How does the thematic treatment of the protagonist's ultimate destiny in English picaresque novels (like 'Tom Jones' or 'Roderick Random') differ from the original 16th-century Spanish models like 'Lazarillo de Tormes'?
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Correct answer: English picaros gain noble lineage and gentility; Spanish picaros stay in low survival
Original Spanish picaresque narratives are starkly naturalistic, concluding with the protagonist still morally compromised and scraping by on the fringes of society. Eighteenth-century English adaptations mixed the picaresque journey with romance conventions and the comic epic framework. This means characters like Tom or Roderick are ultimately revealed to be legitimate gentlemen by birth, allowing them to integrate into the landed gentry.
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