Nine Queens and Lazaro de Tormes

Similarities in the Characteristics of Marcos and Juan and the Lazaro de Tormes

Juan

Juan in the movie is depicted as having been pushed by poverty and extreme economic conditions into his acts of malicious scams and various swindles. It was due to similar events that Lazaro found himself on the streets participating in begging and various cons. When Juan collaborated with Marcos in swindling an old lady, his conscience makes him think critically of the action he had done to the old lady and even got into an argument with his partner in crime. Lazaro also had good conscience that made him regret the revenge that he hid to the blind man that got his cracked against a pillar. Lazaro also pitied the squire who was poor and had nothing but yet had to put an act to the society to maintain the perceived high social standing.

The reasons why both Juan and Lazaro get to acts of con and swindling other poses morality questions. Juan is said to have tried his luck in business but failed miserably as even him selling his apartment to support his import business never worked. He indicates that he needed 70 grand to bail out his father from trouble he had gotten into. Lazaro’s stepfather also had gotten into trouble as he engaged in theft to support his family leading to his dismissal from job. The two are thereby forced into crime by need of doing noble acts to support either themselves in their families.

Juan and Lazaro are both able to proof their relevance in the ensuring survival. Juan in is able to give a convincing story to Sandier’s sister who ends up giving them the stamps they wanted to use. Marcos had failed in this causing the old woman to threaten calling the police. In the case of Lazaro and the Squire, the squire is unable to get any source of food. Lazaro manages to go begging and share the food with the starving squire.

Both Lazaro and Jean use their tricks and manipulation against their partners. Lazaro is able to survive with the blind man by using some tricks to steal food and wine. He does the same with the priest where he steals bread hidden from the box. Juan on his end is able to manipulate his way when dealing with Marcos. He manages to pull a stunt of getting handed a purse by a woman in two minutes. This acts makes him win a ring from Marcos. When acquiring the stamps, he is able to manipulate Marcos into giving him a better percentage in the stamps deal.

Marcos

Marcos is con artist who survives by taking money from all sources that can be accessed. He managed to pull different act such as tricking an old lady, claiming a change for a bill that he never paid, and targeting a woman on the elevator. As the movie builds up, it becomes clear that his thirst for money knows no boundary as he is even in the process of conning his sister, Valeria and younger brother Federico their share of their grandparent’s estate. On the hand, Lazaro changes masters every now and then and fully becomes part of their act. Some of the masters served by Lazaro include; the blind man, the priest, the seller of indulgence, the squire. It seems these two characters are not bothered by the numerous immoral and unethical acts that they engage in.

Both Marcos and Lazaro are at one point faced with a dilemma of witnessing other people committing wrongs acts and are placed in an ambiguous moral position of either report them or use the opportunity to flourish themselves. When the Nine Queens movie starts, Marcos witnesses Juan carrying out a con to the cashier at a convenience store. He saves Juan by pretending to be a detective. This earns him a talented partner to help him out in his trade. On the other hand, Lazaro witnessed the seller of indulgences stage-manage an act with the constable that promotes his sales but does not expose him since he is well-fed.