UNINTERlingua 2023

58 parte, the author offers Lázaro new oppor- tunities to show off his wit and abilities to get out of sticky situations. Even in a world completely unknown to him, the pí- caro not only succeeds in overcoming his difficulties, but he also acquires the admi- ration and respect of the tuna fish and the acceptance of their king. Therefore, as seen above, hunger, lack of humor, or having had few masters are not valid reasons to deny this Segunda parte its rightful place within the picaresque gen- re. I maintain that some critics have refu- sed to include it within this field simply due to its fantastic elements. However, the mere presence of the fantastic is not enou- gh to say that Lázaro is not a true pícaro just because he spends almost four years living a life full of fantasy. I believe that I have established without a doubt that this is a picaresque novel because it fulfills many of the required characteristics of the picaresque genre. Its fantastic elements must not be seen as a weakness; on the contrary, these elements contribute to the appeal and comedic quality that are found in the work. In brief, some of the elements that fall wi- thin the field of the fantastic are as follows: Lázaro’s metamorphosis into a tuna fish, his life as a tuna, the way in which Lázaro trains other tuna fish to learn to fight with swords, the change that Lázaro has to su- ffer to return to being a man, and his wish to establish a university in Toledo to teach those students the language of the tuna fish. However, as we have pointed out, those fantastic elements do not eliminate the picaresque characteristics of the novel. to see the humorousness of Lázaro’s situation. Imagine the poor pícaro having to kiss the tuna fish’s tails simply becau- se that was one of their customs. Humor can be found in the details, in the exag- geration, in the irony, in the behavior and ridicule of some of the characters, etc. As a matter of fact, the laughter is not always provoked by Lázaro; other characters also say and act in funny ways. Finally, one more thing to remember is the difference between cultures: what is funny in one cul- ture may not always be funny in another. A lot can be lost in translation, and even if a non-native speaker of Spanish is reading the work in its original language, the reader may not always understand the subtleties, double-meanings, or references that the author/character makes. A third reason for which some critics want to deny the status of picaresque novel to this Segunda parte is that the Lázaro of 1555 does not serve several masters. While it is true that this Lázaro only ser- ves four masters versus the nine masters found in the original work of 1554, it is im- portant to note that other famous pícaros such as Guzmán of Guzmán de Alfarache and Pablos of Vida del Buscón Don Pa- blos do not serve masters throughout the entire novels. As a matter of fact, Pablos only serves one master, but no respectable critic would ever dare to say that Pablos is not a true pícaro simply because he does not serve several masters like the original Lázaro. Besides, one must remember that the author is not trying to write a replica of the original Lazarillo but is simply leading this famous character to experiment with other types of adventures. In the Segunda