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Allusions
Foil
Explanation and Analysis—Gallaher:
In “A Little Cloud,” Gallaher acts as a foil for Little Chandler, meaning that his presence is used to reveal information about Little Chandler’s character. While Gallaher and Little Chandler both grew up in Dublin, Gallaher left the city eight years ago and has found success as a journalist in London. The narrator notes at the beginning of the story that Little Chandler is happy for his friend’s success—he believed that “Gallaher’s heart was in the right place and he had deserved to win”—but it quickly becomes clear that he is actually deeply envious of the man. Little Chandler, the narrator reveals, wants to become a successful poet (specifically craving recognition by “the English critics”), and, when spending time with Gallaher sees the life that he could have had.
The story takes an unexpected turn when, over the course of dinner, Little Chandler becomes “disillusioned” with Gallaher’s (not so) glamorous life, coming to view the man as unsophisticated and crass. While, at first, it seemed Gallaher’s presence in the story was simply meant to reveal Little Chandler’s unexpressed desires for a life of travel and fame, his position as a foil becomes more complicated here. Readers are left wondering if Little Chandler will now see his simple life with his baby and wife in a better light.
But when Little Chandler returns home to his “mean” wife and crying baby, he seems to forget his earlier disillusionment. He idealizes Gallaher’s life once more, thinking that he would like to flee from his “little house” in order to “live bravely” like Gallaher. In this way, Gallaher fulfills his role as a foil by leaving Little Chandler feeling trapped in the “prison” of his mundane life.
Related Themes:
