Insanity In Cervantes 'Don Quixote'

Carlos Fuentes’ statement: “For him nothing is in doubt and all is possible…Don Quixote is a knight of faith” identifies one of the major themes throughout Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Faith is the major reason why Don Quixote abandons his former life and plunges into a fit of insanity. However, Don Quixote believes in his mission wholeheartedly without any shred of doubt. This continuous faith forces each reader to formulate their own definition of sanity and determine whether or not it applies to Don Quixote. To define insanity is to also clearly draw a line between the sane and the insane, there is no in between. Personally, insanity is defined as plunging into a world of chaos without hope only to be greeted with fear and confusion. This definition of

The conflict between faith and doubt occurs in one man’s mind. Santiago is an older fisherman that is currently on a dry spell from catching any fish. On the eighty-fifth day of not catching a fish, Santiago hooks an enormous marlin. The marlin begins to tow Santiago out deeper and deeper into the ocean. The internal conflict begins when Santiago can no longer see the shore and is completely at the mercy of the fish. He has faith in his ability to reel in the fish, yet he doubts the amount of strength that he will have to return to shore with the fish. When he finally conquers the fish and kills him, he thinks about why he decided to kill something that he shared such admiration: “You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after” (Hemingway 106). However, when he is towing the fish back to shore, sharks begin to eat the flesh and meat off the fish. When he returns to shore, only the carcass of the fish remains. The old man conquers his doubt due to his overwhelming belief of faith in his ability to catch the