Miguel de Cervantes

“Don Quixote and the invention of the novel” from The Cambridge Companion to Cervantes: The translating and editing of the “original” text suggest the ways in which all the many discourses in this novel are not simply juxtaposed, but layered. They constantly shadow one another, and this…

In our current times, a growing trend in entertainment is a work of art’s ability to be “Meta”. Meta is an adjective referring to a work of art’s ability to be self-referential; in other words, to be aware of itself and its genre. This has also be described as “Hanging a Lampshade” or “Breaking the Fourth Wall”. A few notable examples of Meta works in modern art include television series such as 30 Rock (2006), Family Guy (1999) and Community (2009), or movies such as Scream (1996) or Cabin in…

way to remind us that what is real, is in fact real. In Miguel de Cervantes’ novel ‘El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha’, the main protagonist Don Quijote has trouble separating what is real to what is only in his imagination. Throughout the novel, Don Quijote believes he is a knight and demands he bring justice back to the land. Through the use of old literature, characters and the way Don Quijote perceives his surroundings, Cervantes’ explores how the connection between imagination…

Quixote & Panza vs Holmes and Watson: A Comparison The Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was known during his time as a great writer of fiction. He wrote a good number of books, but the story he is most known for is, without a doubt, The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-Errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha, now usually shortened to Don Quixote. Cervantes’ stick-thin, basin-wearing, certifiably mad “knight-errant” Quixote and his donkey-riding deluded sidekick Sancho Panza are…

Was the intent of Don Quixote’s author, Miguel de Cervantes, to make fun of chivalry or use chivalry as one of many tools to explore man’s ability to recreate himself? Being that his actions were delusional and often seen by those around him as out of touch with reality, the author showed us that the main character in Don Quixote was completely enamored by all the books he read and wanted to recreate himself. The Age of Chivalry gave way to the Inquisition in Spain when this book was written.…

Throughout history, episodes of madness have been recorded in every culture across the globe. Psychological illnesses are common, but have always had a deep stigma attached to them. Those with such disorders are often shunned by society. This makes it much more appealing to hide such a fact about oneself than to seek help. Such a hostile environment can easily cause a person to spiral out of control. Hamlet and Don Quixote are two perfect examples of a troubled individual in a troubled world. At…

societal values. Through Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale, and Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote de la Mancha, we witness a progression of historical and literary autonomy through the characters within these masterpieces. From Lysistrata’s determined female activist Lysistrata, to The Wife of Bath’s Tale manipulative and controversial housewife Alison, and Don Quixote de la Mancha’s imaginatively chivalrous knight errant Don Quixote, we can trace a thread of…

Have you ever read the spectacular novel Don Quixote? In the novel, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote and his squire share a friendship. Sancho, his squire, always helps Don Quixote. Whether it’s telling Don Quixote not to attack the windmills or even advising him not to worry about the princess, Sancho is always helping Don Quixote. The painting, Young Girls at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, two girls are at a piano and one girl is helping the other read the sheet music. The…

majority do not dare to wander because of lost time, reputation or certainty. Most are far too worried about appearing foolish or putting time into something that will not have quick results. Maybe that is part of the reason that the fool of Miguel De Cervantes still touches something in the heart of readers. Don Quixote tells his neighbor farmer Pedro Alonso, “I know…

In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, a confusion of identity stemming from the limits between reality and fantasy leads to the main character’s insanity. Both characters fall in social status as a result of their experienced psychotic tendencies. Through their failure to comprehend situations, culminating in naïve attempts at societal reparations and failed acts of charity contributes to the similar endings where the social statuses of Don Quixote and Oedipus fall.…