Don Quixote, a man in his early fifties, is the protagonist of the book. Because of his addiction of chivalric literature, he develops the delusion that he must save the “dying” world from evil encharters, charlatans, and oppressors of the peasants by reviving the tradition of gallant knight-errantry. The book “Don Quixote'' was written during the Middle Ages and first published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, respectively. The book’s prolific author, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, used the opportunity to address a variety of problems plaguing the Spanish civilization of the era in which he lived.Insinuating that sometimes society’s beliefs may be incorrect, Cervantes also urged people to develop their own independent thought and to pursue worthwhile ideas even if they were rejected by the majority of people.
Although Cervantes’ novel was written with satirical intent,the rich fictional world of Don Quicote de la Mancha completely transcends its local occasion. The book can be seen as one of the most intimate analyses of a life that a great author has ever written, at the most fundamental level. When Don Quixote decides to champion the cause of knight errantry, he exposes himself to a life of scorn and failure, a life eerily resembling Cervantes’ own, with its never ending setbacks, humiliations, and pointless struggles. Out of his life of failure and disappointment, Cervantes invented the “mad knight,” but he also added the curious human nobility and the refusal to give up in the face of defeat that make Quixote into something more than a cartoon character or an absurd figure to be laughed at. The one and spirit of the book, the succession of catastrophes with only sporadic moments of slight glory, and the resilience of human nature mark it as Cervantes’ most personal work; it is the work in which the author’s extraordinarily challenging life and his incredibly nuanced emotional reactions. Despite the fact that there are almost no points in the book where actual incidents from his life appear directly or even take on a fictional appearance. If the novel is a biography of Cervantes, the fiction also depicts a time in Spanish national history when fortunes were shifting and the tides were turning. When Cervantes was born, Spain had reached the pinnacle of its power and glory. Spanish conquests restored the nation's wealth, grew commerce, and artists vividly and forcefully captured the sense of national pride. By the time Don Quixote of La Mancha was published, the Spanish Empire was starting to fall. A series of military defeats, including the English defeat of the Spanish Armada and the Flanders revolt, had shaken the formerly powerful country.
Don Quixote de la Mancha is the best literary representation of the Counter- Reformation. The reformation was reshaping the religious landscape of every country as it spread across Europe at the rate of new ideas. Spain stood stone as Catholic nation and resisted all changes. Quixote’s courage and determination to stand up for his beliefs in the face of all opposition reflect the strength of the Spanish will at this time. Quixote;s isolation against the reform wave that was sweeping Europe exhibited a sort of willed insanity. The greatest fictional Catholic hero may be the battered knight of the Counter-Reformation, Don Quixote. Cervantes was a devout and devoted Christian who supported the Church. The book also fictitiously depicts the various facets of the Spanish spirit and temper. Cervantes depicts the two side of the Spanish soul in the divisions and contradiction between the Knight of the Sad Countenance and his unlikely squire, Sancho Panza: The Done is idealistic, vivacious, energetic, and cheerful, even in the face of overwhelming odds; however, he is also overbearing, domineering Sancho, who earthy, servile, and slothful. The two characters seem like they wouldn’t make good friends, but they end up working together to make the book work as a whole. Their conversations and disagreements are what keep the book together throughout. The opposing truths of the spirit of Cervantes’ native land are illustrated by the master and servant.
The book can also be seen as a pivotal point in the evolution of fiction, the point at which the created character was set free to interact with the real world of freedom and possibility. The world of fiction was forever altered when the gentleman of La Mancha decided to transform himself into a knight-errant and travel the globe righting wrongs and achieving eternal glory. Fictional characters evolved into being unpredictable, lively, and spontaneous. Character in fiction had previously served the plot up until that point, but now the reality of change, psychological energy, and free will became a constant hallmark of fiction, just as it had been in drama and narrative poetry. The new freedom was all the more impressive because of the title character’s impaired reasoning. The new freedom was all the more impressive because of the title character's impaired reasoning. Don Quixote's tenacity, the effect of his vision on the world, and the world's harsh reality as it affects the Don all contribute to psychologically plausible shifting balances and constant changes in fortune. This freedom is highlighted by the way in which the relationship between the knight and his squire shifts over time, as well as by the ability of other figures in the story to directly influence Don Quixote's fate, including the niece, the housekeeper, the priest, the barber, Sampson Carrasco, the Duke, and the Duchess. The novel is interwoven with interactions, and characters change as they experience new adventures, new people, and new ideas.
Don Quixote is a middle-aged man from the region of La Mancha in central spain. He decides to use his lance and sword to protect the defenseless and slay the wicked because he is obsessed with the chivalrous ideals extrolled in the books he has read. After a first unsuccessful adventure, he embarks on a second one with Sancho Panza, a somewhat bewildered laborer he has persuaded to accompany him as his obedient squire. For Sancho's assistance, Don Quixote promises to make him the wealthy lord of an island. In search of fame and great adventure, Don Quixote travels the roads of Spain on his horse, Rocinante, an old barn nag. In the name of Dulcinea del Toboso, a peasant woman he imagines as a princess, he forgoes food, shelter, and comfort.
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