Is Don Quixote Insane - Essay Example

? Don Quixote Character Analysis Task: Don Quixote Character Analysis Don Quixote is the character in a novel where he exhibits an exemplary character and one would find him hard to understand. He brings out both sane and insane traits. He reads so many novels about knights and chivalry; they get so much into him that he ends up losing his sanity and goes on a quest to revive chivalry recruiting a farmer, Sancho Plaza, on his way. Don has a canny way of seeing those around him in different perceptions and they have to either conform to his way of viewing them or go against him. Despite the fact that some of the characters try to make Don Quixote see things in the realistic way, he has his mind set on whatever his beliefs are and cannot be coaxed in any way to change. The main question one could ask from this novel is if Don Quixote is insane. This is a matter of contention because he argues out his points with facts that are true, and which would be so hard for a mad man to comprehend in the same way as he does. As much as he tries to convince people about the different virtuous ways in which they can view any character they want to change their mindset about, he goes to extreme heights to do that. In the first part, he tries to convince Sancho that his daughter is a good girl, despite the fact that he thinks that she is not. He says “am quite satisfied …to imagine and believe that the good Aldonza Lorenzo is so lovely and virtuous”. This is a clear indication that he makes up characters in his mind and how he wants them to be, then sticks to it, slowly drawing away from the reality. This shows that he is insane because he focuses his mindset on things that are merely a perversion of themselves in his mind. He does not see things the way they are, he sees them the way he wants them to be. Hence, it would be right to conclude that he is insane. Evidence that leads to the fact that he is insane is that at the end of the novel he wakes up from his delusions and admits of how stupid he had been to have the imaginations he had made. It shows that previously he had not been in his right state of mind meaning he had been insane. Before he dies, he says “those hateful books of chivalry, full of nonsense and fraud” are the ones that had obsessed him. If there were degrees of madness, I would say that Don Quixote is semi insane. He focuses on delusions that he makes up in his mind but at the same time portray very intelligent traits by backing up his arguments with strong statements that he nearly convince some of the people he meet of his delusions. Like in the case with Sancho who is convinced, that knight-errantry is virtuous and he decides to follow Don Quixote .It is observable that Quixote has brainwashed Sancho with his illusions such that it seems like Sancho is worshiping him. in chapter XLI of the second part, Sancho asks Quixote “now that I’ve been sitting on a bare board, does your worship want me to flat my bum?”. This statement tells a lot about the high esteem with which Sancho regards Quixote. It shows the effect that despite his supposed madness, Quixote has on his friend. On the question on whether Don Quixote is likeable or not, I tend to think that he is indeed likeable. Even in his deepest moment in his pit of insanity, not once did it seem like he would side with the vicious. He had a stand to do the right thing he practices knight-errantry despite the fact that it is old fashioned, his only motivation is the fact that he is doing the right thing; he even formulates good delusions of bad people in his mind so that he does not see them as sinners. One would not blame him for asking sancho to whip himself because it is evident that he was not in his right state of mind. Still he does this, thinking that he is helping his friend get rid of the supposed enchantments that his wife had he has a clear conscience and his intention was not to cause harm. The verdict is; Quixote is a likeable man. He is virtuous and up to no evil To some extent, one would consider Don Quixote a hero because of some of the traits he portrays. In the case where he decides to practice knight-errantry when it is something of the past, he portrays heroic traits. That he could stand for the right thing regardless of what people think about him. Knight-errantry mainly focused on advocating for the rights of the weak in the society and protecting them. By doing, this at a time when very few people do it is a heroic act. He gets criticisms from different people but this does not stop him from performing good deeds, as a night should do. It is sad that Don Quixote dies after regaining his right state of mind; the writer would have let us experience the true character of Quixote as a sane character and see his opinion of the things that he had different opinions about in the past. He is the supposed main character in the novel and one does not expect that he die. Though as a style, it makes the novel unpredictable hence captivating, morally it does not bring out a happy conclusion to the main character as expected. Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda has made excellent efforts to bring out the language use in the early 17th century, as this is time of the novel set up. He has brought out the aspect of chivalry, which was about protection of the weak in the society, this was mainly the work of knights .this was a contentious issue in the late 16th century and early 17th century Reference Cervantes, S. M., & Grossman, E. (2003). Don Quixote. New York, NY: Ecco. Read More