The Fantasies of Don Quixote

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The Fantasies of Don Quixote

Don Quixote lived in a fantasy world of chivalry. Chivalry had negative and

positive effects on the lives of the people. Don Quixote emphasizes a cross-section of

Spanish life, thought, and feeling at the end of chivalry. Don Quixote has been called

the best novel in the world, and it cannot be compared to any other novel. Don

Quixote has been described as "that genial and just judge of imposture, folly, vanity,

affectation, and insincerity; that tragic picture of the brave man born out of his

time, too proud and too just to be of use in his age" (Putnam, 15).

The novel has been translated by different people, but it has been said that

Shelton's translation has a charm that no modern translation has because he

belonged to the same generation as Cervantes the author of Don Quixote. He could

see things as Cervantes saw them. Cervantes' life had influence on Don Quixote. He

could look back on his ancestry of genuine knights-errant. He had a strong feeling

on the subject of the sham or false chivalry of the romances. Cervantes says, "any

point of view affords only partial insights, even a man's judgment of his own

qualities" (Ortega, 101).

John Ormsby, in his translation, states that to speak of Don Quixote as it

were just a humorous book would be a misdeception. Cervantes at times makes it

a kind of commonplace book for observations and reflections and gathered wisdom

of a long and stirring life. According to Ormsby, it is a mine of shrewd observations

on mankind and human nature. "Perhaps," Cervantes said, "more people would be

better people if they were able to recognize the knights within them" (Church, 6).

It has been said...

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Russell, P. E. "Don Quixote as a Funny Book." Modern Language Review. (1969).

Sarmiento, Edward. "On the Interpretation of Don Quixote." Bulletin of Hispanic

Studies. 1960.

Spitzer, Leo. "Linguistic Perspectivism in the Don Quixote." Linguistics and

Literary History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1948

Van Doren, Mark. Don Quixote's Profession. New York: Columbia University

Press, 1958.

Warddropper, Bruce W. "Don Quixote: Story or History?" Modern Philology.

(1965).

Willis, Jr., Raymond S. The Phantom Chapters of the Quixote. New York: Hispanic Institute of the United States, 1953.

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