Originating in Spain, the picaresque novel abandoned idealized literary approaches and exposed the harshness of reality and human nature. This program presents the history of the narrative art form, tracing its development through Mateo Alemán, Cervantes, and Defoe, all the way to Kerouac and subsequent writers. Beginning with the anonymous publication of The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes, the video analyzes examples of fictional outsiders struggling to survive in a corrupt and hypocritical society. Guzmán de Alfarache, Moll Flanders, Huckleberry Finn, and several other works are discussed, all with a recognition of their artistic antecedent: the unflinching exploits of the Spanish pícaro. (English, 23 minutes)