Social Strata and its Apparence in Don Quixote de la Mancha - Case Study Example

SOCIAL STRATA IN DON QUIXOTE Social Strata and its Apparence in Don Quixote de la Mancha They say life is a lottery, we cannot choose who we are born to and we cannot choose our circumstance, we can only be grateful for what we have and try our hardest to transcend the cards that fate has dealt us. Some are born kings while some are born peasants. A lot of times it cannot be dispensed of that other people are just plain lucky while others are just not favored by the gods no matter how hard they try. Such is the case of Sancho Panza and his adventures with Don Quixote de la Mancha. It is evident that the primary reason on why he chose to accompany Don Quixote was his desire to uplift his status. He was cognizant of it as he himself knows that his association with such people could more or less bring him the fortune he so deeply desires. He was mindful that he did not want so far as to be a lord himself but, thus, longed it for his daughter. The estate that Don Quixote has promised was the principal rule in why he agreed to go with him. It was also the reason why he opted to go again with him after returning home despite his wife’s forbiddance. He felt that he was closer to his dreams and that Don Quixote is the one who could make him realize it. Don Quixote: The First Novel Don Quixote De La Mancha is considered to be one of the most influential novels of all time. It contains a plethora of the most universal themes that are recurring in literature up to this day. This classic tale by Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra endears us to the characters which he has so poignantly brought to life. Don Quixote is one of the most recognizable characters in literature for his distinctive presentation. It has the elements of love, friendship, chivalry, deceit, social strata and other universal themes that are always timely. This masterpiece inherently finds its way back into modern writing for due reason that needs no explanation. It was Michel Foucault who was among the first to duly note Don Quixote as the first significant work in modern Western literature for it is a benchmark for the move away from the characterizations of the Renaissance period. This point of view persuades us to reassess the considerable aspects of a novel. It insists upon the reader to look at the text semiotically in relation to the objects and mistaken identity. The more important question now becomes “What does this mean?” in reference to the symbols represented (Johnson, 1985). This translates that meaning is not contained in blankness but is subjected to the vagaries that pertain to time and space and are then written into specific codes. The book is largely particular to refer to chivalry. There manifests a system in chivalric code. In a context, Cervantes gives the wrong codes in his elucidation of the signifiers. Through the narrator, the author gives the prosaic and alienates Don Quixote from the audience. Because of this the protagonists remains unaware and thus continues with his exploits he sees as aptly heroic (Johnson, 1985). The entrance of Sancho Panza intensified the discrepancy between the chivalric and the prosaic. As Don Quixote sees a giant in front of him, Sancho sees a windmill. The narrator has already instilled upon the reader which one to believe and so we disregard the representations given by Don Quixote and rely upon what we have already been trained since the beginning of the novel. Through this Cervantes has shown that associating meaning of the specific code, one can go back and submit a signifier to it and each could vary according to the reader (Johnson, 1985). This novel is significant for it marks a major shift in the themes and the point of view of novels as they were written. The chivalry and knighthood that was the major theme for most writings prior to Don Quixote was challenged to delve into more substantial meaning and cultural representations. It contains the irony and the characteristics of a written work that requires or asks its reader to rethink in such a way that it becomes socially significant in more than one occasion. It proves that this too can be a form of entertainment and a worthwhile reading. The premise of superiority by the Don is put into a set of strains. Suddenly, there is more to him that he should face and he, including the readers, is caught off guard into searching for a right reaction and empathy for what he is undergoing. The audiences are as confused as the two characters as they stumble from their dilemmas. But ultimately, the feeling of understanding for the cahracters roots from their good-natured and kindred behavior. This novel has become as a result prominent that it has inspired an entire genre. It is a framework for Quixotic pedantry wherein ridicule is incorporated within the text. The hero of the story is turned ‘Quixotic’ which translates to the parody he thus experiences. The character of Don Quixote provided us a pattern of fictional folly that is of an intellectual literary nature combined (Garcia, “Satire on Learning and the Type of the Pedant in Eighteenth-Century Literature”). The Knight and His Endeavors for Justice Deemed by himself as a knight, Don Quixote set out to be an enforcer of justice in his own mind. He sees it his personal duty as with many others to help the wretched and the poor. Sancho on the other hand served as the voice of reason in the countless occasions wherein he was as usual attempting things that are beyond his wit. The perceived indifference in contrast to Don Quixote’s over enthusiasm poses the contrast which is apparent in the entirety of the satire novel. On one occasion wherein the knight was planning to rescue the slaves that he observed as being unjustly punished as they were tied through the neck and had to walk one in front of the other like beads, Sancho remarked: "Justice, which is the king himself, is not using force or doing wrong to such persons, but punishing them for their crimes (Cervantes, trans. Ornsby, 2006)." The first of the men the Don queried answered as to why he is suffering such misfortune was that he was a lover. A lover of linen to be more specific which he embraced so much that the guards had to carry him away and punish him with a hundred lashes and a detaining in the galleys. The second one, a singer as he calls himself was actually a cattle thief punished to six years in the galley and who in reference to a canary confessed under interrogation. The third one was sentenced to five years for the amount of 10 ducats. The next one was a pimp with an air of sorcery to him as they say who will remain in the galleys. Following them was a man in scholarly clothing and fashion was deemed to being the most ruthless among the prisoners and will be put in prison for 10 years, Gines de Pasamonte. He was an autobiographical writer who has already been in the galleys and sort of looks forward to continuing his book. As expected, Don Quixote wants the commissaries to release the men at his will. Inadvertently, he created a distraction that allowed for the slaves to break free from bondage. Upon his bidding he wanted them to go to Dulcinea del Toboso but Gines de Pasamonte was smart enough to know that they had to go their separate ways and offered in return for gratitude prayers for the man who freed them. Distraught by their ingratitude the knight retorted to which he was then stoned by the prisoners on Pasamonte’s cue. The Encounter with the Duke and the Duchess Upon first meeting Sancho Panza was already endeared to the duchess to which he considers himself to be her favorite. Together with his lord they were offered the finer things that the couple was capable of providing unto them. It was the first time that Don Quixote earnestly did feel himself to be a knight beyond that of which is merely his fancy. He was being treated in the sane way he had only read about in books from the olden days. One of the most significant indicators of the disparity between the ‘titled’ characters and Sancho was when the damsels bathed Don Quixote and the Duke. He was envious of the luxury that the two had previously experienced when the duchess approached him. He said what he was thinking to which the duchess commanded that he be given the same treatment by the ladies. He was apprehensive at first as he felt he is not worthy of the same attention as he is not within the same ranks as the two previous men. Regardless, the duchess sees it fit to give him the same treatment and the same justified pampering by the damsels. What happened though was that he was washed with dirtier water and lye by the kitchen boys, though he has just been dubbed a governor of his own land. It was to say the first one of the many personal mockery the couple has subjected the two consequently. They were the object of the duke and the duchess’s game by making a fool of them at the palm of their hands. The malice of the two instigated a ruthless and deceitful series of events that was more than necessary. Granted that the pair was filled with folly with their quests but at the very least they were sincere in the way they live their life. The Mockery At the dinner table together with a priest at the beginning of their encounter with the duke and the duchess was a great retort that was due to Sancho’s inability to keep to himself. He expounded on how and why he became the squire of the knight which is to say the least out of the affinity he wishes to attain. In the earlier chapters there was already made mention of his desire to marry off his daughter to a noble man. This as he sees it is the best way to be around the people whose society he wishes to be a part with. There was of course also the matter of the island that Don Quixote had promised him. This would ultimately make him a governor of his own land and a step closer to the status he so greatly wants to attain. The adventures he related was considered as nothing more than follies by the priest who urged Don Quixote to just go home and attend to his family, whether or not he has any. For which he replied, “My intentions are always directed to worthy ends, to do good to all and evil to none; and if he who means this, does this, and makes this his practice deserves to be called a fool, it is for your highnesses to say, O most excellent duke and duchess (Cervantes, trans. Ornsby, 2006)." And it seems so that though the royalties may have infused it upon themselves that they are the more clever than the two, they are no better as they wish nothing but harm and derision to two people who had done them nothing wrong. This was the biggest disparity as those who think themselves intelligent and wealthy are nothing more than conniving and lowly in their own sense. For as Don Quixote describes Sancho “he doubts everything and believes everything” is better than believing that it is right to lead people on and bring them shame. We may not be able to choose the life or the fortune that we will. There may always be injustice and the world and at one time or another we may be a victim of it. But we can always choose to be virtuous, we can always choose to follow our dreams and we can always choose to be good. It does not matter that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza may be considered simple, in their quest and in their stature but it does not stop them from wanting to help those who need it. And that is what makes them worthy beyond what they deemed of. Bibliography Bauer, R. N. (2007). Madness and laughter: Cervantes comic vision in don quixote. Doctoral dissertation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Cervantes, M. (2006). Don quixote. , Australia: Adelaide. Retrieved April 24, 2009, http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/cervantes/c41d/ Johnson, C. B. (1985). Beyond metaphysics: semiotics and character in don quijote, I. Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America, 3-17. Pardo Garcia, P. J. (1999). Satire on learning a parody, satire and quixotism in the knight of the burning pestle. Sederi, X(52). Thomas, C. N. (2006). A history of seventeenth-century english literature. England: Blackwell Publishng. Verderber, S. (2006). The windmill: don quixote and baroque epistemology. Retrieved April 24, 2009, http://web.mac.com/maesays/Site/DonQuixote.html Read More