Essay Analysis of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

All birthdays are special. Birthdays celebrate life and the passing of time. In a young Mexican girl life, there is no birthday more important then her quinceañera. The quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s journey into womanhood. The story of my fifteenth birthday is contributed for a better understanding of how special it is to celebrate a girl’s transformation into a lady, and how it differs from any other birthday she celebrates.

Throughout history, most young girls have a Quinceanera which is a special occasion and traditional celebration of a young girl turning fifteen on her birthday and making a transition from child to adult. Reached maturity and eligibility for marriage, which has been custom in most countries. A Quinceanera is something that started many years ago when a Spanish conqueror brought the tradition to Mexico and other countries. Throughout most countries, parents don’t celebrate their daughter’s fifteenth birthday by having a Quinceanera; they celebrated daughter’s birthday differently from other countries. While in countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central, and South America are the only ones who celebrate their daughter’s

     After teaching the boy a lot about the journey he will go through, the king gave him omens to follow. Santiago sells his sheep, and travels to a town on his way to Egypt. He finds a man that could take him past the desert to Egypt. So the boy gives him the money that he got for the sheep. When the man shows Santiago the town for a little Santiago loses him in a crowd of hundreds shopping in the markets, and loses all his money. The boy learns not to trust anyone, and is told that there are many thieves in that town.

The book “Quixote’s Soldiers,” by David Montejano was written in clarity to describe and inform readers the injustice the Mexican Americans endured during the mid 1960s through the early 1980s in which they successfully battled for, “a new and more representative political order.” The following critique of “Quixote’s Soldiers,” includes how the Chicano Movement was introduced, the author's purpose and interpretations, and the overall successes and weaknesses of the book.

“Aguantando” means holding on. In the very first paragraph we see how important it is for the narrator, Yunior, to hold on to his father’s memory. Yunior lives with his mother (Mami), grandfather (Abuelo) and brother (Rafa). They live in a house where anything of value, including furniture, food, clothing and even Mami’s Bible is stained from a leaky roof. As a Hispanic male, believe me when I tell you there is nothing more sacred than Mami’s Bible in that home. Yet it is clear how important Papi’s pictures are because they’re always in a plastic sandwich bag to keep them dry. It’s also clear that Papi leaving was the

The line you mentioned is one that caught my attention as well. It seems to be trying to show that just because something is not mentioned directly, does not mean that it is not there. It definitely brought to light the apparent ignorance of Don Quixote as well. While experience is definitely important, passion is just as important as well. However, I would have to agree with you that Don's passion outweighed his ability in this case. When you said "just because it is not in the books, does not mean that it doesn't exist", it reminded me of a quote by Carl Sagan when he stated " absence of evidence is not evidence of absence". Anyway, good job Robert on this post and thanks for sharing.

Spain during the 16th century has been described as a time of oppression, a time of exploitation of the subordinate class. For example, in the text of The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes a gluttonist priest offers Lazarillo scraps of an Eucharist bread, that was nibbled by mice. The priest tells Lazaro to take the bread, stating “There, eat that. The mouse is a clean animal.” This shows the how the higher class sees the lower class, it shows how they believe in offerings coming from them should be taken as a gift, even if a literal rodent has tampered with it. Most who could live during this this time usually were those who held high levels of intelligence and were also devious. Due to this, Lazarillo, being a man who holds the fore told

Consequently, most of the situations that Don Quixote is placed in during his ridiculous quest are excellent examples of slapstick comedy. The reader is highly entertained by Don Quixote on his adventures during which he implicitly believes that he is like the knights in the novels he has read and so; he logically believes his own fiction. The reader is embarrassed when Don Quixote decides that by choosing a new name for himself, his horse, his lady and his friends that this will suffice in making him a knight. Just like he shaped his own appearance, he chooses his name as “Don Quixote de La Mancha” and this becomes one of the most prominent jokes of the book. It is a name that is undignified and pretentious but simultaneously amusing because La Mancha is a dry, sparsely populated region of Spain, which is exactly what a knight should avoid. The suffix –ote was considered derogatory at that time and it is even funny sounding. We are skeptical from the very beginning as to whether or not Don Quixote is worthy of the title “Don” and our suspicions are confirmed when he fails to assist people in distress like any good knight should. It is highly entertaining when Andrés specifically asks Don Quixote not to complicate his life with any more of his help

Depicted on the cover of Quixote’s Soldiers is a group of Mexican- American men and women in protest formation. They carry with them signs that say “Justice for La Raza,” “Ando sangrando igual que tu,” and “Cops out of our communities!” David Montejano argues that Mexican- American reform groups are often left out of the Civil Rights Movement taught in a classroom. San Antonio was the birthplace of the Chicano movement. Here, various organizations were formed to encourage the government to increase Mexican- Americans opportunities in the educational field as well as in the work field. The Brown Power movement campaigned for Mexican- Americans to reject assimilation into the American mainstream society, and celebrate their Chicano history.

The dynamic of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is one of the ways Cervantes entices his readers. He creates a stark contrast between these two characters right off the bat and creates a rapport that leaves readers laughing. He establishes the contrast in stature and mental state and creates two characters that, in time, learn to love and complement each other greatly.

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." -- Marcus Aurelius

enemies would be left to rot, but in his own reality, he is doing the only

A role of Don Quixote’s delusions is to provide a glimpse into a situation where the chivalric code is implemented. Don Quixote is mad at first glance:

While reading Don Quixote, I am sure that many people wonder whether or not Sancho Panza will get his island to govern. The main reason that Sancho agrees to be the squire of Don Quixote is because he is promised riches and an isle to govern. As the book progresses it appears that Sancho's dream will not come true and he will not become a governor. Many times in the book, Sancho asks his master if he was really going to get his isle and Don Quixote always promises him that he will. Eventually Sancho does become governor, although it is all because of a trick played on him by the Duke and Duchess. He shocks everyone by his wisdom and skill that he shows while he is governor.

The novel Don Quixote, by Miguel Cervantes, is an exploration into the idea of created reality. Cervantes, through the character of Don Quixote, illustrates to readers how we as human beings often make reality to be whatever we want it to be.