Compare Hamlet And Don Quixote

To some madness can be a comedy, but to others it is a deadly tragedy, and these two opinions are shown in Hamlet and Don Quixote. Both Hamlet and Don Quixote are men who deal with their minds descent into madness, yet their stories are different. One is a dark tragedy that explores how one man’s madness can impact all those around him, and another is a light comedy about the adventures of a deranged and confused man. Both are opposites in regards to how the world treats their madness and the events that transpire because of them.

One can ponder whether a man who is aware of his own insanity is more insane than one who ignores it. Don Quixote never admits to the lunacy of his actions rather relishes in his own madness. Instead of listening

Don Quixote’s is seen as a joke. Those he encounters merely play along with his madness. They tell him wizards have stolen his books and sometimes pose as knights for him to duel. While the motive is to hopefully use his insanity against him, in actuality it fuels him. It gets to the point that his madness is celebrated through the creation of novels about him. He now feels as though he should continue his adventures because people want him to. By allowing Don to continue in his delusions with the bonus of it making him famous, they are watering the seed of madness in his mind, allowing it to consume him. He only regains his sanity once he finds himself dying from illness, showing that only he can make him see the errors of his ways, not the influence of others. While Don Quixote’s world responded to him with jokes and jibes, Hamlet’s supporting characters took to him with fear and malice. Those he cared about either tried to kill him or have him sent away because they could not fathom why he was acting this way. The attempts made to either decode his insanity, or eliminate him all together, would often backfire with the perpetrator killed instead. This is a sharp contrast to the way that Don Quixote’s family responded to his madness, they tried to reason with him while Hamlet’s family tried to

Hamlet’s destructive desire for revenge would lead those he once cared for to their deaths. Ophelia would go mad due to her grief about having been rejected by the man she loved, and said man also killing her father. His mother Gertrude, King Claudius and countless other characters would by kill either directly by Hamlet or from the actions made against Hamlet, such as the poison used in an attempt to kill Hamlet instead being consumed by Gertrude. Hamlet’s reign of insanity would end with his murder, but he does complete his quest for revenge, even if it comes at the cost of nearly every character’s lives. Don Quixote’s fate, however, was one not impacted by his own insanity. Rather than dying a brutal death like Hamlet, he does instead by an illness in the comfort of his own home surrounded by loved ones. In his dying breaths, he comes to terms with his past insanity and begs forgiveness from those he feels as though he wronged. While his friend Sancho Panzo does die, it is accidentally and not through any action by Don Quixote. Don Quixote’s story ends almost comical in comparison to Hamlets.

Don Quixote and Hamlet are two tales that show how different the concept of insanity can be. Insanity is a comedy or a tragedy based on how both the victim and their surroundings react. It can lead to death and suffering if treated one way, and laughs