Academic Writing, Sentence Classification and Lazarillo de Tormes Analysis

Projects and Reports

A project is an expository text in which an action is performed. It includes proposal drafts for the organization of events, activities, and the resolution of detected problems or needs.

A report is an expository text detailing events and presenting the results of an investigation. A written report serves two main purposes:

• To express in writing that something happened.
• To assess a specific situation.

Classification of Sentences by Syntactic Structure

• First criterion: Personal (has a subject) vs. Impersonal (no subject).
• Second criterion: Predicative (no attribute) vs. Attributive (has an attribute).
• Third criterion: Transitive (includes a direct object) vs. Intransitive (does not include a direct object).
• Fourth criterion: Active (verb in active voice) vs. Passive (verb in passive voice).

Classification of Sentences by Speaker Attitude

• Declarative: Affirm or deny.
• Interrogative: Ask a question.
• Imperative: Beg or command.
• Optative: Express a desire.
• Dubitative: Express doubt or possibility.
• Exclamatory: Express feelings or emotions.

Usage of the Letter "H"

• All forms of verbs whose infinitive contains an "h".
• Words beginning with Greek roots: hecto-, helio-, hemi-, hemo-, hepta-, hetero-, hexa-, hidro-, hiper-, hipno-, hipo-, homo-.
• All words starting with hue-, hui-, hie-.

Lazarillo de Tormes: Structure and Argument

Lazarillo de Tormes is a mock autobiography in which Lázaro recounts the story of his life in the first person. The novel is presented as a letter addressed to "Your Grace," where Lázaro reflects on his past to justify his current state of dishonor.

The Rogue (El Pícaro)

The characteristics of the rogue include:

• Born to parents without honor.
• Behaviors motivated by hunger and the desire to thrive.
• Forced to defend himself against an adverse world.
• Experiences a learning evolution or the loss of innocence.

This character is an antihero. Lázaro is a defeated being shaped by negative models, which is why Lazarillo is considered the first modern novel.

Key Themes in Lazarillo

Lazarillo realistically reflects the society and conflicts of Spain at the time. Two main aspects are criticized:

• The obsession with honor: Appearance and cleanliness of blood.
• Corruption of the clergy: Anticlericalism, greed, hypocrisy, and lust.

Since most of Lázaro's masters are religious, they are portrayed as responsible for his moral corruption.