Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

DON QUIXOTE

DON QUIXOTE: THE REBIRTH OF CHIVALRY

Spain, at the time of Cervantes, was just emerging from the Middle Ages, later than, say, Italy. It was a time when tales of knights-errant and the age of chivalry had just about glutted the market for those who cared about those things. So, Cervantes created Don Quixote, a "different" sort of knight, and one where the author could create his own opinions about society and the state of affairs in his native Spain.

Don Quixote was actually a gentleman named Alonso Quixano, who lived in a village in La Mancha. He spent his time hunting and tending to his estate. But, he becomes so obsessed with stories of knighthood and books about chivalry, that he becomes "mad" (or, does he?) and decides to abandon his former life, and wander the land as an errant knight, now calling himself Don Quixote. Sancho Panza, a peasant in Quixano's village, who is convinced to come along as Don Quixote's squire, accompanied him. Why would a simple peasant up and leave? Because the "knight" promised him the governorship of any island he conquered. What is somewhat strange is that, throughout the novel, Sancho plays tricks on his "master" but often ignores his common sense to be Quixote's faithful follower.

Don Quixote is a novel about the rupture between words and meaning, between names and identity. Reality depends on the ability to name, to identify, and to tell a story faithfully. The rupture evident in the novel suggests that there may be more than one reality. But, reality can be both serious (even tragic) as well as funny. In other words, to merely call this a comic novel would be as mistaken as to consider it a tragic one. There are elements of both, especially in the division between what is real (sane) and unreal or comic (insane).

One good example happens in Part I, Chapter 22, when Quixote and Panza come upon galley slaves, Cervantes pokes fun, though slyly, at the dislike of many...

Page 1 of 5 Next >

More on DON QUIXOTE...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
DON QUIXOTE. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:10, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1693844.html