Foil

Character Role Analysis

Matt Hooper and Quint

The dynamic between Hooper and Quint is electric from the get-go. Hooper's a rich, college-educated, empirical researcher; Quint's a blue collar, school-of-hard-knocks, instinct-driven sea captain. Hooper represents the latest technological advances and the most up-to-date scientific knowledge. Quint represents the ancient, almost mystical knowledge of the sea and its most dangerous inhabitants. It's new vs. old, science vs. tradition, fancy vs. plain, intellect vs. brute force. They fight like cats and dogs for much of their time on screen, which makes it that much more poignant when they bond over their scars before the shark's rude interruption. In the end, both of them are essential to defeating the shark: It's a bullet from Quint's WWII-era rifle that strikes Hooper's compressed air tank and sends the shark to Davy Jones' locker.