*******************Don Quixote By Miguel de Cervantes*****************
Historical Background:
An astute reader of medieval literature. Cervantes steeped himself in the
chivalric lore of the Crusdaes, as well as the exploits of King Arthur- a
legendary Brithish king whose own brave deeds, as well as thouse of his
knights of the Round Table are among the most famous examples of the system
known as knight-errantry. Under this system, wandering knighbts governed by
chivarly, an elaborate code of conduct regarding the treatment of women, as
well as behavior during combat, ranged over the country from a central court
and performed police action by righting wrongs. When a knight-errant found a
weak person being intimidated or harassed by a stinger one, he challenged the
transgressor, bested him in single combat by lance or sword, and granted him
a chance to mend his ways. The transgressor could seek pardon by presenting
himself to the knight's lady as her humble servant and promising to serve
king and country as an honest man.
Crucial tot he development of the chivalric code was the need for some
governing structure to curb the behavior of luisty warriors who joined the
Crusades and rode from Europe tot he Holy Land to reclaim Christian territory
from Moslem hands. Chivalry, loyalty, chastity, and generosity,s erved as a
code of hone that was seldom enforced but widely observed.
The knight-errant, ostensibly a lone individual on a quest for king
and/or church, became the focal point of medieval songs and poems. Alongside
the knight road a squire or body servant whose sole purpose was to assist the
knight with the encumbrance of armor and the lesser details of food, drink,
and shelter for himself and his horse.
A generalized coalition of religious, moral, and feudal ideas, chivalry
extolled the best in Christian conduct while discouraging vainglory, greed,
and lust. Once dubbed a knight and placed in formal service to a king, the
gallant warrior galloped forth with his squire to the far reaches of the
king's realm to assure innocent peasants of fair treatment. At other times,
knights met in friendly combat to joust before audiences decked in their
finest clothes. The pageantry of these mock battles provided medieval
troubadours with colorful material to dress up the otherwise spartan life
stories of wandering knights.
******************The Characters*********************
Don Quixote:
-the pseudonym of Alonso Quixano, a kind Spanish gentleman of modest means in
his late forties who lives in a village in the region of La Mancha with his
niece and a housekeeper.
The gentleman reads extensively from his library of books on chivalry and
knight-errantry and idolizes Amndis of Gaul, whom he seeks to imitate.
He deludes himself into believeing that he is a knight capable of bold feats
of daring.
He undertakes three missions from La Mancha in the hopes of winning the hand
of his lady, Dulcinea del Toboso, whom he idealizes as beautiful.
Because of his obvios delusions anbout giants and enchanters, Don Quixote
became a figure of ridicule and pity to the friends and strangers he
encounters in his journeys.
Sancho Panza:
an illiteratre farmer who lives near La Mancha with his wife Teresa, daughter
Sanchica, and son Sancho in a humble dwelling
Sancho loves his gray donkey Dapples and devotes himself to its welfare, as
well as to his own safety and comfort.
Sancho Panza forms a strong bond with Don Quixote, his master, and serves
willingly as his squire.
The squire teters between loyalty to his master and the realization that Don
Quixote is deranged
Dulcinea del Toboso
Sampson Carrasco
The Priset
Nicholas the abrber
Gines de PAsamonte
The Duke and the Duchess
Maritornes
Dorothea
************************Questions to answer and HAND IN:*****************
Part 1
1. In what respect is Don Quixote's attempt to aid Andrew a failure?
2. Why does Sancho Panza stay with Don Quixote despite his madness?
3. Why does the author includea scene in which the priest and the barber
name some of the chivalric works in Don Quixote's library?
4. An antihero is a main character, or protagonist, who lacks heroic
qualities. Discuss whether Don Quixote fits the definition of an antihero.
5. What does the story of Lotario and Anselmo illustrate to the listeners?
6. Don Quixote is an idealist in his own mind, but others see him as a fool.
What counterparts to Don Quixote can ou think of in our own time?
Part 2
1. Why is Sancho Panza uncomfortable when Don Quixote mentions returning to
Dulcinea to pledge his love and loyalty?
2. Describe Sancho's family responsibilities.
3. Explain how Sancho has changed in Part 2 of the novel.
4. How does Cervantes satirize university studnets through his
characterization of Sampson Carrasco?
5. Why does Don Quixote lose patience with Antonia, whome he usually treats
with love and high regard?
6. How would you answer Antonia's accusations that her uncle's ideas are
delusions?
Part 2, Chapters 17-74
1. How does Basilio effectiviely halt the wedding and win Quiteria for his
bride?
2. In Montesino's cave, what makes Durandarte and Belerma sad figures?
3. How does braying lead to potential warfare between two villages?
4. How does Don Quixote propose to spend his time after he gives up knight-
errantry?
5. What surprising facts does Don Quixote announce just before his death?
6. What stipulations does Don Quixote place on his bequest to his neiece,
Antonia?
7. How do the Duke and Duchess reveal themselves to be shallow, manipulative
people?
8. How does hte literary success of Part 1 affect the later adventures of Don
Quixote?
9. How do you access the relationship between Sancho Panza and his wife based
on Teresa's letter?
10. Does Don Quixote remain in character in his final hours or has he changed
significantly?
11. Compare the epitaphs of Sampson Carrasco and Cide Hamete Benengeli.
12. Describe the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on the
last days of their final quest.
13. How might the story have ended if Don quixote had allowed himself to fall
in love with AAltisidora?
14. How would you have written the final episodes of Don Quixote's adventures
to counter the spurious versions written during Cervantes's time?
Point of View:
Woven into the first-person telling of Don Quixote's odysseys are numeroud
interruptions for pastoral poems, additional first-person accounts, sad love
stories, songs, heroic verse, asides and commentary by the narrator, and
learned and interesting sidenotes.
Some critics find the resulting variety of narrative styles and points of
view distracting,a nd blame the haphazard method by which Cervantes's book
was translated from handwritten text into print. They note that, with no
editor to smooth out the rough edges, the reader has little choice but to
read between the lines and try to accept the frequent changes of voice and
narrative forma s necessary flaws in an otherwise masterly narration.
Setting:
The towns, villages, and open countryside of cervantes's novel are set during
Spain's renaissance, a period in the late sixteenth century that the Spanish
call their "golden age"
Themes in the Work:
1. Idealism
2. change
3. Self-Sacrifice
4. Illusion versus reality
5. Disillusion
6. Justice
Vocabulary :
progeny
ambergris
mendacious
succour
perifidious
balsam
chimerical
colloquy
seimitar
affray
apocryphal
codieil
dromedary
piebarld
vainglorious
mitre
calumny
hermitage
prolixity
termerity
palfrey
absolutions
proximate
flagellant
affidavit
mouldering
Special words:
Holy write: writing of unquestioned authority, such as the Bible
Apollo: Greek god of sunlight, prophecy, music, and poetry
castellan: governor of a castle or fort
gorget: a piece of armor that protects the throat
real: a former monetary unit in Spain
Order of St. Benedict: a group of lay brother within the Catholic church who
follow practical raher than rigid rules
Biscayan: an native of the Basque region in the Pyrenees Mountains, which
separate France and Spain
cide: a medieval title derived from teh Arabic word for lord
licentiate: a professional witha degree from a university
hasilisk: a legenedary reptile with fatal breath
Aeneas: trojan leader, ancestor of the first emperors of rome
Ulysses: a king of Ithaca and a Greek leader who wandered for ten years after
fighting int he Trojan War
Inquisition: a Roman catholic court that sought out and punished heretics
farthing: something of small value
