Megan Braine
Professor Matthew Spano
ENG 225
4 May 2019
Highly Recommended: How “Don Quixote” Themes
Through Imagination and Self Perseverance
Society today can be a very judgmental place. We are all born with expectations made by society, for our futures. There are many social norms that people are supposed to follow and continue to show throughout their growth in life. During today’s day and age, people are more optimistic to break those social norms. A character from the novel “Don Quixote”, which was written during the Renaissance Period, breaks the social norms of that era. This character becomes who he wants to be, not who he is supposed to turn out to be, and this exhibits the theme of self identity vs. conformity. Self Identity is the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual and conformity is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. This character begins loses sight of what is real and what is not as well. This theme is shown greatly, and we can relate it to today’s present social culture. It is highly recommended that readers take time to read Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote because of the ways the novel represents the theme of self identity vs. conformality, through imagination and self perseverance.
The author Miguel de Cervantes, wrote “Don Quixote” during the Renaissance Period. This novel was written in two volumes from 1605-1615. Throughout this novel many themes are shown. It is clear that the main character Don Quixote de la Mancha, is a fan of romance and chivalry. He becomes so obsessed with the books he reads, that he decides to make them a reality, his reality. The events and plot in this story will magnify the themes of self identity vs. conformality, through the scenery, characters, and actions. Also, it amplifies the idea of imagination. Other characters like Aldonza Lorenzo; a farm girl Quixote calls Dulcinea, his “illusionary lady” and Pedro Perez; a village curate, contribute to this themes significantly. “Don Quixote” is known to be specifically a spanish novel and one of the most influential works during the Spanish Golden Age.
From the first volume and first chapter of “Don Quixote,” the author Miguel de Cervantes, greatly introduces the theme of self identity vs. conformity within the text, as well as in other sections of the text. We are presented and introduced to the main character of this novel in the beginning of the story. He is described as a poor, spanish country gentlemen. He also can be described as isolated. That is because he enjoys engaging in chivalry romance books and desires nothing more.
“You must know, then, that the above-named gentleman whenever he was at leisure (which was mostly all the year round) gave himself up to reading books of chivalry with such ardour and avidity that he almost entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the management of his property; and to such a pitch did his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillage land to buy books of chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get.” (Cervantes, I)
The idea of self identity vs. conformity came to light when this character decided to change his name and become someone he desired to be. He renamed and reinvented himself to be Don Quixote, a knight-errant, “...he made up his mind to call himself “Don Quixote,” whence, as has been already said, the authors of this veracious history have inferred that his name must have been beyond a doubt Quixada, and not Quesada as others would have it.” (Cervantes, I) During the Renaissance Period, it was unheard of when it came to changing your conformity. Don Quixote was a poor, country gentlemen who was to continue living beneath his poverty, but he decided not too by changing his self identity. He believed in keeping chivalry and kindness alive. He believed more in self identity then conformity. And he believed that circumstances of your birth did not matter, what did matter was your strength and the strength within your character. This was all based on the books he read on chivalry. All his hopes and visions of a better life came from those stories.
Further into the novel, we are shown how Don Quixote was such an influence to society. When found near his village, a villager finds him and tries to bring him back to his senses. Him wanting to become a knight and keep chivalry alive, struck a huge fire in society. Which can relate to the present day because, judgments are made toward those influencers of social change. Don Quixote doesn’t get persuaded into coming back to his conformity, in which he was believed to be insane.
“Don Quixote was firmly persuaded that this was the Marquis of Mantua, his uncle, so the only answer he made was to go on with his ballad, in which he told the tale of his misfortune, and of the loves of the Emperor’s son and his wife all exactly as the ballad sings it.
The peasant stood amazed at hearing such nonsense, and relieving him of the visor, already battered to pieces by blows, he wiped his face, which was covered with dust, and as soon as he had done so he recognised him and said, “Senor Quixada” (for so he appears to have been called when he was in his senses and had not yet changed from a quiet country gentleman into a knight-errant), “who has brought your worship to this pass?” But to all questions the other only went on with his ballad.” (Cervantes,V)
From the Structure and Theme "Don Quixote" to James Joyce, it explains “On the one hand, Don Quixote is a statement about human behavior, psychology if you will, about the relationship of the individual to his society and to himself.” (Church, 4) Don Quixote’s mindset was different than what society’s mindset was. His self identity and society image was completely out of the norm.
Furthermore, also within the novel “Don Quixote”, the author magnifies the theme of self identity vs. conformity by the adventures Don Quixote creates through his imagination. He begins to lose sight of what is real and what is apart of his fantasy. He begins to pursue chivalry rules and laws, which do not result well. From an infobase Blooms Literature it states, “In the process of Don Quixote's effort to accomplish this impossible feat, Cervantes definitively exposes the nonsensical dimensions of the chivalric tradition and its codes.”, which proves Don Quixote did bring chivalry culture into his society, through his imagination. The transformation from a poor, country gentlemen, to a knight in shining armor was quick and quick to be perceived as Don’s fantasy. He named his horse Rocinante right away, which was from a story in one of his books. He also declared Aldonza Lorenzo to be his “illusionary lady.” All of this based on the chivalry culture. One of Don Quixote’s first adventures, lies within an inn. To Don Quixote this was a castle, due to his imagination. Also, he created characters there. For example, the wrenches at the inn were fair maidens to him and the innkeeper was a lord. These people found this entertaining and believed Don Quixote to be mad. They were intrigued by this and entertained him, “...decided to humor him; so he said that he [Quixote] was quite right to pursue these objectives...that he himself in his younger days had followed the same honourable profession, roaming...through the world in search of adventure” (Cervantes, 372) We can ask ourselves, were the wrenches and innkeeper judgemental toward Don Quixote acts, or did they subconsciously want to join in on his imagination? From The Online Journal of Undergraduate Literary Theory and Criticism it states, “They accept Quixote’s insanity and become a part of it, skewing the line between reality and imagination.” (M. Brett Gaffney, 10) Now we can also ask ourselves this, could imagination give us more truth towards reality? The novel readr, ““madness forces them into their roles...Reality willingly cooperates with a play which dresses it up differently every moment” (Cervantes, 351)
Work Cited
Church, Margret. “Structure and Theme: ‘Don Quixote’ to James Joyce.” Structure and Theme: "Don Quixote" to James Joyce, by Margaret Church, 1920, onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp41237.
Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, c1983
Cook, James Wyatt. “Don Quixote.” Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17443&itemid=WE54&articleId=37520. Accessed 1 May 2019.
“DON QUIXOTE.” THE HISTORY OF DON QUIXOTE, Volume I, www.gutenberg.org/files/5921/5921-h/5921-h.htm.
Gaffney, Brett. “Theocrit: The Online Journal of Undergraduate Literary Theory and Criticism .” Don Quixote: Bridging Reality and Fiction, vol. 2, no. 1, 2009. Google , Scholar, theocrit.sfasu.edu/docs/fall2009/Gaffney Revised.pdf.
