They boastfully share stories of robbing and cheating fellow travelers that make it clear that they are both pícaros--wandering petty criminals—and agree to continue on together.

[3] Hahn theorizes that Cervantes originally intended "Rinconete" as a tale-within-a-tale to be included in the Quixote itself, in the position that "El curioso impertinente" instead holds.

[3] English translator Lesley Lipson describes "Rinconete y Cortadillo" as a story with "scant plot and little action," in which the primary appeal is the satire found in the thieves' guild quasi-religious rites.

Despite their bad behavior, the eponymous pícaros and the thieves' guild members are portrayed with humor and detachment, rather than the moral judgment often found in other works of Cervantes' day.

[6] Critic Edward H. Friedman observes that the story uses travel as a metaphor for learning, as the title pair first teach one another new criminal tricks on the road and then, at Seville, enter the slightly more formal tutelage of the thieves' guild.