兩作品明顯呈現人在受社會環境影響的過程中,對人性本質的考驗:一個是不斷換主人的小癩子,一個是靠勞力拉車掙錢的青年人。筆者認為透過描繪下層階級生活,能夠反映當時真實的社會情況,尤其是作者藉由生命歷程,把周遭環境及人物襯托出來。針對書中主角面對困境的所表現出的行為,雖然兩作者表達方法不同,但其追求核心價值相同,無非是為了呈現在逆境中對人性根本的維護;經過一連串的悲慘厄運,即使保住了生存權利,卻也流失了人性原有的根本及其價值,基於這一點兩作者則以不同方式來表現人性價值的改變,都有可值得探討之處。由於兩作品文化背景不同,我們可從作者表達方式來探討中西文化思想的不同,例如對悲劇的呈現。隨著生命歷程的發展開始產生變化,一個選擇欺騙自己,無癩地巴著好處繼續生存;另一個則是選擇自甘墮落、棄善從惡的方式生存下去。同是被剝削的下層階級,同是在困境中求生存的人,卻造就了兩種不同的生命觀,兩種截然不同的結局。 Both books, Lazarillo de Tormes and Camel Xiangzi, talked about people affected by their social environment, causing their human nature to change. Lazarillo de Tornes talks about a street boy name Lazaro, looking for a master to serve; Similarly, Camel Xiangxi describes a young cart puller making a living through hard physical labor. The authors of both books described the life of lower classes to help the reader understand the social problem. The protagonists in these books lost their human dignity and yet kept their will to survive. One abandons his dignity for profit, while the other abandon himself and stoop to an even lower social ladder. Both characters are lower class citizen oppressed by the society, but with different response to their oppression.