As You Like It | Characters & Character Analysis

As You Like It Characters

Adam

Adam is the faithful, old servant of Sir Rowland de Boys, father to Oliver and Orlando. When Sir Rowland dies, Adam remains as a servant to the household which is now governed by the elder Oliver. He recognizes a certain inherent nobility in Orlando and sympathizes with the younger brother in his complaints against Oliver for neglecting his education and breeding. Adam is ill-treated by Oliver, and after the two brothers quarrel and physically struggle, he sides with Orlando and casts his fortune with his. He gives Orlando all of the money he has managed to save and travels with him to the Forest of Arden. In a society like Elizabethan England with rigid class distinctions, Adam represents the ideal of service, one who is motivated by loyalty and affection rather than greed and ambition. When Jaques, the pessimistic courtier in attendance upon the exiled Duke Senior, utters his fatalistic...
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