Don Quixote Character Analysis Essay

Superior Essays
Don Quixote is a static character, an insane protagonist that has a condition that justifies adventures and quests. He embodies a knight errant, a chivalrous man of the sword, a classic archetype that is a key player during the feudal era, and one of the first things that comes to mind when we think of early Europe. Nonetheless, our knight errant Don Quixote exists in the wrong time, and if Sancho Panza wasn’t his squire and loyal companion he would be a two dimensional character in a one dimensional world; Sancho Panza’s duality of character allows for Quixote to gain depth, and take form as the insanely chivalrous character he is. It’s safe to assume that if it wasn’t for the multi-faceted Sancho Panza, we would have a much shorter account of Don Quixote. On one of the first days of their adventures, Don Quixote charges a group of …show more content…
His skepticism can be associated with his constant physical harm and perpetual humiliation; one should expect nothing less from a squire following the insane Don Quixote. However, Cervantes focalizes on Sancho being a very relatable character. Not so much in character traits, but readers can find sane, human tendencies in his actions. He takes good care of his wine sack, sees thing as they actually are, and sleeps when he should. Don Quixote’s insane actions are reflected in Sancho Panza in normality and sane rationale. Sancho Panza humanizes the story.
Throughout all of the adventures they partake in, Sancho remains pragmatic, constantly doubting things. By doing this, he opens Don Quixote to criticism from the reader, as well as approval. If Sancho wasn’t present in the novel, Don Quixote would not exist in the way it does today. Cervantes created him by combining two types, that just so happen to be polar opposites; the sidekick and the skeptic. This duality of personalities reveals Don Quixote to be truly the insane knight errant he is, by showing both sides of his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Option #4 “The tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart” (249). Antonio realizes that the strength that he has in him can withstand the struggles of life. While growing to become a man, Antonio deals with copious catholic allusions from Mexican folklore. Both the family religion of Catholicism and the Chicano cultural beliefs reflect itself inside him.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the analysis of the novel, The Adventure of Don Chipote or, When Parrots Breast-Feed by Daniel Venegas, it was of utmost importance to note Nicolás Kanellos put great effort into the circulation of said novel in Spanish and English. Kanellos, in his findings, contends that Spanish-language immigrant novels more accurately present the wickedness of American society such as the oppression of immigrant workers. Presumptuously, Kanellos could have felt so passionately about circulating this particular novel due to the fact that Venegas’ novel clearly represents the native in their homeland, the immigrant, and the exile cultures experienced in a foreign land. Don Chipote is a picaresque and satire novel that address the representation of the…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bodega Dreams Analysis

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jose Ramos Latin 125/1800 Prof. Gonzalez Bodega Dreams Bodega Dreams is a novel written by Ernesto Quiñonez who teaches in the South Bronx, not far from the Schomburg Projects in East Harlem where he grew up and near where Bodega Dreams is set. Bodega Dreams occurs not in an activist age but as part of commodity culture, as Quiñonez himself well understands, for it is the difference between social involvement and personal exaggeration that lies at the heart of this touching and clearly written novel. The novels narrator, Julio Mercado, whose nickname is Chino, is a first-person character.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Underdogs Azuela

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The True Colors of the Revolution The Underdogs is a fascinating story of the Mexican Revolution and its effects on some of the people. It was a perfect blend of fiction in the form of characters and personalities, and history in the form of events and occurrences. Mariano Azuela, a medic during the Revolution definitely infused his personal experiences into the story to make it full and real. Azuela did not clean up the revolution for the reader and make it look completely heroic.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Capote uses informed opinions and vivid descriptions to debate the good within evil, and how Perry and Dick relate to this. By the use of these rhetorical strategies, Burro’s quote is proved valid through Capote’s text. Perry Smith could be the most highly debated character character, because he was not truly evil. Perry uses his own opinions to justify and explain his crime.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tomas Rivera portrayed the suffering, strength, and beauty of the migrant farm workers by telling their stories about their lives and the struggles they went through and the blessings they received. There were three things that stood out to me the most and they were: the conditions which the migrant farm workers had to work through, the way they were being treated by people, and how they always had hope. These three things show how strong these people were and how much they had worked for everything they have. These migrant farm workers had worked in lots of different areas. They have also worked in very bad conditions which was mostly in the heat.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In order to save his life, possessions and his script, Cervantes convinces the other inmates to let him have a trial, where in which Cervantes himself opts to perform his play as a way to plead his case and takes on the role of his protagonist, Don Quixote himself. This is very much unlike the novel itself in that Cervantes plays a role almost completely outside the activities and adventures in Don Quixote. In fact, Cervantes is a secondary/tertiary narrator for most of his own novel. In the first part of the first volume, he is going off a manuscript he discovered and for the rest of it, Cervantes is “retelling” the story based on the translation of a Moorish man from a book by Cide Hamete Benengeli, an Arab historian. Thus, the dual part in the film which Cervantes plays is not canonical at…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    He was even unaware of the colossal influence these books were. They were, in a way, dominating his personal point of view, which in fact, he did not even have. He did not have a personal view due to his identity crisis. Instead of creating a self-formulated view, he imitated and reproduced what he learned and read. During his schooling years, one could say Rodriguez resembled a sponge.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Thousand Splendid Suns An action will deal with any circumstance. However, the situations one has been in, and the challenges one has experienced determine that action. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, the protagonist, Mariam, has to face many hardships in the city of Kabul. She learns how to endure her real life situations.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Subsequently, Joaquin’s bandit associate, Three-Fingered Jack provides evidence of Joaquin Murieta’s heroic nature. Joaquin, refusing to accept money from a ferryman, Ridge communicated with the audience explaining the significance of the scene, “I mention this incident merely to show that Murieta in his worst days had yet a remnant of the noble spirit which had been his original nature and to correct those who have said that he was lost to every generous sentiment” (Ridge 65). As an author, by permitting the consistency of both characters to be alongside one another throughout their journey of justice, provides a perfect comparison of how Joaquin is proven to be a warrior in the eyes of the Mexican community. Three-Fingered Jack’s personality…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Old Don Antonio

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The mode in which the Marcos writes is reflective of many oral cultures. It is in these cultures that narrative is the primary mode of storytelling (Ong 140). Much of the reason that oral cultures rely on narrative form is because “it can bond a great deal of lore in relatively substantial, lengthy forms that are reasonably durable” (Ong 141). Marcos’ depiction of Old Don Antonio reflects the culture that it hopes to appeal to. It was partly from the stories and experiences with the real Antonio, and indigenous people like him, that the Zapatistas evolved their movement.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Romeo is a very complicated character, he is handsome, intelligent, impulsive and very sensitive. He is charming and well liked, amongst most characters in the play. Romeo’s emotions run very strong, throughout the play. Though he is very impulsive and immature. He is still a passionate lover, though sometimes unusual, when he is first introduced in the story, he is obsessed with Rosaline, in act I scene I, saying she is the perfect women.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The acclaimed play written by William Shakespeare,The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, should go by another name, The Tragedy of Brutus. Brutus is the main character and hidden protagonist, he is a senate member scarred by Ceaser rising so quickly to kingdom. After being mislead by many friends he decides to assist in the murder of Julius Caesar. The noble Brutus is truly the only protagonist in the play, he should be the center of the play in the stead of the short lived and arrogant Julius Caesar.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Not only was Cristo Bedoya one of the few characters who were truly oblivious to Santiago’s plight, he also offers Chronicle of a Death Foretold literary value such as allusion. Bedoya alludes to Jesus Christ and this is obvious from his name and actions. Cristo Bedoya attempts to stop the murder and his attempt to save Santiago can be compare to Christ’s attempt to save the world from its sin. He can also be an allusion to Jesus’ disciple and right hand man, Peter. Santiago died splayed on a wooden door like Jesus dies on the cross and his white linen outfit represented…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Surrounded by guns, drug deals, and unstable households leaves lost and undetermined kids. In this compelling movie, Freedom Writers the main Character Erin Gruwell(Hilary Swank) sees potential in grieving students when everyone else has lost hope in them. Long Beach, California is central for violence, drugs, and alcohol. For these students all they have known is love through gangs and rough households. Underneath the tough constructed attitude lies innocent kids who have lost faith in themselves.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics