Quixotic Relationships by KaylaS
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 12:06PM Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee. Besides their collective abundance of testosterone, fondness for peculiar animals, and attraction to dodgy happenstances, what else do these prodigious individuals have in common? As it happens, they all are prime examples of countless authors’ affinity for a plot centering on a protagonist and his trusty sidekick. Since Aaron assisted Moses in beseeching Pharaoh to free the Israelites, the “right-hand” man has become a staple of legend and literature. However, whether it be due to forgetfulness, dislike, or plain ignorance, few bibliophiles remember Don Quixote and the ever-patient Sancho Panza when listing noteworthy heroes and their assistants. Unfortunately, in doing so they miss out on important lessons in loyalty, and pass by incalculable opportunities to burst their spleens with laughter at Quixote and Panza’s crazy antics.
While maintaining the health of one’s spleen is essential, it is perhaps equally as important to examine the relationship between Quixote and Panza. Don Quixote, whose brain is impaired due to severe saturation with chivalric novels, has elected to explore the countryside as a self-initiated knight-errant. Thus he decides he needs a squire in order to be a proper knight. He chooses Sancho Panza, a local peasant who knows no more about knight-errantry than he does about dealing with the mentally compromised. Throughout their time together, the relationship between knight and squire evolves drastically.
Sancho begins journeying with his master under the unfortunate impression that Quixote is sane. For example when they set off for their first adventure together, Quixote promises the trustingly gullible Sancho, “I shall win a kingdom that has others allied to it, and that would be perfect for my crowning you king of one of them” (Cervantes 57). Sancho’s dreams are shattered during the escapade at the windmills when he realizes the aspirations of his master are naught but ash. In order to prevent Don Quixote from maiming himself permanently, Sancho must slowly change from trusting servant to wary babysitter. Toward the beginning of the saga, Quixote offers Sancho a supposed healing potion for bruises; Sancho takes it willingly, at much detriment to his gastrointestinal tract. After his disillusionment concerning Quixote’s mental capacity, Sancho is offered some more of the drink at a later time. He bitingly replies, “Do you want me to finish vomiting up whatever guts I have left?…You can keep your potion or send it to the devil; just leave me alone” (Cervantes 123).
Clearly, the squire no longer trusts in his knight; however, he maintains his position as loyal sidekick to Quixote throughout the rest of the book. After his initial misunderstandings Sancho is unperturbed by Quixote’s thoughtless exploits and uses a level head to keep his master alive during his unusual escapades. Ergo, Panza makes himself absolutely essential to the tale, and to Quixote himself. If Man Friday had taken issue with conversing with parrots, he would never have built a relationship with Crusoe. If Dr. Watson had disliked perpetual inferiority, Sherlock Holmes might not have been able to incarcerate so many swarthy miscreants. If Sam Gamgee had found fault with walking hundreds of miles in his bare feet while lugging a knapsack full of spices and elvish comestibles, Frodo might have failed his mission and destroyed Middle Earth. And if Sancho Panza had not forgiven Quixote his idiosyncratic neuroses, The Knight of the Sorrowful Face might have ended his days wandering a hillside naked with a washbasin on his head.
Reader Comments (2)
Kayla, I still say this is one of the best things you've ever written.
Kayla, you did it perfectly. Matt, Josh T just posted a very *cough* controversial paper in the advanced essay journal. You might want to go re-educate him. His views on the goodness of snowboarding bring tears of pity to my eyes. :)