Sancho Panza: Character Characteristics

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Sancho Panza, whose characteristics are the subject of this review, is one of the main characters of the famous novel Don Quixote by M. Cervantes. He is a simple peasant, has a wife and children, however, succumbing to the persuasion of the knight and tempted by the idea of becoming the governor of the island, the hero leaves his home and becomes his master's squire.

Character

This hero is considered to be the antagonist of the main character, as he seems to be completely devoid of the worldview that is characteristic of his master. Sancho is primarily interested in material gain, the opportunity to get rich. He has his own philosophy of life, based on simple worldly wisdom. No wonder his speech is replete with folk quotations, sayings and proverbs. An ordinary peasant, he perceives everything that happens through the prism of his special, peasant consciousness. He tries to find a practical explanation for everything, he is not inclined to go into abstract reasoning, like his companion. Thus, at first glance, it may seem that the protagonist is opposed by Sancho Panza. The characterization of this character, however, shows that this is not entirely true.

Comparison with Don Quixote

The squire of the protagonist is inin some sense his double, despite the obvious difference in characters. Not without reason, both immediately found a common language and even became friends throughout the trip. The thing is, they both have a lot in common. First of all, this concerns their boundless credulity. After all, just like Don Quixote, Sancho Panza is ingenuous and ingenuous.

The characterization of the hero proves that in this respect he is very similar to the master. For example, he immediately believed in the possibility of his governorship and throughout their journey he never doubted this. Despite the fact that he often questioned the words of his companion and even deceived him more than once, Sancho himself nevertheless easily admitted the possibility that one day he was destined to become a ruler. However, the most important thing for him is his own comfort, as evidenced by his following statement: “Now feed me or take away the governorship.”

Most surprisingly, his wish really came true: one day the duke actually appointed a squire as the head of the island. Panza borrowed a lot from Don Quixote and implemented these skills in his management. So, he was honest, fair, trying to imitate his master. The residents were especially struck by his refined manner of expression, which can be largely explained not only by his innate eloquence, but by the influence of the owner.

Folk features

Of great importance for understanding the meaning of the novel is its image. Sancho Panza is one of the mostattractive characters not only in the writer's novel, but also in world literature in general. He became close to many readers and gained great popularity largely due to the fact that in his face the author embodied the traditional folk character. Such characters, as a rule, have always enjoyed the love of readers because of their innocence, gullibility, and humor. In the course of the journey, the hero takes all the adventures for granted, which immediately becomes sympathetic to the reader. He operates with concrete concepts, there are almost no abstract metaphors in his speech (“On a good foundation, a building can be good”).

His lines and phrases are a real treasure trove of people's experience of life. And if Don Quixote explains what is happening from the point of view of a knight and a nobleman, then his faithful and permanent squire prefers to manage with well-aimed bright phraseological units that bring a touch of warm humor to the narrative.

Sayings

Famous quotes by Sancho Panza testify to his sharp mind, observation and cunning. It can be seen from them that the hero argues from a practical point of view, caring primarily about physical he alth, about relationships with people, about comfort - both bodily and spiritual. For example, he owns the following phrase: “Where music plays, there can be nothing bad.”

So, the image of the squire Don Quixote is an integral part of the whole novel, without him the character of the knight would not be so expressive. And the character himself is a self-sufficient and independent figure, since it is rooted in folk life. So, a kind of doubleThe knight was made by Sancho Panza. The characterization of this character is impossible without comparing him with the master.