Family Of Pascual Character Essay

Oftentimes, a character has a dominant trait that cannot be overlooked. However, just because this one trait seems to encapsulate the character, it does not mean this is the only important characteristic they possess. In The Family of Pascual Duarte by Camilo José Cela, Pascual is portrayed as a very violent character, but he also has many other characteristics that help shape his personality as a whole. In many scenes it is evident that there are multiple aspects to his character. Cela is very careful to not make these traits obvious, but rather displays them through the actions Pascual performs. Throughout the novel, there are many scenes in which the ambiguity of Pascual’s personality can be seen. An example of this is when he gets in a fight with Stretch. It is clear that Stretch is getting under Pascual’s skin because Stretch is romantically involved with Rosario, Pascual’s sister. Stretch continuously taunts Pascual by talking about his sister, and later dangles a loose threat over his head. He implies that Pascual is “unmanly” because if Pascual had anything to do with Stretch’s sister, Stretch would have him killed. The way Pascual responds to this interaction with Stretch shows that violence is not his only personality trait. Pascual shows a sense of morality, and what can be perceived as honour, when he

His violent instincts would have told him to attack Stretch and physically harm him, but he does not do this. This is very unlike Pascual because he believes that our lives are controlled by destiny and we have no control over what happens to us. This is revealed in the statement, “...it pleases Destiny to vary us, as if we were made of wax” (13). However, in this moment, Pascual contradicts this belief by not acting instinctually but rather restrains himself. This, once again, shows that there is more than just violence at play in Pascual’s