In the novel Don Quixote, Cervantes depicts two opposite characters of Alonso Quixano and Sancho Panza. Don Quixote and Sancho are opposite personalities, each representing a different kind of sense. It is possible to say that Don Quixote is deprived “reason and the moral sense” of judgment and understanding, while Sancho possesses “reason” and “imagination”. Cervantes symbolically represents simple, contradictory elements rather than as complex and independent literary characters.
Physical differences and appearance allow Cervantes to unveil and underline different views and values of Don Quixote and Sancho. The long, thin, Grecoesque figure of Don Quixote underlines his nobility and idealism. Cervantes portrays that in the midst of the natural grandeur of the Sierra Morena, and, whether fighting windmills or wineskins, amongst goatherds or noblemen, hanging from his wrist or addressing the company gathered at the inn, he is always indisputably the center of attention.
Sancho, in contrast, is a fat rustic with a week-old beard, or a dark ogre from an oriental fairy tale. He is seen in the very first plate almost literally melting on his ass, his face a shapeless and grotesque ball. Don Quixote id depicted as a Romantic symbol, a heroic and idealistic figure whose laughable misadventures are turned into mythical feats. Cervantes portrays Sancho as buffoon and greedy villager of previous centuries, as a symbol of everything the Romantics considered ignoble, base, or earthy.
The main difference between the characters is perception of the world and human values: Don Quixote is depicted as idealist who believes in universal love, happiness and honesty while Sancho is depicted as a materialist who rejects human morality and values. Don Quixote says:
I may have won some kingdom that has others dependent upon it, which will be just the thing to enable thee to be crowned king of one of them. “In that case,” said Sancho Panza, “if I should become a king by one of those miracles your worship speaks of, even Juana Gutierrez, my old woman, would come to be queen and my children infantes” (Cervantes 2000).
Both Sancho’s sense of humor and his good sense show palpably from the very beginning and remain unchanged, though obviously not constant, throughout the novel. Sancho never oversteps the fine border-line that separates what is harmlessly and amusingly funny from what is abusive or at the expense or to the detriment of another person or animal. There is a change in Sancho’s personality between Parts I and II. In the last chapters of Part I Don Quixote is depicted as a madman who needs to be caged, and most of his idealism of the early chapters has subsided; hence, Sancho’s good sense and love for his master become more evident.
Also, in Part II Cervantes’s other characters begin to appreciate and praise, if not fully understand all the complexities of, Sancho’s keen sense of humor. A more important reason for this more favorable image of Sancho projected by the text is a drastic structural change that Cervantes decided upon between the writing of the Parts. This change in the technique of the narration in some degree conditions the perception readers have of the characters. In contrast to Sancho, the main features of Don Quixote are excessive self-confidence, serious lack of self-knowledge, and blindness to the unbridgeable chasm that lies between stations in life and those to which he aspires.
The theme of idealism prevails in this novel unveiling true human values and eternal love, friendly relations and romance. Idealism is found in relations between Don Quixote and Sancho that binds master and squire together, their gradual adaptation to one another and to new or changing circumstances, and their sincere need of and love for the other. There are inconsistencies n the character of the squire, though one of the inconsistent traits is always clearly dominant.
Sancho is presented now as a thief and highwayman, then as honest and compassionate. His great love for his ass is at times non existent, as when Sancho uses him as a shield to avoid being stoned or hurt; none the less, he is eager to continue with his master despite the voice of common sense that gnaws at his mind. Don Quixote idealizes his love to Dulcinea and becomes extreme naive in matters of love, his relentless pursuit of preferment, and his blind confidence in his nonexistent qualifications for office, all of which remind one of Sancho. Wanting to make “a world of his own”, he becomes a victim of this ego and dreams. His ambition to possess is ironically paralleled by a process of deep loss; his desire to expand his dreams is undercut by a process of systematic denudation (Eisner 43).
In real life, ideals and dreams allow us to achieve success and realize our desires. On the other hand, a person should avoid illusions and false ideals which can cause frustrations and desperation. Illusion is a distorted perception of reality and false interpretation of reality. Moral idealism of this sort keeps well in the heart of the adolescent, responsibility and change, and the equivocality and impermanence of human affairs have impressed the mind.
Idealism is not a a bad thing because it helps to follow humanistic values, a moral philosophy. A person can follow dreams and ideals if he/she is sure about their realization or if these false (unachievable) dream do not ruin life and destiny of a person. Simple ideals underlie decent behavior and dramatize the truths of the human heart. For instance, romantic idealism can suggest passion and true love, happiness and universal values. In order to avoid illusions, a person should take into account his/her past and plan his/her future in accordance with life chances and visible perspectives.
References
Cervantes, M. Don Quixote. 2000. Web.
Eisner, W. The Last Knight: An Introduction to Don Quixote. Yale University Press, 2005.