SPAIN
Day-1
Don Quixote is a Spanish novel written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, which portrayed a gentleman farmer, La Mancha, devotes his life to read fiction novels. La Mancha becomes so involved in fantastic knight stories that he eventually loses his wits and becomes a knight errant. To preparing his adventure, La Mancha calls himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, names his horse Rosinante, and dedicates his deeds to a peasant woman, Dulcinea del Tobosto. With a abysmal ending of his first adventure, he set out for another one and accompanied by his peasant neighbor, Sancho Panza, who becomes Don Quixote’s squire. He beleives the windmills they encounter are giants and start an attack in spite of the warning from Sancho. As a result, Don Quixote, being knocked to the ground, insists that a magician has tricked him by turing giants into windmills.
Summary of Don Quixote
Human Possibility
Dox Quixote offers human possibility as theme becuase Don Quixote lives in a world of his own imagination. From a poor nobleman to a knight-errant, Dox Quixote has faith in his true identity though he is cloaked by his imagination as a matter of fact. The state of being "dried up" by the books makes Don Quixote more determined that he is destined to be a knight-errant and seek out for an adventure to serve people. Federigo's Falcon also offers the idea of human possibility.
Chivalry
Chivalry is the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code. Literary works such as Dox Quixote also contributed to ideas about "knightly" behavior as both courageous warriors and refined men. Don Quixote is introduced as a narcissistic gemtleman at the beginning of the story, who is implacably immersed in "books of chivalry". With all the fictitious tales and characters stirred up in his mind, he decided to become one of those knights of chivalry in the tales – fearless, loyal, toleranted, and being honored. The huge connection between Don Quixote and the concept of chilvary suggests the books Don Quixote read that influence him to become a knight-errant are popular readings during the Renaissance.
The Popularity of Fantastic Stories
As it is foresaid, fantastic stories about knights are popular during the Renaissance. People in Europe loved to read fantastic stories about knights who wandered the world in search of adventure. Such books typically include characters like lords, ladies, knights, squires, dwarfs, giants, and magicians. These stories also incline to base upon England's King Arthur, who is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian legends. The fantasy of Don Quixote and King Arthur are deeply fonded by people with their knighly tales.
A song of Renaissance.
Discussion: Why characters throughtout the novel talk to Don Quixote by using the language from the books of romance?
In the novel, the housekeeper, neice, and Sancho talk to Don Quixote by using the language from the books of romance, especially when housekeeper and neice are recalling the night of unbidden magician; they talk in such manner as if they are telling a tale. I think that the characters may have done in this way intentionally because using the language from the book of romance would make Don Quixote easier to understand the context after being immersed in tales. On the other hand, another plausible reaon might be the way that characters talk are out of Don Quixote's imagination since he has lost his and messed up between reality and fantasy.