Character Foils In Fiela's Child

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In Fiela’s Child, Dalene Matthee illustrates authority that comes into play in the life of Benjamin and Lukas. Matthee vividly portrays authority with the use of character foils. By doing this, Matthee introduces characteristics of authority or lack of and creates a vivid distinction between the two regions: Long Kloof and the Forest. In Fiela’s Child, Dalene Matthee uses character foils to portray the characteristics of authority or lack of showing the reader how the Long Kloof and the Forest compare.
Matthee introduces the characteristics of authority and lack of by using Fiela and Barta as character foils. Fiela is from the Long Kloof while Barta is from the forest. Fiela is the authority figure in her household, while Barta is merely just …show more content…

Although Benjamin and Lukas are the same person, both have different experiences with authority in their lives. One of the main authority figures in Ben’s life was Fiela. “‘Don’t pretend you’re stupid, Benjamin! He’s the magistrate, the big man of the law. Anyone who lies to him gets thrown into jail backside first!’” (63). Towards the beginning of the quote, Fiela is yelling at Benjamin. Fiela is yelling at Benjamin with authority, but she is yelling at him to protect him, almost like she is warning him. Fiela scolding Benjamin shows that she is an authority figure in his life who he respects. Unlike Ben, Lukas had a completely disparate experience. The main authoritative figure in Lukas’s life was Elias. “‘Leave him, Elias,’ somebody said. But the man lost his patience. He had been getting more and more impatient on the way there. ‘Greet your brother and sister Lukas!’” (104). The repetition of more in the quote conveys Elias is sick and tired of the way Lukas is acting towards the family. Elias is very hostile towards Lukas and is not willing to tolerate anything Lukas does again his will. The connotative diction and punctuation used in the quote emphasizes that Elias is forcing Lukas to start treating Elias’s family as his own. Elias is using his authority as a guardian over Lukas and forcing Lukas to do as he says. This shows how controlling and power hungry Elias is. Benjamin and Lukas’s different experiences with authority compare the Long Kloof and the Forest. However, Ben, also, has a strong an abusive authority figure in his life: the Magistrate. The Magistrate is the person who was behind putting Benjamin in a horrible situation and let the Van Rooyens take him. If the Magistrate had listened to Ben, he would have never turned into Lukas. “‘Please, your worshipful lord, I’m Fiela Komoetie’s child and Selling Komoetie is my father!’

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