In venturing out to create his history with only the strength of his ideals, Don Quixote leaves a lasting legacy both in his country, literature, and the real world. His ridiculous behavior, accentuated by a questionable narration of the story, highlights the discrepancy between truth and farce and between sanity and insanity. Furthermore, despite the lack of oversight and effectiveness of his chivalric ideals, Quixote's idealistic dreams of changing the world for the better and his support of social change portray him and Don Quixote as genuinely laudable.
Cervantes' narration of Don Quixote ultimately creates an intricate, complex web of disputed authorship and internal consistencies, forcing readers to reconsider the truth of events. In the beginning, the narration is standard of a story, but then Cervantes reveals that he is translating the manuscript of another man, Cide Hamete Benengeli, whom he often snubs and discredits. In addition to Cide Hamete Benengeli, the Second Part comments about the existence of a fraud sequel to Don Quixote, complicating matters even further as the characters now know that they are characters in a story and seek to revise and change their literary legacies. The disorienting and perhaps even insane style of narration parallels the revolutionary idealogy of Don Quixote and his impact on his contemporaries. In a setting where the readers can seldom comprehend the verisimilitude of the narration, how could they be in a position to decipher between sanity and insanity? Likewise, through his idealism, Don Quixote forces the people around him to reconsider the truth. The core element bringing Quixote to odds with the world is incompatible forms of truth; while the rest of everyone believes the truth to be what is collectively agreed on, Quixote believes in a more personal truth, one which resonates within him and his worldview. Despite how his worldview tends to stray away from notions of reality, it nonetheless possesses a powerful moral compass in guiding his actions. While those around him persecute Quixote's perception of truth, Cervantes does not shy from criticizing the collective truth, which shares the same "insanity" attributed to Quixote. When the other guests in the inn play along with Quixote's notion that Barber 2's basin was, in fact, a legendary helmet, the barber begins to believe the absurd collective truth. Everyone in society is equally prone to believing the absurdities for which they mock Quixote; the same people who laugh at Quixote's romantic idealization of the imaginary Dulcinea have similarly idealized views of women they do not even know. Consequently, as everyone in society is subject to flawed, idealistic mindsets, who is qualified to deem Quixote a madman? In a setting without absolute truth, heightened by the chaotic narration, there cannot be one madman without the entirety of society being equally mad.
Nonetheless, Don Quixote's perception of truth and reality, adopted from chivalry novels, possesses many flaws and is philosophically shortsighted despite its admirability. Don Quixote's kindness shines through even in his first voyage; he treats the prostitutes in the inn like royal ladies, earning their admiration for him. His honesty is pure to the point of naivety, like how he trusted the evil farmer to abide by his oath to pay the shepherd boy wages and treat him well, which results in Don Quixote exacerbating matters for the innocent boy. Genuinely believing that his work is for the benefit of the entire human race, Quixote makes an impassioned speech to the shepherds, vowing to return the world to a period without class divisions, one full of equality, fraternity, and kindness. His alleged insanity stems from his underlying philosophy, his genuine belief in the imaginary world of the chivalry novels, a utopia free of the social ills plaguing Spain at the time. However, his rosy goals prove incompatible with the reality of his surroundings; the chivalrous moral code to which Quixote devotes himself proves ineffective, if not completely useless, in its application in the world of reality. In trying to become a knight-errand, Don Quixote has caused substantially more harm than good; he has unwittingly robbed countless individuals of their possessions, physical health, and liveliness. For example, his emancipation of the galley slaves caused misery for not only himself and Sancho but also for innocent citizens of Spain. Instead, the application of the chivalry-run world is philosophically impossible, as it hinders a fundamental part of human nature. Chivalry relies on positive intention, yet good intentions alone can seldom solve problems arising from a complex web of motives and intentions, as Quixote begins to learn as his problems pile up. His ultimate death symbolizes the philosophical and applicatory failure of his chivalry-utopian dream, as his realization of the fruitlessness of his dreams leaves him with nothing to live for. However, despite the death of Quixote and his idealistic, "insane" dreams, Cervantes proves that benevolence and goodness in society can exist without notions like chivalry. Through the kind shepherds who feed him and dress Don Quixote's wounds after a crowd of muleteers beats him up, Cervantes hints towards a better, altruistic society and future.
Through Quixoite's self-invention into a knight and his idealistic views spurring the rise of social change, Cervantes creates a work truly revolutionary at its time. While rather ridiculous and brought about by comical circumstances, Quixote's knighting captures the essence of his imagination and idealism. His behavior draws parallels to a young child who wants to become something considered nothing wild imagination, like an astronaut, when he grows up. However, while adults and other forces of reality might persuade the child to give up his impossible dreams, Quixote is unfazed; he changes himself to become what he aspires to be. Just like the force of Quixote's willful ideals instantly transformed him into something more incredible, the champion of a cause, despite his past, capabilities, and the general forces of reality, he suggests that all members of society, regardless of birth, can achieve the same. Believing in the brotherhood of the entire human race, Quixote judges one based on their character, not by the circumstances of their birth. This truly gallant gesture of his knight-errantry appears in the story as the distinction between the wealth and integrity of many characters Quixote and Sancho encounter. After a gang of muleteers beats them up, a group of kindly shepherds save Quixote and Sancho, nurture their wounds, and feed them. In contrast, the wealthy Duke and Duchess are characterized by their whimsical pettiness, insanity, and malice by unnecessarily teasing Quixote's honesty and kindness for the gain of nothing but shallow amusement. Enthralled in pettiness, the Duke and Duchess spend vast amounts of resources to poke fun at Sancho's stupidity and Quixote's naive sincerity. Investing so much effort into making fools out of an insane man and a stupid man, who overcome all obstacles with morality and honor, the Duke and Duchess make fools out of themselves. At the same time, the peasant Sancho solves all the absurd and unnecessary problems the Duke and Duchess throw at him when he governs his little province, displaying Sancho's humble, benevolent wisdom. In addition to changing himself to become what he dreams of being, Don Quixote also aspires to bring his dream to the world, to create the chivalry world of his dreams, where one's worth is judged by their actions and merit, not their birth. While pursuing his dream proves unfruitful in the story, the prominence of Quixote in literature and the term "quixotry" has allowed him to change the world in his image, to create more dreamers, if not by just a bit.
Through its unclear and chaotic narration, Cervantes' Don Quixote has created a setting in which the genuineness of truth and sanity has become incredibly contested among the characters. Among them, the idealistic dreamer Don Quixote stands out through his insanity, his adherence to a personal, inner truth compared to what others accept is correct, and his idealistic dreams for a chivalric society without class distinctions and prejudice. Moreover, ultimately, he has achieved this dream postmortem, creating a legacy of idealists and dreamers after his image.
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