0. Introduction
0.1 The Purpose of the Thesis
This aims to analyze and compare two emblematic literary work: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, approaching them as social novels that offer a profound critique of their respective societies. Through this comparison, we seek to highlight how both authors, from different historical and cultural contexts, employ the figure of “mad”, marginalized or socially maladjusted characters to question the moral, political and cultural structures of their time. The intention of his study is not only literary, but also ethical: to explore how these works reveal different forms of popular wisdom, justice, freedom and human dignity.
0.2 Methodology
The methodology followed in this work has bee of an analytical-comparative nature. A critical reading of both novels was carried out, focusing on three key aspects: the wisdom of the main characters (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; Huck and Jim), the structures of power and repression they face, and their respective visions of social life. The analysis was supported by relevant secondary sources, including academic studies and social encyclicals of the Church to contextualize the ethical reflections proposed by the authors.
0.3 Justification
This project is justified by the relevance of the themes addressed in both novels. Both Cervantes and Twain offer, through humor, irony and satire, a critique that is still relevant in contemporary societies, especially with regard to social justice, individual freedom, and respect for human dignity. Understanding these works from a comparative perspective allows not only to enrich literary appreciation, but also to strengthen a critical look at the values and structures of today’s society. This capstone thus represents a contribution to the dialogue between literature ethics and social commitment.
1.0Don Quixote
1.1 The Wisdom of a Madman
In Don Quixote, we find a character who at first impression, we think is someone disconnected from reality with certain kinds of visions and goals. He represents external idealism, fantasy, and craziness, but I think that Cervantes is trying to portray Alonso Quijano as disconnected from the world so that he sees the truth of society. So, Cervantes presents two kinds of reality or wisdom: the reality that we know by facts, or by teaching, which is something that is clear for everyone, and that they can guess what it is about or how it works; and there is another kind of wisdom that looks at things that not all people can see, even if it has been in front of their eyes for a long time. I want to present some quotes to illustrate this point.
They regard for me, Sancho, makes thee talk in that manner, answered the knight: and as thou art not experienced in the events of this world, everything that is unusual or difficult, to thee seems impossible; but, the time will come, as I have already observed when I shall recount some circumstances which I saw below, that will compel thee to believe what I have now related, the truth of which neither admits dispute or replay[1].
Here we have an answer of by knight after he was rescued from the cave. Sancho thought that he was crazy, but he was talking honestly about the way that he envisages life. Don Quijote knows that he is special and that he can see things that other people don’t. He is trying to show the future to Sancho. This is why he is not afraid to fight for others, or to recognize the prisoners. He wants freedom for them because he believes they are not truly guilty and that the king is the one who is wrong. He does not see a bandit, rather he sees him with the dignity of a person that many were not willing to recognize. His honor and wisdom are greater than the judgments of the world. Here is a clear example of that:
I have assisted the aggrieved, redressed wrongs, scolded the insolent, overcome giants, and overthrown monsters. I am enamored, for no other reason but because it is necessary that knights-errant should be in love; and this being the case, I am not a vicious libertine, but a chaste platonic admirer. My intention I always direct to a worthy aim, namely, to do good unto all men, and harm to no creature. Whether or not he who thinks, acts, and speaks in this manner, deserves to be called a fool, let your graces determine[2].
Cervantes in this quotation shows Don Quixote nobility, his values, and his honor. Here he is saying to the world “I don’t care what you think about me”. The knowledge of good and evil that he has is beyond that of the monarchs. He recognizes that his deeper value is love for one another, but he knows that most people don’t understand this. Here Cervantes is making heavy criticism of society. The madness of the knight is turning into a kind of wisdom; It may not be logical, but it is deeply moral and based on values like justice, true love, and doing good for everyone. In a world where avarice and pride reigns, the madness of Don Quixote doesn’t look that irrational, it is more a resistance to his ideals.
The declaration of his love also gives us some light; Don Quixote doesn’t love for pleasure or desire, but because love is an essential part of his chivalrous life. This is not simple love, but rather platonic love that is both chaste and deep. This kind of love, that is almost mystic, elevates him above worldly passions and desires. Through the love that he has for Dulcinea, he shows us his capacity to project his ideals over an imperfect reality. He loves not because there is something physical that attracts him, but because he chooses to live and love according to his values and ideals. Here we see a wisdom that transcends rational convention of his time; it is the only way that a human being can give meaning to the world which is through love.
Don Quixote, with all his craziness, is offering an uncomfortable mirror to his society; he reflects not what it is, but what it should be. His craziness is not a negation of reality, but a radical challenge to face it with dignity, imagination, and chivalrous values.
1.2 The Wisdom of a Commoner
In Sancho Panza, we find a simple man who follows Don Quixote since the beginning of his knighthood. Both of them are on the same adventure but with different perspectives. Sancho will represent pragmatism, popular wisdom, and common sense. By walking beside Sancho, we will become part of a deep exploration about the human condition. Cervantes always uses proverbs that show us his pragmatic approach to the world. Sancho will be the voice of reason in Don Quixote’s head until it seems that he himself begins to go mad. In the beginning, Sancho follows Don Quixote because of his ambitions for the world and power. That is why he is obsessed with the island that the knight promised him. We see in him a normal person who is just looking out for his own good; he doesn’t want to fight, he just wants to serve Don Quixote and become rich with the treasures of the battles. But later in the story, we will see a nice development of this character. He is becoming vulnerable and wise. He started to leave behind all his fantasies, that normal society has, which I will highlight with the next quote:
Besides, the bread I eat, without a government, perhaps will relish better than the dainties of a governor; and how do I know, but the devil may, in these governments, raise some stumbling block, over which I shall fall and beat out my morals? Sancho I was born, and Sancho will I die; but nevertheless, if by the favor of providence, I could fairly and softly, without much risk or anxiety, obtain an island, or some such matter, I am not such a ninny as to throw it away; for, as the saying is, When the heifer is offered, be ready with the rope; and when good fortune comes to thy door, be sure to bid welcome[3].
Sancho, at this point, started to recognize the real value of life. He knows that he has some desires but, he also knows that there is something more important that not everyone can see: the self-value that we have. «He says; Sancho I was born, and Sancho I will die»[4]. He realized that not even all the money or power in the world is going to be able to change who he is.
We see this process of maturation in Sancho who began almost like a kid but is now growing and thinking more about what really transcends the world. There are many people who think that they are going to be remembered for the power that they have in life but, he realizes that people are only going to remember who he was. This little commoner is growing little by little showing the world that he is also a human being; that he has dignity and is not a simple servant. He became so wise in such a way that he was able to quit his work as governor.
A sickle becomes my hand better than a governor’s scepter: and I would rather fill my belly with ordinary soup than undergo the misery of an impertinent physician who starves me to death. I would much rather solace myself under the shade of an oak in summer and clothe myself with a sheepskin jacket in the winter, being my own master than indulge, under the subjection of government, with holland sheets, and robes of sable. God be with you gentlemen: and pray to tell my lord duke, Naked I was born, and naked I remain; and, if I lose nothing, as little I gain. That is, I would say, Penniless I took possession of this government, and penniless I resign my office; quite the reverse of what is usually the case with governors of other islands[5].
The above quotation shows Sancho’s maturity and self-development. He recognized that his destiny was not to govern, but to live in harmony with nature. He prefers a humble and simple life in which he can really enjoy his own time and pleasures and not force himself to be something that he is not called to be. Sancho understands that freedom has a greater value than power and that there is no greater treasure than peace of mind. He reaffirms his sincerity and integrity because, compared with other governors, he doesn’t steal; he doesn’t use his position to become rich. His resignation is a humble and wise act, showing us that the real value is not in power but to live with in our real essence; being faithful to how we truly are and to not betray this for empty ambitions.
1.3 Views on Social Life
In Don Quijote, we found a portrait of the society of the Spanish Golden Age. Through the humor of Don Quixote and other characters, he puts in doubt the social structure, the hypocrisy of the nobility, and the limitations of freedom especially in women.
From the beginning, we know that Don Quixote is out of his mind which creates a lot of tension throughout the book. This tension is not just a characteristic of the protagonist but also portrays the constant human conflict between what he is and what he aspires to be. This following quote shows the irrationality of the code of honor of this time:
Happy age, and happy days were those, to which the ancients gave the name of golden; not, that gold, which in these our iron-times is so much esteemed, was to be acquired without trouble, in that fortune period; but, because people then, were ignorant of those two words “mine” and “thine” in that sacred age, all things were in common; no man was necessitated, in search of his daily food, to undergo any other trouble than that of reaching out his hand, and receiving it from the study oak, that generously invited him to pull his sweet and salutary fruit. […] All was then peace, all was harmony, and all was friendship[6].
Here Don Quijote is the instrument of Cervantes critique of society that it was time to reform. This is a society in which they were obsessed with prestige, power, and appearances, in which woman and the poorest people were stragglers by the code of honor. We see here that the same codes of prestige and honor are those that destroy our society today, but we prefer appearances to recognizing others regardless of social class. Don Quijote is seeking a deeper meaning rather than just to have futile battles or conquests. He knows that the heart of man is full of temporal desires rather than love. These codes break the dignity of a person; these codes are chains for those who decide to bind themselves to them. Don Quijote seems to be out of his mind for his time because he is loving, trying to live as in the past, with simplicity, and with the belief that if you really must fight, it should be for love and not for honor.
Also, another of his great critics is Marcela the shepherdess, and his vision about women. In a society that was based on patriarchalism, in which the image of a woman was more like an objective instrument for marriage or reproduction. The author gives voice to a woman who challengs this norm:
I was born free, and to enjoy that freedom, have I chosen the solitude of these fields. The trees on these mountains are my companions; and I have no other mirror than the limpid streams of these crystal brooks. With the trees and the streams I share my contemplation and my beauty: I am a distant flame and a sword afar off: those whom my eyes have captivated my tongue has undeceived[7].
First, we have that brave posture of Marcela that is putting her will over all tradition. Here we have a presentation of the lack of free will. She is saying these things because they accused her of the death of a man just because she didn’t want to love him. Even if she is beautiful she is not forced to love someone else who is ugly or pretty. Cervantes is showing us that she has her own will. Just imagine that if we love everything that is beautiful, and we fall in love with all that we see, are we forced to love everything? And if this is the case, what will be the real meaning of love? Everything will be a mess, our wills will be confused without knowing where to stop. Here we have Cervantes criticism of a divided heart that is not able to love just one thing; that man doesn’t have the capacity to be faithful. Love cannot be divided into small pieces leaving these everywhere; true love is just for one place in which it will find peace and isn’t be overwhelmed by superficial desires. So here he is portraying how miserable the human condition can be; that if I don’t get what, I want I don’t want anything. We become attached convincing ourselves that we are loving but maybe it is more about our own pride; maybe because it is the most beautiful thing I want is only so that everyone else can see that we have the most beautiful thing or person in the world, but do we truly love what we love? As Carroll B. Johnson notes, «This is precisely what Marcela cannot tolerate. She refuses to belong to Grisóstomo, either as fiancée or wife. Correspondingly, she insists on the freedom to dispose of her own body»[8] a radical stance that challenges the total absorption of women by men in early modern Spain.
In Marcela, Cervantes shows us a radical figure who said that her love depended on just one man. At this time, women were limited to getting married or going to the monastery. Here the author not only criticizes mankind but also generates doubt about the morality of a society that blames women for the desires of men. In the story she is the representation of the conflict between individual freedom and social norms. She leads a battle to be recognized as an independent human being one, that Don Quixote presents as an exploration of the human condition in the Spanish Golden Age. By analyzing the characters of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Marcela, we can see that wisdom in Don Quixote of La Mancha is not about academic knowledge or normal logic, but about a deeper understanding of human dignity, justice, and freedom. Don Quixote, with his idealistic madness, becomes a character who criticizes the hypocrisy and coldness of society, and shows an ethical way of living based on love and compassion. Sancho, the simple and practical man, grows into a symbol of honesty and common sense, choosing inner peace instead of power. Finally, Marcela is the brave female voice who challenges social rules and defends her right to be free and to love in her own way. Together, these characters offer a strong critique of the social world in the Spanish Golden Age, showing that true wisdom can often be found in madness, in humility, and in the courage to resist.
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
2.1 The Wisdom of Boys
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the concept of wisdom is not presented as an attribute related to academic knowledge, but rather as a fruit of life experience, observation and common sense. We find the different kinds of knowledge that Tom and Huck have and with this the author problematizes the traditional notion of wisdom and suggests a revaluation from the sources of true knowledge. In this scene, Tom imagines a fantasy based on Don Quijote de la Mancha, while Huck reacts with common sense and doubt. This moment shows how the novel presents the contrast between practical experience and imagination from books.
I didn’t see no di’monds, and I told Tom Sawyer so. He said there was loads of them there, anyway; and he said there was A-rabs there, too, and elephants and things… He said if I warn’t so ignorant, but had read a book called Don Quixote, I would know without asking… Tom Sawyer said I was a numskull[9].
Here we find two different ways to build knowledge. Tom Sawyer is influenced by reading of adventures, he is using an interpretation that fantasizes reality based on idealized literature models. His reasoning is sustained in a internal logic that denies the empirical evidence in favor of and imaginary worldview. Huck, on the other hand, thinks based on what he can see and experience: if there are no diamonds, Arabs, or elephants, then they don’t exist. While Tom’s attitude may seem silly or unrealistic, it helps us see the difference between imagination and real-life practical wisdom; an intelligence orientated to the action and survival, rooted deeply in the experience.
The allusion to Don Quijote is not just a decoration. The author used this figure as critic to show how literature can cause people to lose their sense of reality. Is character that is trapped in a fantasy that distance him from the real world. Tom, as Quijote, interprets reality through fictional narrative that puts the supernatural things above the rational. Huck represents the voice of reason that questions society’s fantasies. Even if he doesn’t think deeply, his simple way of seeing things helps him understand reality more clearly… Twain changes the traditional hierarchy between academic knowledge and popular knowledge, attributing to the latter greater ethical and cognitive effectiveness.
The case of Huck and Tom inspires a deep reflection about the nature of knowledge and wisdom. The author satirizes the credulity that can arise from an excess of romantic literature and vindicates the value of critical thinking, empirical observation and experience as fundaments of genuine wisdom. Here we found not a simple book, but rather a reality that is trying to talk to the world in which through simple boys we found this reflection about the intuitive and genuine wisdom of the marginal subject is exalted, capable of challenging and questioning the dominant forms of knowledge.
2.2 The Wisdom of a Slave
The author created Jim, a black person, not only as a runaway slave, but as an agent of practical and moral wisdom in a deeply racist society. Through Jim, Mark Twain challenges the racial stereotypes of that time and offers to the reader a new perspective to understand the concept of dignity and knowledge. A key moment that show this wisdom is in chapter 15, when Huck makes a cruel joke on Jim, and Jim responds with a reproach full of emotion and moral depth:
When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin’ for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no’ mo’ what become er me en de raf’. […] En all you wuz thinkin’ ’bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ’em ashamed[10].
This passage reveals us that Jim is not a simple or naive character as all the white poeple at that time could ever imagine. This shows us a deep comprehension of human relationships, with pain and loyalty. Jim’s reproach does not only make Huck feel ashamed, but also force him to recognize that Jim is a person with feelings, dignity and emotional capacity that surpasses his own feelings.
Twain, through this episode, is putting the figure of Jim as representation of the authentic wisdom, that it was born not in books or rather in a formal education, but in experience, suffering and in genuine love. In contrast with the white adults in Huck -corrupt, hypocrites or cruel-, Jim acts with empathy and a clear moral compass. This wisdom is not institutionalized, but deeply human, is presented in a superior way and more truly than the one from those how presume to have authority or education.
And as Erich R. Anderson pointed out in his thesis A Window to Jim’s Humanity: «The Dialectic Between Huck and Jim Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the dialectical relationship between Huck and Jim allows Twain to illuminate the humanity of Jim, through this he is criticizing the slavery and racism of that time»[11]. Anderson is arguing that Jim’s kindness and care contrast sharply with the betrayal of other characters, which leads Huck to recognized Jim as human being and not as property. This recognition drives Huck to help Jim in his escape, challenging the social and religious norms that have been taught to him.
Twain is using the figure of Jim to demonstrate that the wisdom it not depend from in the color of the skin or rather a social status. In the middle of a slavery society that dehumanizes black people, Jim emerges as the stronger moral voice, and his wisdom, far from being minor, is the silent guide that transforms Huck and with him, the reader. Through all the Mississippi, Jim is not just taking care of Huck but also, he teaches him to question the inherited values of a racist and hypocritical society. His understanding of suffering, his capacity for empathy and his ethical firmness makes him an unrecognized master, which his influence has deep power in the development of the protagonist. The author, by endowing Jim with a deep humanity and practical and affective wisdom, is changing the dominant narratives of that time and he is offering a heavy criticism against racial prejudice. Jim is not a random character, but a symbol of resistance and dignity, whose voice keeps questioning the readers about the real nature of intelligence, justice and compassion.
2.3 Views on Social Life
This book is not only a narrative of a trip through the Mississippi river, but also a moral and social journey through all the fundamental contradictions of the society in the United States in the 19th century. Twain is using the eyes of Huck to offer us a deep and ambiguous satire of a nation that defines itself as a free, just, and civilized, but in the practical part it exhibits rigid hierarchies, and a collective blindness to the most obvious injustices.
One of the main themes of the novel is the fragility of the socially taught concept of morality. Huck, that is a child without a formal education or a stable paternal figure, is facing moral dilemmas that question the established order. His experience led him to a kye moment when he was reflecting on whether to hand over Jim, a runaway slave who had become his friend. Instead of acting according to what white society had taught him –that to help a slave to runaway it was a moral and legal crime-, Huck chose to follow his own feelings. However, this does not provide peace of mind:
They went off and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I had done wrong, and I see it warn’t no use for me to try to learn to do right; a body that don’t get started right when he’s little ain’t got no show—when the pinch comes there ain’t nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat[12].
With this sentence Twain reveals the weight of social conditioning in the formation of the person. Huck feels that he is doomed by bad parenting, for not having been corrected or guided from childhood according to socially accepted values. This moral hopelessness is not born from an inherent evil, but rather from the feeling of being trapped between what he has been taught to believe and what his direct experience shows him to be fair and just. Huck represent a generation that lives in conflict: formed by a racist and slave ideology, but with the capacity to recognize its absurdity when it is forced to act humanely.
The novel also portrays a society in which the status is based on fiction, appearance and passive acceptance of convenient lies. A clear example is the in the moment when they are sharing with the two impostors who call themselves the “duke” and the “king”: «If they wanted us to call them kings and dukes, I hadn’t no objections, ’long as it would keep peace in the family»[13].
This commentary that can be seen just as an act of children’s caution, is a deep observation on the workings of social life. Twain suggests that a lot of hierarchies and roles are arbitrary and sustained only by the silent consent of the others. Huck in his lucidity, has learned that openly questioning authority, even if it is false, serves no purpose other than to create a bigger conflict. This is the logic of society in which many accept the structures of power, not because they believe that they are legit, but because challenging them is uncomfortable or dangerous. From this point of view, the author drew a portrait of social conformity, where peace and stability matter more than truth.
Both scenes allow us to understand that in the world of Twain, social life is not based on solid ethical principles or reason, but on a complex web of inherited norms, cultural hypocrisy and fear of breaking the order. Huck, even if he is an uneducated child, becomes a privileged observer of these structural flaws. At not being fully integrated into the system, he is able to see the incoherence with a clarity that many adults do not possess.
From this perspective, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn becomes a profound critique of the pre-Civil War American society, in which slavery was legal, the class differences were natural, and the moral values were taught more as tools of control than as guides to the common good. Twain is not offering a clear answer or utopian solutions. But rather, he leaves the reader in ambiguity, showing that even morally right acts, such as saving a slave, can generate guilt in the mind of a boy that is warped by social prejudice.
As a last point, the novel reveals that social life in 19th century America was marked by a deep dissonance between proclaimed ideal (freedom, equality, justice) and the daily practices (slavery, racism, classism). Through the eyes of Huck, Twain dismantles the moral structures of his time and reveals the need to rethink not only laws or institutions, but the very values that sustain them.
3. Conclusion
Don Quixote de la Mancha and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are much more than simple adventure stories; they are critical mirrors of their respective societies. Through the idealistic madness of Don Quixote and the innocent lucidity of Huck, Cervantes and Twain invite us to question the social, moral and political structures that we often take for granted. Both characters, in their apparent marginalization or naivety, end up revealing a wisdom that exposes the hypocrisy, injustice and rigidity of their environments.
Don Quixote represents the struggle for noble ideals in a world dominated by selfishness, power and appearance. His madness is actually a profound form of moral resistance, an invitation to live with dignity, justice and selfless love. Huck, for his part, embodies an ethic born of personal experience and the heart; although he has been raised in a racist and violent system, he is able to recognize Jim’s humanity and make just decisions, even if it brings him face to face with his own conscience warped by society.
Both novels challenge established norms: Cervantes does so through satire and criticism of the system of honor and nobility; Twain by denouncing racism, slavery and the double standards of 19th century America. In their cultural and stylistic differences, the two works converge in the same concern for human dignity and the possibility of a more just world. Therefore, their joint study not only enriches literary understanding, but also the ethical and social reflection of the contemporary reader.
4. Bibliography
DE CERVANTES, Don Quixote, Barnes & Noble Classics, New York 2004
Carroll B. Johnson La sexualidad en el Quijote, Edad de Oro, Madrid 1990, pg.125-136 https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/quijote_antologia/johnson.htm?utm
TWAIN, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Floating Press, California 2008
Anderson, Erich R. A Window to Jim’s Humanity: The Dialectic Between Huck and Jim in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Indiana University, 2008. Available in: https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1729/L699_Thesis_November.pdf
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Golden Age Spanish Literature.” https://www.britannica.com/art/Golden-Age-Spanish-literature.
Encyclopedia Britannica. “The 19th Century.” In American Literature. Accessed May 6, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/art/American-literature/The-19th-century.
[1] M. DE CERVANTES Don Quixote, Barnes & Noble Classics, New York 2004, pg. 584
[2] Ibid pg 633
[3] Ibid pg. 465,466
[4] Ibid pg. 465
[5] Ibid pg. 762-763
[6] Ibid pg. 75-76
[7] Ibid pg. 96
[8] C. B. JOHNSON La sexualidad en el Quijote, Edad de Oro, Madrid 1990, pg 125-136 https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/quijote_antologia/johnson.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[9] M. TWAIN The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Floating Press, California 2008, pg. 21
[10] Ibid pg 98
[11] ANDERSON, E.R. A Window to Jim’s Humanity: The Dialectic Between Huck and Jim in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Tesis de Maestría, Indiana University, 2008. https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1729/L699_Thesis_November.pdf
[12]M. Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, pg 99
[13] Ibid pg 141
