Meant to Be Foil Characters

I'm so happy! For those who don't know, I had to stop reading Meant to Be because it returned itself to the online library. But it came back in and I'm reading it again. Yay! Anyways, as I was reading, I noticed that Julia and Jason were a perfect example of something we talked about in class. Foil characters. These characters are almost complete opposites and they balance each other out. But in order for them to be foil characters, they have to be related in some way. Some examples of foil characters are Romeo and Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Haymitch and Effie (The Hunger Games), and Harry and Malfoy (The Harry Potter Series).

Julia is the typical nerd, maintaining a perfect GPA, staying organized, and always with her nose in a book. Though Julia has been excited for this trip her whole life (or at least since 6th grade), only one thing stands in the way of her fun experience. Jason. The rude, annoying, childish, class clown. Not only is Julia forced to work with him, but she practically has to spend every minute outside the hotel with him. But Jason isn't enough to stop Julia from being...well, Julia. She continues to flag passages in guidebooks with post-it notes, carefully think about situations, and carry around her bag containing notebooks, pencils, and her emergency phone. Julia also likes to follow the rules and prides herself on being a good student as well as being knowledgable. This is shown throughout the book, "'We're supposed to use that time fore independent tours so we can write our reflection papers,' I say, trying to mask my exasperation." (Morrill, 100). This shows how Julia always likes to follow the rules.

Jason, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Jason enjoys acting like a five year old and destroying everything in his path. He is the typical class clown. Jason is not only a trouble maker, but he also has the talent of slacking off. He makes Julia do his reflection papers and insists that they always do something fun instead of going on tours or going to a place with a single bit of knowledge or learning associated with it. This is shown when Jason talks to Julia about cultural hours, "'I think the sentence structure you're looking for is 'so I can write our reflection papers,'' Jason says. He bends down to tie his left sneaker, the lace of which is fraying and dirty. 'Besides, half the class is using that time to hit pubs and go shopping. We're actually going somewhere that Mrs. T would call culturally relevant.' " (Morrill, 100). This represents Jason's love of slacking off and breaking the rules.

Julia and Jason don't agree about a lot of topics and issues, but the biggest dispute by far, is about love and MTB. MTB is what Julia and her best friend, Phoebe, say to represent something being meant to be. Julia interprets MTB as being a fairytale and a perfect world, "I clear my throat a couple of times and try to sound casual. 'Yeah,' I reply. 'I mean, we might say, 'So-and-so are totally MTB,' as in, that couple is totally meant to be. Or 'That guy is totally my MTB,' meaning that we're totally meant to be together.'" (Morrill, 108). Jason on the other hand believes that MTB is stupid, "'What a load of crap.'...'You can't actually believe that. I mean, you're smart. You know stuff. So you've gotta know that it's all a big fairy tale. A marketing tool. Chick flicks and Hallmark cards and Valentine's Day and diamond rings.'" (Morrill, 108). This is a battle that is constantly revisited during the book. Not only do Julia and Jason competely disagree, but they ALWAYS disagree. ALWAYS. This only goes to show not just the differences of character, but the way they balance each other out.