Don Quixote's Story

Topics covered in this document:

• Introduction
• Adventures Galore
• Sancho Becomes a Squire
• Quixote Sees an Imagined Reality
• The Idealist in Us All

Introduction

In this classic novel, which pretends to be historical rather than fictional, Miguel Cervantes tells the sweeping, and sometimes comedic, story of the madly insane Spanish gentleman, Alonso Quixano, who is the Don of a country home in La Mancha.

Alonso, having passionately read a number of books on chivalry, decides to take up the standard of honor, duty, glory and chivalry. And so, much to the dismay of his household staff, he sets out to live a life of adventure as the faithful knight-errant, Don Quixote.

His first task is to repair an old suit of armor that belonged to his grandfather. As with nearly everything else in Alonso's life, the armor turns out to be more of a hindrance than a blessing.

Then, because a knight needs a valiant steed upon which he can sally forth against his foes, he prepares his scrawny stable horse for the part. He then proceeds to bestow upon it the grand name of Rosinante.

However, more important than steed or armor, a knight must have a lady worthy of his knightly efforts. For his fair maiden, he chooses a simple country woman by the name of Aldonza Lorenza, whom he hardly knows. She becomes his lady Dulcinea.

Having found himself armor, a steed, and a fair maiden, he then sets off on his quest.

Adventures Galore

Not all of his exploits as a knight were successful. In fact, some would question if any of them were successful.

For example, during one adventure that was described early in the novel, he encounters a group of silk merchants and attempts to force them to acknowledge the perfection of his lady, Dulcinea. The merchants perceive him a madman and proceed to beat him up, leaving him stranded on the road, unable to get up due to the weight of his armor. A peasant neighbor finds him floundering in the road and takes him home.

This episode is merely one of many fumbled attempts by Don Quixote to act and respond to events with all the chivalry of the knights he so loved to read about.

To prevent further knightly forays and in the hope of restoring Alonso to sanity, the household staff decide to burn all his books on chivalry. However, this act only inspires Alonso to dedicate himself even more forcefully to the pursuit of his dreams of chivalrous adventures.

Sancho Becomes a Squire

At this point, Alonso manages to enlist the aid of a simple peasant, Sancho Panza, to serve as his squire. With the promise of financial reward, Sancho sets off on his donkey in a series of woefully inept adventures with the knight-errant.

The remainder of the novel centers primarily on the interaction between these two men as they encounter the hundreds of other minor characters in the novel.

The eternal idealist, Don Quixote, valiantly attempts to make right all that is wrong in the world. All the while, the realist, Sancho, tries his best to understand the world as seen through the fanciful eyes of Don Quixote.

Quixote Sees an Imagined Reality

Where Quixote sees an army arrayed for battle, Sancho sees only a flock of sheep grazing. Where Quixote sees gentlemen of character and breeding, Sancho sees only common goat herders. Where Quixote bravely jousts with terrifying giants, Sancho sees only windmills.

[Incidently, when you read the novel, you find that this very well-known scene (jousting windmills) is really a very small part of the book. There are many, many other adventures of the knight and his squire throughout the book that are equally intriguing.]

Over time, Sancho finds that he too sees the world more and more like Don Quixote sees it. And in fact, as Alonso is lying on his death bed, admitting that perhaps he had been mad, it is Sancho who encourages him to give up his quest to die. He tells the ailing Alonso that there are still many deeds of honor and valor just waiting out there for a knight-errant and his faithful squire.

The Idealist in Us All

Don Quixote represents the idealist in us all ... but which might lie dormant deep within our subconscious until awakened by an urge to make right the things that are wrong in this world. Though he often confuses fantasy with reality, he always sees the inherent good in others ... not their failures and shortcomings.

He continuously follows his dream, no matter how hopeless the quest seems. And he gives us a standard by which the qualities and ideals of our most quixotic heroes of the present can be judged.

Sancho, who once wondered if the knight was quite mad, now realizes that perhaps Don Quixote was able to see the truth in a way more clearly than those of us who are sane.

Together, the two men finally learn that too much sanity is itself a form of insanity. And that to dream the impossible dream is an infinitely worthwhile quest. If your dreams are pursued with honor, we see that you can reach that unreachable star.

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