Don Quixote

By: Robert, Rachel, Anni, Lauren,

Other people who may have had something to do with the editing of this page:

Cydni R., Kamiah A., Allie L., Jarred B.

Author
Plot Summary
Characters
Use of Literary terms
Memorable Quote
Sources

1.Author

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)

Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, which is near Madrid. He was the fourth child of seven. In 1571, Cervantes joined the Spanish Regiment in Naples. The next year, he was in a sea battle which caused his left hand to be permanently injured. Miguel and his brother went on a sea journey and were caught by pirates and taken captive. After five years, his family raised his ransom money and he was freed. Miguel returned home and began writing plays. In 1984, he married a woman 18 years younger than him but didn’t have any kids with her. He did however have a daughter during an affair with an actress. After leaving his wife, he lived the rest of his life poor. He was imprisoned twice.

2. Plot Summary

Chapter 1

In the village of La Mancha you will find Don Quixote. He was a nice gentleman, about 50 years old, gaunt-featured, a very early riser and a great sportsman. He didn’t live alone. He had a housekeeper or a niece under twenty. When he had nothing to do he would read adventure books to pass the time. He sold many acres of corn land to buy these books. He loved to read these books, especially the books written by Feliciano de Silvia. He began to read so much, he decided he was to become a knight and serve his country from all the wrong in the world. The first thing he did was clean off some armor he received from his ancestors. After cleaning it off and repairing it, he noticed everything was fine except for the helmet. After deciding he was not going to do better he decided to get a noble stead. He never found this either, so he decided to just give himself a new name. Don Quixote is what he was to be know as for now. After this, he needed a lady. In order to find one he decided to set out on his voyage. After setting out, he found his love named Aldonza Lorenzo.

Chapter 7

Don Quixote tried to play a laborer by persuading him enough so that eventually the laborer gave in and served him as his squire. He called this man Sancho Panza. Together they began to sell things, pawning another and making some bad bargains. One day while bargaining, someone made reference to a nice donkey. When Don heard this he immediately made a deal. This donkey became Sancho Panza’s.

Chapter 8

While traveling, the spotted thirty or forty windmills. Don Quixote saw these and believed they were giants. As he saw these, Sancho began trying to convince him these were just windmills. Don Quixote did not believe him and went soaring into them. Later after learning it was just a windmill they set off on the road.

3. Characters

Don Quixote: lived in La Mancha, Spain and his real name is Alonso Quijana (or Quesada, or Quijada). He is nearly 50 years old. He was an avid hunter and soon became an avid reader of novels about knights. Quixote gets caught up in the adventurous life-style and beleives he is a great knight, with hopes of proclaming that.

Señor Pero Perez: a village priest. Argued with Don Quixote about the reality of these stories. He had a degree from a local university.

Master Nicolas: a village barber, who also argued with Don Quixote about which fictional character was the best knight.

Rocinante: Don Quixote’s horse, whose name was changed to sound as if he was a "noble steed" instead of the regular barn horse he is.

Aldonza Lorenzo: the peasant girl form the nearby village of Toboso. Chosen to be Don Quixote’s lady love. He renames her Dulcinea del Toboso. And gives her the title "Mistress of His Thoughts".

Sancho Panza: Don Quixote’s squire. Has a wife and two children. Has his own adventure as a governor of an island.

Donkey: Sancho’s loyal donkey.

Duchess: owns a castle and plays pranks on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Duke: owns a castle and plays pranks on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Housekeeper: a lady who works for Don Quixote.

Antonia: Alonso's niece, a woman under twenty; she urges both the curate and the barber to burn all of Alonso's books

Freston: a magician who stole the library and changed the windmills in to giants.

4. Literary terms

“Many an argument did he have with the curate of his village (a

learned man, and a graduate of Siguenza) as to which had been the

better knight, Palmerin of England or Amadis of Gaul.”

- Allusion

“and who is to

be the happy man that will succeed in taming a nature so formidable

and gaining possession of a beauty so supreme.”

-Personification

“first friar”

- Alliteration

5.Memorable quotes

Sancho, the realist, tells his master, "I sometimes think that all you tell me of knighthood, kingdoms, empires and islands is all windy blather and lies" (Book 1, Part 15).

Quixote explains the Golden Age of men, saying, "Neither fraud, nor deceit, nor malice had yet interfered with truth and plain dealing" (Book 1, Part 8).

Cervantes describes Quixote's growing obsession with knight-errantry, saying, "he so immersed himself in those romances that he spent whole days and nights over his books; and thus with little sleeping and much reading his brains dried up to such a degree that he lost the use of his reason" (Book 1, Part 1).

6. Sources

"Don Quixote" Wikipedia(r) 1 May 2007. 29 May 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote>