Don Quixote

Author: Miguel de Cervantes (Spain)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1997-07-01
Features: Generally speaking, classics are collected rather than read, but Don Quixote is an exception. The pair of knight-errants, one tall and one short, one lean and one fat, the boundless imagination of letting loose the ideal of freedom: every reader will laugh at Don Quixote's subjective fantasies and impracticalities. However, the Knight of La Mancha is not just funny; he is also admirable. Every deep reader will see in the notorious knight's ridiculous behavior his persistence and fairness. Don Quixote is the Spanish literary masterpiece with the highest international prestige and the greatest impact. The first part tells of Don Quixote, who, captivated by knight-errant novels, tries to imitate the life of ancient knights. He assembles a suit of armor, mounts a lean horse, and goes on a quest, returning wounded. The second time, he seeks his neighbor Sancho Panza as a squire and travels together, doing many absurd and ridiculous things: mistaking windmills for giants, mistaking an inn for a castle, mistaking a flock of sheep for enemies—almost losing his life—and being rescued and brought home. The second part tells of Don Quixote, accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza, embarking on his third quest, depicting some thrilling encounters along the way and how the Duke and Duchess tricked the knight and his squire. Sancho becomes a governor and rules an island. In the end, Don Quixote is defeated by his neighbor, Sampson, who disguised himself as a knight, returns home, lies ill in bed, and only realizes the truth upon his deathbed, condemning the knight-errant novels.