Miguel CervantesÆ Don Quixote is one of literatureÆs most enduring heroes, at once comedian and dreamer mingling with romantic and knightly. Aside from Don QuixoteÆs celebrated place as a hero in literature, his popularity has transcended this cultural domain and he is now representative of Spain, the Spanish people, and its culture. He, and his comic ôside-kickö Sancho Panza, are linked with the heroes of ancient epics as well as cinema and comedian duos in the minds of fans around the world. As E. C. Riley (p. 3) asserts, ôDon Quixote and Sancho have come quite close to being adopted as an emblem for Spain.ö This analysis will discuss this phenomenon as it relates to Don Quixote.
There are many elements of Spanish history that continue to keep Don Quixote and Sancho linked to ancient epic heroes. For they represent the Knight and Squire of Spanish epic and history, symbols of heroism, adventure and romance linked with Spanish conquest and glory. The importance of the windmills image on Spanish history and change cannot be underestimated, since their use transformed the Spanish economy and agriculture. On the other hand, the natural comedic rapport and dialogue shared by Don Quixote and Sancho have solidified the perception of them as a comic duo by millions. Don Quixote has appeared as a fifty-two part animated cartoon, in a number of Hollywood films, a Broadway musical, and has inspired and has been associated with a number of comedian duos in films. As Riley (6) notes, ôThey are also in the tradition of comedian double acts, like Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello, to restrict myself only to thin and fat ones.ö Riley (6) goes so far as to suggest that even C3PO and R2D2 are in the tradition of the comedy model set by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
Don Quixote also survives as an icon in Hollywood cinema. The Broadway musical and its film version ôMan of La Manchaö demonstra
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