Loyalty In Don Chipote

Daniel Venegas’ The Adventures of Don Chipote, or When Parrots Breast-Feed argues that loyalty is the most important component to a friendship, while attributing negative traits, such as manipulation and dishonesty, as signs of a faulty friendship. The text juxtaposes Don Chipote’s friendship with Pitacio alongside Don Chipote’s friendship with Policarpo to accentuate the difference between an unhealthy friendship and a healthy friendship. Pitacio’s deceit and manipulation in lying to his friend of the wonders of America in order to receive food, along with his lack of following a promise to Don Chipote, serve as examples of the lack of loyalty Pitacio exhibits towards Don Chipote. On the other hand, Policarpo’s unwavering desires to support
Here, the novel reveals the unequal friendship between Don Chipote and Pitacio by displaying Pitacio’s exploitment of his host’s generosity. For example, Don Chipote offers his friend hospitality along with food and shelter as a testament to his kindness. Instead of expressing appreciation for this gracious gesture, Pitacio takes advantage of the situation in order to benefit himself. The fact that he tells lies to his friend in order to receive food for the coming days makes matters worse since he intentionally misleads Don Chipote. This dishonesty damages the friendship between the two characters because one side is using the other person for personal gain. In this example, the text highlights the negative trait of dishonesty and manipulation that constitute a faulty and unequal friendship. In addition to the negative traits of dishonesty and manipulation, Pitacio exhibits unreliability in keeping his promises. One could argue that by Pitacio staying behind in Mexico to help Don Chipote’s family while Don Chipote is away, he exhibits good friend characteristics. However, the text undermines this opinion when it notes that “[g]ood buddy Pitacio was more than happy to do this—for the first few months” (Venegas 129). In this moment, the text
Policarpo’s loyalty is most apparent when Don Chipote injures himself while working. For example, when someone is going to be ordered to watch over the injured Don Chipote, “Policarpo happily [agrees], for he was so loyal to [Don Chipote] that he was determined to stay, even if they didn’t tell him to” (Venegas 86). The text explicitly expresses the idea of Policarpo’s loyalty in order to indicate the positive role it plays in his friendship with Don Chipote. The fact that he is willing to stay by his friend’s side, without being told to, demonstrates how faithful and supportive he is to Don Chipote. The text adds the last phrase of the sentence in order to differentiate that the action comes from within Policarpo rather than a result of following directions. The text accomplishes this in order to paint Policarpo as a positive model of a good friendship and in this case, signaling his loyalty to prove this. Additionally, the text notes that “Policarpo [decides] not to leave [Don Chipote] even if he had to quit his job to do so” (Venegas 86). This line builds upon the idea of Policarpo’s loyalty by depicting the extent that he would go to aid his friend. The fact that he is willing to risk his livelihood —the main reason he came to America—indicates a powerful devotion to his friend. The text illustrates the amount of sacrifice Policarpo would endure for his