Cervantes' Don Quixote and Lazarillo de Tormes: A Deep Dive

Cervantes' Life and the Creation of Don Quixote

Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. During his childhood and youth, he lived in Valladolid, Córdoba, Seville, and Madrid. He participated in the Battle of Lepanto and was captured by the Turks when he returned to Spain, spending five years in prison. Don Quixote was published in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second in 1615.

Part One

• First Outing: Alonso Quijano loses his mind reading many chivalric romances. He decides to imitate the heroes he reads about.
• Second Outing: Don Quixote travels with his squire, Sancho Panza. After various adventures, both return to their village.

Part Two

• Third Outing: He is defeated on the beach in Barcelona by the Knight of the White Moon. He returns home, where he recovers his sanity and dies.

Don Quixote is a parody or burlesque imitation of the books of chivalry, understood by readers of his time as a comic play.

Lazarillo de Tormes: A Picaresque Novel

Lazarillo de Tormes is a pseudo-autobiography in which Lázaro recounts, in the first person, the story of his life.

Treaties 1, 2, and 3

Lázaro describes his origins and the service he provides to his first masters: a blind man and a priest of Maqueda.

Treaties 4, 5, and 6

He no longer begs or starves. His masters are a friar of the Mercedarian Order, a seller of indulgences, and a chaplain.

Treaty 7

Lázaro, now an adult, works in Toledo as a town crier and is married to the maid of an archpriest.

Characteristics of Lázaro

• Son of a father without honor.
• His behavior is motivated by hunger and the desire to rise socially.
• He is forced to fend for himself in a world where he is alone.
• He undergoes an evolution or learning experience.

The novel realistically reflects the society and conflicts of Spain at the time. Lazarillo de Tormes is a pseudo-autobiography in which Lázaro recounts, in the first person, the story of his life.

Treaties 1, 2, and 3

Lázaro describes his origins and the service he provides to his first masters: a blind man and a priest of Maqueda.

Treaties 4, 5, and 6

He no longer begs or starves. His masters are a friar of the Mercedarian Order, a seller of indulgences, and a chaplain.

Treaty 7

Lázaro, now an adult, works in Toledo as a town crier and is married to the maid of an archpriest.

Characteristics of Lázaro

• Son of a father without honor.
• His behavior is motivated by hunger and the desire to rise socially.
• He is forced to fend for himself in a world where he is alone.
• He undergoes an evolution or learning experience.

The novel realistically reflects the society and conflicts of Spain at the time. Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. During his childhood and youth, he lived in Valladolid, Córdoba, Seville, and Madrid. He participated in the Battle of Lepanto and was captured by the Turks when he returned to Spain, spending five years in prison. Don Quixote was published in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second in 1615.

Part One

• First Outing: Alonso Quijano loses his mind reading many chivalric romances. He decides to imitate the heroes he reads about.
• Second Outing: Don Quixote travels with his squire, Sancho Panza. After various adventures, both return to their village.

Part Two

• Third Outing: He is defeated on the beach in Barcelona by the Knight of the White Moon. He returns home, where he recovers his sanity and dies.

Don Quixote is a parody or burlesque imitation of the books of chivalry, understood by readers of his time as a comic play.