Foil Characters In Ferrate s My Brilliant Friend
In the novel, My Brilliant Friend, Ferrante conveys the theme of how an education is
vital because it can have a significant impact on careers, lifestyles, social class, and
relationships. Ferrante brings out this theme by having foil characters, writing a
female Bildungsroman, and using motifs. Through Elena Greco s journey, she
continuously realizes the importance of school. Her knowledge is her ticket to
withdraw from the lowly neighborhood.
To start, Ferrante uses foil characters, such as Carmela and Elena to show the
magnitude of how important an education is and its effects on life. In the instance of
Carmela and Elena, education affects careers. Carmela and Elena live in the same
neighborhood and go to the same elementary school, but ... Show more content on
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They are both well educated, they go to the same school, and they have similar
hobbies. Elena and Nino are often together at the beach, swimming together. Elena
notes that Nino is a very good swimmer, often swimming far into the ocean. Like
Elena, who can swim in the ocean on her own, Nino can too. That means that Nino
can stay afloat in life as well. To continue, her relationship with Nino is centered
around the ocean. They share a kiss there. In this sense, Nino represents the ocean.
He s smart, ambitious, and free from the grasps of the neighborhood. Nino and
Elena both reach the ocean and they both can swim in that ocean, meaning they re
both capable of making it in life. Conversely, Elena dates Antonio, a poor mechanic,
when she returns to the neighborhood. They participate in sexual activities at a pond.
In comparison to the ocean, a pond is limiting and restricting. It s miniscule in
contrast to the mammoth size of the ocean. Antonio represents the pond. He s a poor
boy a construction worker in the neighborhood with little to no schooling. Nino, on
the other hand, is the ocean. He is of a higher social class than Antonio, fortunate
enough to attend school and augment his capabilities. Elena is reluctant to accept
that Antonio is her boyfriend, feeling like she no longer belongs to the
neighborhood. In the scene where Pasquale drives Elena, Carmela, Antonio, Ada,
and Enzo to Lila s wedding, Elena is hit by a sudden revelation that she is an alien in
that group of youths. She realizes that she constantly suppress[es] and diminish[es]
herself with her friends, who are unable to comprehend the daily path she takes to her
bright future (319 320). She admits that she should ask Nino to stay at the reception,
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