Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quijote de la Mancha is a Spanish epic novel published in the 1600s in two different publications. In the book, the main character, Quixote, sets out on an adventure as a man dressed in a cardboard helmet riding a horse. In the beginning, everyone believes he is living out a delusion. Throughout the novel, he presumes the world in his fantastical ways, where he is a knight on a crucial adventure, as others view him as a mentally unstable psychopath. Don Quijote de la Mancha is a novel that describes the relationship between two completely different characters, one’s attempts to escape the cruel reality, and how good intentions can go too far.
Don Quijote de la Mancha is wrapped around Quixote and Sancho, two friends with opposite beliefs. While Quixote views himself as a knight and that he has to rid the evil, Sancho has a more realistic viewpoint, similar to that of an average person. The two friends are also opposites in appearance, with Sancho being short and chubby while Quixote is tall and slim. They also have their ideas, with Quixote being limited under real-life rules while Sancho follows his guidelines. Two vastly different friends help each realize the world from another viewpoint, creating a blend between realism and imagination. As the story progresses, the real and the false become tangled. In the beginning, both Sancho and Quixote start as anti-stereotypical characters who are exceptional in either way. As the story progresses, the friends slowly merge back into reality.
During the 1600s, social classes were predominantly standard in Europe, with most countries using them as a basis for how their government operated. The three social classes of Spain during the 1600s were the nobility, the rest of the citizens, and the poor and homeless making up the bottom. Quixote, born into poverty, is fully aware that he cannot change his social situation and therefore imagines himself as somebody more terrific who does great things, thus earning respect for himself. Quixote’s journeys were all powered by his urge for honor and glory, taking him away from the society o the city where he suffers. In addition to being belittled for his low social status, Quixote also receives criticism and punishment for his imagination. Upon walking into an inn and referring to everything as parts of a castle, the innkeepers played along, but Quixote still received eyes, as he was thought by others to be insane.
Despite having a solid sense of rightoutnsees, Quixote makes mistakes that will cost him plenty. As a knight in his imagination, Quixote firmly believes that the world is dark and that he must change for the better by eliminating evil. Although such intentions are noted to be positive, there are many cases where Quixote misjudges the situation and ends up in a sticky spot. The classic example of Quixote making poor judgment is when he sees the monkeys “chasing” after the women and imagines them in danger. In Reality, the monkeys are the women’s finances. This extremely bizarre case causes Quixote to imagine the dilemma and then proceeds to kill the monkeys, getting into a lot of trouble. As the bystander effect, the influence of others on a person's willingness to help someone in need has no impact on Quixote due to his abundance of imagination and righteousness; he charges up to the women assuming they are in danger.
The novel Don Quixote de La Mancha is unique, from its perspective from the Spanish side of the social class and Europe in general, contrary to the British point of view, the literature giant of the time. From the novel, readers can note the differences and similarities between the Spanish and British customs and beliefs of the time and how each side has its shortcomings.
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