The Fantasies Of Don Quixote Essay Research

The Fantasies Of Don Quixote Essay, Research Paper .The Fantasies of Don Quixote A Literary Critical Analysis Don Quixote lived in a fantasy world of chivalry. Chivalry had negative and positive effects on the lives of the people. Don Quixote emphasizes a cross-section of Spanish life, thought, and feeling at the end of chivalry. Don Quixote has been called the best novel in the world, and it cannot be compared to any other novel. Don Quixote has been described as “that genial and just judge of imposture, folly, vanity, affectation, and insincerity; that tragic picture of the brave man born out of his time, too proud and too just to be of use in his age” (Putnam, 15). The novel has been translated by different people, but it has been said that Shelton’s translation has

a charm that no modern translation has because he belonged to the same generation as Cervantes the author of Don Quixote. He could see things as Cervantes saw them. Cervantes’ life had influence on Don Quixote. He could look back on his ancestry of genuine knights-errant. He had a strong feeling on the subject of the sham or false chivalry of the romances. Cervantes says, “any point of view affords only partial insights, even a man’s judgment of his own qualities” (Ortega, 101). John Ormsby, in his translation, states that to speak of Don Quixote as it were just a humorous book would be a misdeception. Cervantes at times makes it a kind of commonplace book for observations and reflections and gathered wisdom of a long and stirring life. According to Ormsby, it is a mine

of shrewd observations 2 on mankind and human nature. “Perhaps,” Cervantes said, “more people would be better people if they were able to recognize the knights within them” (Church, 6). It has been said that the humor of Don Quixote is what distinguishes it from All other books of romance. This is what makes it “the best novel in the world.” It is a classic. Don Quixote was a Spanish knight about fifty years old. His real name was Alonso Quijano. He lived in the village of La Mancha with his neice, his house- keeper, and a handy man. He gave up hunting and taking care of his estate to satisfy his passion of reading books of chivalry. He had a large collection of romances of chivalry and in the end they turned his brain. His mind became weak from his reading his many

romances of chivalry (Samuel, 57). His mind became stuffed with fantasy accounts of tournaments, knightly quests, damsels or women in distress, and strange enchantments (Grossvogel, 89). His high spirit and his courage never failed him, but his illusions led him into trouble. Warddropper says, “Don Quixote’s madness is not the result of unrequited passion. It is the result of reading too many books of chivalry. He is a knight gone mad from a platonic love” (Warddropper, 136). One day he decided to imitate the heroes of the books he had read and to revive the ancient custom of knight-erranty. Don believed that he had been called to become a knight-errant (Putnam, 63). Nothing would satisfy him but that he must ride abroad on his old horse, armed with spear and helmet, a

knight-errant, to encounter all adventures, and to redress the innumeral wrongs of the world. The 3 people laughed at Don Quixote and his insane ideals of knighthood. Don made preparation to put his plan into effect. “So many things were wrong that were to be righted, the grievances to be redressed, the abuses to be done away with, and the duties to be performed” (Church, 64). He changed his name to Don Quixote de la Mancha and decided to roam the world righting wrongs (Church, 5). He was determined to dress himself in rusty armor, a cardboard helmet and become a knight-errant (Putnam, 70). Knights were chivalrous and brave. No man could be a knight unless it was bestowed upon him. Knights were true and loyal to their countries, their ladies and to themselves. The morals of a