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Quentin Tarantino created a character relationship in Django Unchained that is familiar to many classic westerns but not too dissimilar to the relationships of some of his other films such as Pulp Fiction. However, by melting these two influences, the dynamic between Django (protagonist) and Dr. King Schultz (mentor) is not easily defined.
The outline of their relationship is typical. Schultz discovers potential in Django, he trains him and helps to discover Django’s “destiny” his “mission” his “drive” if you will; and, SPOILER ALERT, after Dr. Schultz dies helping Django fulfill his destiny, Django is able to save himself with the help of a momento given to him from Dr. Shultz after his first bounty, in other words, the mentor is able to let Django know that “the force is with him” even in death. That is just it! Dr. Schultz is the Obi-Wan Kenobi to Django, the Luke Skywalker. But that is the brilliance of Tarantino, it is not so simple.
Dr. Schultz does sacrifice himself for the “greater mission” of Django but he does so without necessity. Shultz created further controversy, the mission was complete they were able to live long prosperous lives but Shultz does not have a mission of his own, he simply saw an opportunity to help young Django and seized it. He, however, has always been driven by his own vigilante-esque morals. He sacrifices himself to comfort his own moral ground. He is not your typical hero who says he would die for a cause, in fact he specifically says he would not but in the end he snaps, the man does not care if Django gets out alive with his wife he cares only for ending the evil of one man. He is not a mentor but a confused cowboy, without a cause and provoked by injustice in a disgusting South.