I decided to break Euelpides into three sort of general characteristics and then assign a different character for each attribute.

Good-natured sidekick/Herbert Pocket: I may be wrong, but Euelpides always seems to me to be a sort of sidekick to Pisthetairos, the stronger, main character. It does not start that way, perhaps, but Pisthetairos soon takes command and has Euelpides running errands. There is a part of the Euelpides character, however, that seems happy, good-natured and innocent, much like the character of Herbert Pocket from Great Expectations. Herbert is also a sidekick, but to Pip, the newly rich, sometimes arrogant main character of Dickens’ book. Despite errands, favors and the climactic ordeal in the end, Herbert remains happy, good-natured and innocent, as well. (That said, there are various layers of Euelpides’ character. He can be resentful, annoyed, etc at times.)

The witty satirist/Lord Henry: I find Euelpides to be one of the wittiest characters in The Birds. His timing and use of strange stories and jokes are crucial to the humor in many scenes, and he seems to making fun of people and things quite often. Lord Henry from The Picture of Dorian Gray also uses witty satire to express many of his ideas, making fun of people and situations much of the time. His timing and the structure of his humorous passages enhance the comedic aspect of Wilde’s book. The main difference between the two, however, is that while Euelpides seems sort of like a clown, – good-natured, silly – Lord Henry is much more brutal, more corrupt and seemingly heartless.

The storyteller/Zorba: This ties in to the "satirist" aspect. Euelpides is a storyteller and will not hesitate to share strange experiences from his life to contribute to a discussion. He speaks often, and in a sort of illogical, but nonetheless captivating manner. This reminded me of Zorba from Zorba the Greek, who also feels compelled to recount often stories from his life through words and music. The two characters can appear silly and eccentric at times, but one gets the sense with both that they have lived long and have a lot to tell – or at least I did.