filled him with pride for his son who had returned a larger man, with a surer sense of himself and of where we all had come from. Yet while Woody grew, Papa seemed to shrink, losing potency. (2.20.27)

Papa may be weak and flawed next to Woody, but he's also a more interesting character because he's not just one note. He feels delight and pride in his son even as he becomes a weaker person.

Which brings us back to Woody—the perfect son because he's the perfect foil to his dad.