The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Don Quixote

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The reader have probably wondered how different the life would be, if one day one could have followed his desires? If spontaneously, leaving his routine life behind one could have finally discovered a long awaited feeling of delight?!
Life is not much different. People are living in a society: a family, a circle of friends and acquaintances - where certain customs or beliefs set the boundaries of our behaviour. People are expected to do what is thought to be right or appropriate. The actions are not necessarily supposed to be bad by nature to be thought as wrong, but it can be something different or unusual for people around.
This idea goes throughout the whole story of “Don Quixote”, where a middle-aged man named Alonso Quijano, followed by his inspiration, decides to bring changes into his life. Of course, the original idea of Miguel de Cervantes was to mock the chivalry romances which were very popular during his time. The author portrays a main character as a foolish man who becomes enamored by old stories about valiant knights. Not only in “Don Quixote” Miguel de Cervantes ridicules most chivalry romances for their silly plot and poor characterization, but also creates a fantastic set of characters with their unique personality. Of course, at first Alonso Quijano looks like a mentally deranged man who is living in his own world, but having a closer look at his character and his life reveals a little more about his personality. Main character lives his whole life without doing anything extraordinary, which creates an emptiness deep inside him. Alonso Quijano wants a little more, he wants to feel an enjoyment, and reading the stories about brave knights fighting for honor opens up a new page in his life. Now he has a dream t...

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...tial idea of both stories. Ivan’s and Alonso’s problems are very similar. Both main characters are not very happy with their life in the beginning of the stories, they are desperate for some changes. While thinking about a happy, extraordinary life, both characters are extremely detached from real life. The more they dive into their illusions the more they are apart from the reality; at some point both, Ivan and Alonso, find themselves trapped in isolated presence. In both cases after a long period of time spent in their illusionary world the main characters come to a disappointment and sadness: Ivan being sad about making the wrong choices throughout his life and Alonso finally coming to sanity and realizing how foolish he was and how much discomfort he brought to people. Both, Ivan and Alonso, finally accept the ultimate truth and pass away from real presence.

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