Yefry Salazar
Professor Peer
Blog Post
December 7, 2017
Don Quixote De La Mancha
Don Quixote is the most famous and glorious Spanish literature guide of all time, is well known by the world as a critique to chivalry books and to society at that time. Miguel de Cervantes focused on showing society how things were done wrong, a clear example is Sancho Panza who was Don Quixote Squire. Sancho a simple man with a novel heart was of a lower class than Don Quixote, not so well educated but with a lot of popular wisdom guided it Don Quixote through his journey.
Sancho Panza was promised by Don Quixote to be the governor of his own island, this motivated Sancho to come along with him. At first, Sancho can be seeing as a profit seeking character but in chapter 10 and 11 we can see how Sancho was the voice of wisdom for Don Quixote. A clear example is when he advised his master to look for refuge, “that it would be better for us to take refuge in some church; for in view of the way you have treated that one with whom you were fighting, it would be small wonder if they did not lay the matter before the Holy Brotherhood and have us arrested…” (page 423) He was worried about others taking revenge on his master, despite his lack of education Sancho had this popular knowledge something that Don Quixote couldn’t see because he was blind by this chivalry surrealism.
Through out the book Don Quixote is trying to mold Sancho, on chapter 11 there’s a passage where they are about to eat, and Don Quixote wants him to be seated by his side for him to see that were all equal, to what Sancho reply:
“Many thanks! But if it is all the same to your Grace, providing there is enough to go around, I can eat just as well, or better, standing up and alone as I can seated beside an emperor. And if the truth must be told, I enjoy much more that which I eat in my own corner without bowings and scrapings, even though it be only bread and onions, that I do a meal of roast turkey where I have to chew slowly, drink little, be always wiping my mouth, and can neither sneeze nor cough if I fell like it, nor do any of those other things that you can when you are free and alone” (page 426)
This line shows how Miguel de Cervantes exhibited inequality at that time, and the beauty of it is how Sancho an analphabet though people at that time and now that there’s something more important than bowings, is freedom. We can see this example even in todays society, people now days buy things with money they don’t have to impress people who don’t care. The bubble in which we are consumed happened there and now, doing things to be part of something or to please others is not what Sancho calls freedom.
Do you think Sancho and Don Quixote complement each other and why?
Thank you so much first of all for your words . I agree to you that everyone should have his own freedom rather then being someone’s slave for all the time. No one should have right about how you have to live. Your freedom belongs to you. You are right that people spend tons of money to impress other people but it is of no use if the person doesn’t have interest in it. Trying to please other is not a part of freedom.According to me happiness for everyone is freedom.
I think you bring up a valid point by stating that sancho is actually the one needed by Don Quixote as he is the one thats not deluded. It changes the whole point of view for us if we are aware of the social commentary that it carries with it, like you said. Sancho represents the people and Don quixote represents deluded and probably insane aristocrats. Seeing this shapes up the story differently for us. But i hadnt noticed the last argument you made in the book, the one about equality, that was also a nice catch that i think exists in many other parts of the book if, again, we see it as a critique of society.
I find your take on the relationship between Sancho and Don Quixote quite interesting. I agree with Moctar’s point that Sancho is needed more by Quixote than vice-versa. Throughout this book, Sancho is portrayed as the “mediator” to the unpredictable nature of Quixote. As a result, both characters are able to compliment each other quite well. Don Quixote has been so “caught up” in this persona he attempts to portray that he’s lost touch with reality, leading to her irrational and behavior and decision-making. As mentioned in class, this can be seen as a direct parody of aristocracy, as Quixote “extreme” behavior leaves the reader baffled several times throughout this book.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Don Quixote De La Mancha, I, too, agree that there is a strong relationship between Sancho Panza and Don Quixote. In this first chapters we have already seen that both of these characters are like you said, the opposite, but both find a common ground by trying to understand each other. For example, in one of the battles of the Basceyan, Sancho jump onto the priest to try to pick like he said “treasures from the battle” this shows how he is buying in Don Quixote’s fantasy, which shows that both of them understand each that at some level.
great point about freedom rather than slavery for everyone and also i like the part where you mention about pleasing other with thing we bough or do just to impress them.This part make a connection Sancho’s character in this play at the very who is seeing as a gold digger because Don Quixote promises Sancho the governance of island. However, Sancho has never heard of this before and was so excited. Sancho has long been expecting some confusion but definite compensation for this adventure and believes the word to signify the prize that will make the trouble he has been enduring gainful.
They do complement each other for several reasons. One of them is that they are livin gin different realities but at some point thir realities come together in a mixture of insanity and also realism. They go on adventure and even though hey are pretty reckless they still acknoledges the presence of the police wich simbolizes “reality” I use to see Sancho not as a person but as the part of dont quixote that is trying to bring him back to earth, I though of Sancho as Quixote before madness dominated him, Also is that in a certain way both people are looking for freedom Quixote had money before so the freddom he is looking goes beyond the material things but Sancho was a very humble and poor man that initially decided to follow quixote for the promise of an island. Sanchos interpretation of freedom is actually money. Either way both complement each other giving the story a sense of balance.
I do think Sancho and Don Quixote complement each other. The two balance each other out. I think Sancho is more of a voice of reason than a voice of wisdom. Don Quixote needs someone to keep him grounded and I think Sancho does that very well. I don’t think that Don Quixote is delusion. Who are we to say that the way someone sees the world isn’t true. If it’s real to the individual, that is all that matters. I also don’t think that Sancho was a “gold digger”. It isn’t wrong that he was only motivated to be Don Quixote’s squire because of the promise of riches etc. we are all self motivated. I do find your take interesting though