Don Quixote takes place during the early seventeenth century, the golden age of Spanish literature, when many of Spain』s greatest literary works were created, a time when Spain experienced an obsession with conquering other lands, thereby calling for novels depicting masculine controlling characters. Miguel Cervantes intended for Don Quixote to ridicule such common novels of the time, stories which primarily involved bravery and power.
The book Don Quixote is about the man Don Quixote of La Mancha, a poor gentleman in Spain. He was in his fifties. His fancy grew full of what he used to read about in his books, namely, charms, quarrels, battles, challenges, wounds, loves, agonies, and all sorts of impossible nonsense. There thoughts so possessed his mind that the whole fabric of inventions and fancy he need of was true, that to him, no history in the world had more reality in it. In short, his wits being quite, he hit upon the strangest notion that he fancied it was right and necessary that he should make a knight of himself. He planned to room the world over in full armor and on horseback in the quest of adventure, righting every wrong, exposing himself to peril and change in the process to reap eternal fame and glory.
Don Quixote had three times of adventures, and he declared his horse to be called Rocinante。He put on his suit of armor, placed his mended bowl on his head for a helmet, mounted Rocinante, and began his first adventure. Then, he found that a knight without love was like a tree without leaves or fruits. So, when he came upon on inn in the nearby village of Toboso which is a small town not very far away from his village, and was soon in the presence of a rather simple peasant woman, and thus declared her to be a princess, addressing her with the name, Dulcinea, in whose service he swore to honor eternally. Actually, the princess he called is really a peasant girl, but in his eyes, she is the most beautiful and charming girl in the world. His attendant, Sancho, once described the girl with peasant background, lack of any kind of knowledge but good at farm labors, and people can here her in five miles away when she quarreled whit others at the village.
The first adventure of Don Quixote』s cost him two days. During his first adventure, he did many crazy things. He regarded a small inn as a big castle and the owner of the inn as the master of the city, so he asked the inn』s owner to pronounce him as a knight. The owner was shocked by his madness, so he did as Don Quixote asked. He also saved a boy under the glory of night, because the boy lost his master』s sheep and was flagged. So Don Quixote saved the boy and asked the master let thy boy go. But unfortunately, when he left the boy, he was caught by his master again and suffered a bitter flag. At last, he was bated too bad to move on the ground by a businessman mounting a horse. Finally, a man in his village found him and brought him home. His friends, the barber and priest burned his books of knights.
The second adventure of Don Quixote』s took place after 15 days, Don Quixote persuaded a silly farmer to be his attendant, and made promised to give Sancho, the attendant, an island to govern. Then the two men left their village and want to room the world. But one night when they slept in an inn, a girl who loves the waiter of the inn went to find the waiter, but Don Quixote thought that this girl must be his courter. So he quarreled and had a fight with the waiter. Latter, when the fact came to the light, Don Quixote felt shameful and left the inn quickly. Then, after doing many other funny and mystical things, Don Quixote were been put into a box made by wooden and brought back home. That』s the end of his second adventure.
The last time, Don Quixote and his attendant set out for Barcelona, because he heard that there is a match for knight from all over the world, so he wanted to see other knights and conquered them and let them believe his princess is the most beautiful one in the world. On his way to the city, he came cross a mad man. This man was not mad before he lost his wife, but when he heard that the girl he loved would be the wife of his best friend; he became mad for he can』t accept this matter. So, Don Quixote decided to help the man and find his love back. In this part, it is the first time for Don Quixote to right the wrongs and help others who need help, because no matter what he did before, all of those things are ridiculous and are laughed by other. Although this time his action is still under the glory of knight, he does help others. After this matter ends, he continued his voyage to the city for his match. He met another knight of the White Moon, and the knight asked Don Quixote to have a battle with him. The knight who would be conquered must do anything the winner asks him to do. To keep his fame and glory, Don Quixote accepted the knight of White Moon』 challenge, but bad luck with him, he failed the battle. Then the knight asked him to stay in home for one year. After Don Quixote back to home, he realized that all he has dong were funny, so he changed his will to his niece and asked them never read any books about knights. Then he passed away.
Thought the main character, Don Quixote, foolishly runs off in pursuit of heroism after going mad, receiving little gratitude for his attempts at fearless heroism in the process, some such experiences were based on Cervantes』 own time in the Spanish military. But that may be a little cynical to say Cervantes wanted to use this story to cynic the government and the army how black it is.
In the book, no matter what Don Quixote had done, all he received was misunderstand. Actually, the main character has a good heart, and very smart. What he did wrong was believed that the charms are the truth. So, he did everything for good will, no matter he protected the poor boy who bitted by his master, or he helped those men who would be put into prison, or he helped the Duck find his true love again, or other things he did, he just wanted to help those people who were in the need. But people did not believe him, just because he was in his funny suit and all he did for the name of knight. May be, the writer, Cervantes, has the same experience with Don Quixote, and he was not believed by the people around him, not trust by the people around him, what』 more, no matter what he did, he would be misunderstood by others.
And for this reason, he wrote this book, Don Quixote, to say how bad he felt when he was entrusted by others; to say how bad he felt when he saw how black the government and the army is; to say how bad he felt when he saw people think good as bad, think kind as mad, think right as wrong; to say how absurd the world is. Just like the knight in his book, Don Quixote, he wanted to right the wrongs and told people what is right and what is wrong, but he was refused by all of people and not accepted by everyone in the world.
So, this is my opinion of this book, Don Quixote, and my opinion about the writer, Cervantes. For his great work and his miserable life, I can see I know more about the Spain and the history at that time. And I also can understand what Cervantes felt in his days.