Satirizing The Normal Male Friendship in The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Inigo and Fezzik the two of the main characters in the novel called the Princess Bride, by William Goldman. They come from the same background of losing their parents. Fezzik’s parents were gone from him from being used and Inigo’s parents were slayed. My claim about them is about how Goldman is actually satirizing and showing what trauma in the normal male friendship can affect.

My first reason of why I believe that Goldman is satirizing the normal male friendship using Inigo and Fezzik is because they are actually both dependent on someone to guide them. This might be do to trauma or satirization, but in chapter 5 there was this character called Vizzini and Inigo and Fezzik were both working for him. After he died Inigo felt pointless so he went back to drinking and Fezzik was lost too. What really struck me was the fact that both of them felt incapable of doing anything without a leader. Later in the story we soon figure out that they get Miracle Max to resurrect Westly, which becomes there new leader. They are also extremely desperate for a leader because 'The reason people think you're so stupid,' the Sicilian said, “is because you are so stupid.” Even after Vizzini told this to Fezzik publicly they still worked for them as leader. This really shows how traumatized and satirized Fezzik and Inigo is because even after such a rude and harshful comment Fezzik and Inigo do not leave him, probably because they seem like they can’t do anything if they do. Another quote is the scene of where Inigo and Fezzik take Westly’s dead body to Miracle Max to try to get him revived. “Come, come along, bring the body.. …. Well I hope it's enough to buy a miracle.” This quote basically is the scene where Inigo tell Fezzik to bring the body and the second part of the quote basically shows that they will do anything to get a leader like Westly, no matter the cost.

The second reason why I think Goldman is purposely satirizing the effects of trauma on a normal male relationship is because they both seem to seek something in the story. Inigo had a lifelong journey to try to avenge his father by seeking the person who killed his father. One quote that has been said many time is “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” This was basically his motivation quote that really kept on going to his ultimate goal of being able to kill Count Rugen and get his revenge. This also showed for determined Inigo is to get revenge since in the general story, he kept repeating the statement to himself. Although Fezzik has been seeking to find his parents, Fezzik not only wants that but he seems to be desperately trying to prove others wrong in thinking that he’s not dumb. In the scene where Fezzik tries singing a poem and rhyming it, it seems though that proves Vizzini wrong about him being so stupid. Inigo in that scene is oddly impressed in his rhyming abilities and even encourages him by suggesting him to become a poet. This is one reason why I think that trauma has made them focus more on one goal and made them seek some other goal in life to help them relieve pain from trauma.

The last reason why I believe that Goldman is purposely satirizing the effects of trauma on a normal male relationship is how they get a along so well. Some people may think that male friendships are suppose to be like this, but in reality some relationships start turning into a fight over dominance. This happens not only to humans, but also to animals. For example, an alpha would lead a wolf pack. In the Princess Bride, thought Goldman is sort of satirizing there relationship, by saying how they get along so well. One quote proves this “You lied to me is what you’re saying. My only friend in all my life turns out to be a liar.” This quote says a lot. Later after Fezzik says this to Inigo, they reunite after a few minutes due to the fact that Inigo was his only friends and that at the time they were trapped in the zoo of death. Fezzik may have said this because he overwhelmed from the stress of the king bats, but nevertheless they seem to never break apart and always have an even friendship. Sometimes, I feel like that Inigo can be some sort of an Alpha because this whole journey to Count Rugen was Inigo’s life goal, not Fezzik’s. Fezzik helped all the way and basically got to made barely any decisions. Fezzik helped him a lot. For example “Fezzik, I need you, Inigo screamed.” This was a very controlling move because in this scene where the Count was escaping. Inigo seems to be telling Fezzik to knock down this door. He seems to be controlling him in this scene. I think this may be because Fezzik does not perform very well in stressed situations, and Inigo may need to control Fezzik due to this evidence. An example of this would be “HERE COME THE KING BATS. Fezzik screamed.” This is an example of one the scenes where Inigo lies to Fezzik in order to control him physically and mentally.