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It is ironic how Don Quixote is looking so fervently for more responsibility, but he is actually leaving his tue responsibilities behind in doing so. In being the heroic knight, Don Quixote would be responsible for all of La Mancha, and possibly beyond, but he claims that adventure is freedom and a release of duty and obligation. Don Quixote believes that the “very essence of adventures” is to give up responsibility and let fate, or in this case an old horse, decide his future. Cervantes presents a deep contradiction in Don Quixote through this passage, since the reason Don Quixote is looking for adventure in the first place is because he wants to take up the mantle of knighthood and all of its inherent responsibilities. He wants more responsibility, but he also wants to relinquish any ties he had with his old life and all the responsibilities therein. Don Quixote struggles between doing what he desires and fulfilling his responsibility to others, and ultimately decides to forsake his responsibilities when he leaves home. Content to let his horse decide, Don Quixote is giving up control in the