Line #23 Literature/LazarilloDeTormes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20200609_012301_google.jpg]]
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3	->''"Aprende, necio, que el mozo del ciego un punto más listo ha de ser que el diablo."''[[labelnote: Translation]]"Learn, fool, that the blind man's servant must be [at least a bit] smarter than the devil."[[/labelnote]]
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5	''The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and its fortunes and adversities'' (known as ''Lazarillo de Tormes'' for short) is an anonymous 16th-century [[SpanishLiterature Spanish novel]], written in the first person and in epistolary style (as a single, long letter), whose earliest known editions date back to 1554. In it, the titular Lázaro de Tormes, who's an adult at the present, tells his life from his miserable childhood until his wedding in a message to another person. It's considered the precursor of the picaresque novel and one of the greatest inspirations of Creator/CharlesDickens' Literature/OliverTwist.
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7	''Lazarillo de Tormes'' is an ironic and ruthless sketch of the [[CrapsackWorld society of the moment]], showing its vices and hypocritical attitudes, especially those of [[CorruptChurch clergymen and religious]]. There are different hypotheses about its authorship; the author was probably sympathetic to Erasmus ideas. This motivated the UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition to prohibit it and, later, to allow its publication, once it was expunged.
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9	A similar work was written around this time too by urchin-turned-privateer UsefulNotes/AlonsoDeContreras. It's at times more idealistic and at times even nastier.
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12	!!''Lazarillo de Tormes'' provides examples of:
13	* AntiHero: Lázaro.
14	* ArcWords: After giving Lázaro a mean-spirited ZenSlap, the Blind Man gives out a line that summarizes his whole character.
15	-->"Yo oro ni plata no te lo puedo dar, mas avisos para vivir muchos te mostraré."[[labelnote: Translation]]"I cannot pay you in gold or silver, but advice for life I will show you in plenty."[[/labelnote]]
16	* BadBoss: The Blind Man mistreats Lázaro in ways that range from tough but harmless to absolutely savage. Naturally, when Lázaro finds the chance to bite back, he takes it with gusto.
17	* BattleOfWits: Lázaro has two with the Blind Man and Cleric, respectively.
18	* BoomerangBigot: Played for laughs but also commented upon. Lázaro's mulatto half-brother, a toddler at the time, is scared of his own dad Zaide, who is a black man. This is because the child has never looked at a mirror, and therefore doesn't know he is black too. Lázaro finds it ironic.
19	* CorruptChurch: The entire work seems to be a critic against the Spanish church's hypocrisy at the time, with two of Lázaro's masters (the Cleric and Papal Bull Vendor) being corrupt clergymen. Many scholars have suggested that this is why the book was published anonymously, with the writer (correctly) expecting the Inquisition to come out against it.
20	* DisappearedDad: Lázaro's father went to war and never came back.
21	* DisproportionateRetribution: When the Blind Man finds out Lázaro was secretly drinking his wine through a hole in the wine jar, he smashes the heavy jar itself on the boy's face, breaking his teeth and probably a couple of facial bones too.
22	* TheDogBitesBack: After so much abuse, Lázaro gets his revenge against the Blind Man by making him jump against a pillar, knocking him out.
23	* GuileHero: Over the course of the first three chapters, Lázaro uses his wits to survive.
24	* ImpoverishedPatrician: Lázaro's third master, the ''Hidalgo'', is a nobleman who, while wearing decent clothing, is in far worse life conditions than Lázaro was at the time. Being unable to pay his rent makes the ''Hidalgo'' leave Lázaro and escape once his landlords come after him.
25	* InnocenceLost: One of the book main themes.
26	* LaserGuidedKarma: The Blind Man is surely wise in his interactions with his clients, but he grabs the VillainBall with both hands by abusing Lázaro, his only aide and eyes, eventually making him turn against him.
27	* PayEvilUntoEvil: Lázaro tricks the Blind Man into jumping against a column for all the mistreatment he has endured.
28	* SonOfAWhore: It's implied Lázaro's mother worked as a prostitute at one point, at least until hooking up with the black man.
29	* StreetSmart: Lázaro.
30	* StupidEvil: The Blind Man, who is, well, blind, mistreats his only guide until turning him against the master.
31	* TheTrickster: The Blind Man, and eventually, Lázaro as well.
32	* TricksterMentor: The Blind Man, in a pretty harsh way.
33	* ZenSlap: One of the most iconic moments of the novel is when Lázaro arrives with his first master, the old Blind Man, to a bridge with a stone statue of a bull. The Blind Man then tells him to put his ear against the bull, because he will hear a great noise inside it. Lázaro does as he says... and then the Blind Man proceeds to bash his head against the stone. The master then tells him that he can't provide him with many luxuries, but he can give him ample lessons, and Lázaro also recalls this moment as the one that teached him the most important lesson in his live: to be smart about who to trust, and to make use of his guile to survive.

Context Literature / LazarilloDeTormes