Sancho Panza first appears in page 42.
Sancho Panza was a farmer and a neighbor of Don Quijote. He agreed to be Don’s squire after receiving an earful of delightful but yet delusional story about the knight’s chivalry. He also provided Don’s companionship as well as a role of a person with much clearer vision: “ what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills…” (43).
There are some similarities between Sancho Panza and Don Quijote as they were enthusiastic about traveling to whereabouts unknowns. Don had his armor, shield, helmet and a slightly lamed horse. Sancho was “advised to bring along saddlebags… and …a very fine donkey” (42) which Don “had a doubt about the donkey, trying to remember…whose squire rode on an ass, but couldn’t recall a single one” (42). Sancho had a doubt about Don Quijote’s clear vision: “Didn’t I tell your grace to be careful…these were just windmills…had to have windmills in the head?” (44).
I think Sancho is a hero for providing patience companionship, sympathetic ears and much clearer vision ahead for Don Quijote’s misadventure.
3 comments:
I disagree, I feel that Sancho Panzo is a simple fool, and a drunk and probably smells. Don't forget that Sancho abandoned his wife and family for Don Quijote's dillusions of grandure. Sancho has agreed to accompany Don Quijote because he believes that he will be given governorship over some land that Don Quijote conquers. Sancho is a fool who places complete trust in "his master", "Ive got a master like yor grace, who understands whats best for me and what I can handle" (8,43). Sancho may not be insane, but is not intelligent enough to see that Don Quijote is. He may be a loyal companion but certainly not a hero.
I would disagree as well, he appears to be a simpleton who goes beyond not having courage, but just has the sheer lack of intelligence between right and wrong. He also cannot defend himself in any way, "...so they jumped on Sancho and knocked him to the ground and, barely leaving a hair in his beard, beat him and kicked him, leaving him stretched out on the ground, senseless and half-dead." (p47)
I would also disagree that Sancho Panzo is a hero. He doesn't possess any of the characteristics that are included in the class' evolving definition of a hero, and beyond that he is a gullible man who leaves his family to follow Don Quijote. We also see him gradually start to become like Don Quijote. For example, if we look at the passage on pg. 46, 7th paragraph down- ''This is going to be worse than the windmills...don't be fooled by the devil.'' We can see that Sancho Panzo is starting to adopt Don Quijote's language and way of thinking. He is a gullible 'friend' or companion but not a hero.
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