Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
First of all, the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is that they are neighbors. Don Quixote is the knight and Sancho Panza is Don Quixote’s squire. Sancho Panza is poor and Quixote is slightly wealthier. Don Quixote is more of an illusionist and Panza is more of a realist. Both believing in two different things actually complement each other. They complement each other in the sense that one another need each other to make this an adventure. For example, Don Quixote’s illusions can bring the excitement in the adventure, such as thinking there are ‘giants’ right in front of you when they are actually ‘windmills’ can bring adventure and bring about a great imagination span. But then there is reality where there is actually something enormous that makes the adventure even better. Once you think about it, Sancho Panza is also an illusionist. He is an illusionist too because he also thinks in these adventures and actually thinks he is going to get an island and be the governor of it. But the one who is most delusional is Don Quixote because he actually thinks that an inn is a castle and windmills are giants and that he is a knight. I guess it is true when they say opposites attract in this case that is. Usually it would drive a realist crazy if one person was always an illusionist and never came in to reality not even once. I mean once you release something was not always how they seemed like in your imagination, than what? How do you continue from there if you are so used to illusions all the time?
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Don Quixote and Sancho Panza check-and-balance each other through a set of opposite characteristics in that one is delusional, the other is realistic, one is succinct, the other is chatty, one is brave, the other is timid, one is sad, the other is cheerful, one is a knight, the other is a squire, one is book-lorish, the other is folk-lorish, one is literate, the other is illiterate, one is theoretical, the other is practical, one is urbane, the other is rustic, one is idealistic, the other is pragmatic, one is noble, the other is simple, and finally, one is a gentlemen, the other is a farmer. It this though this contrast of opposites that they stabilize one another in that when one hallucinates the other brings him to reality; when one talks too much the other quiets him down; when one fails to listen the other encourages him to attend to the conversation; when one is rash and foolhardy the other is brave and careful; when one turns frightened the other inspires bravery; when one stands alone the other shows him that friends are sometimes needed; when one is stuck leading a dead-end life the other creates a scenario where he can advance; when one is ignorant of book knowledge the other teaches him the value of letters; when one is unlearned in Spanish folklore the other recites Iberian maxims; when one is so abstract and theoretical that he lacks common sense the other shows him what it takes to live in hard reality; and lastly, when one’s thinking is short-term and concrete bound the other teaches him to project long-term moral values. It is through an inter-penetrative process of give-and-take, push-and-shove, live-and-let-live, that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza realize a constructive synergy where both partners connect with and rely on each other to the advantage of both.
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