Cervantes’ Don Quixote

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nIntroduction

nMiguel Cervantes literary work of Don Quixote grants the literary sphere characters that push all boundaries that separate reality from fantasy. The character Don Quixote de la Mancha has a simple story and an undying obsession with chivalry which spike him into a ridiculous urge to venture into the world as a performing knight. His endeavours evolve into a series of thrilling aspects of tensions between facts and fictions which comes out as the major theme. Don Quixote symbolically represents an everyday individual. One particular incidence featured in the book by Cervantes is highlighted in chapter twenty where Sancho employs the use of a story in a bid to calm and entertain his master Don Quixote (De Cervantes, 1919).This essay seeks to explore the analogical and metaphorical dimensions of Sanchos story narrated to Don Quixote; how the story relates to the misrecognition of the hammering sound and its relation to tensions between fiction and fact as a theme.

nTo begin with, tensions between fiction and fact are a major theme that dominates the entire novel but most specifically in chapter twenty when Sancho narrates the story to Don Quixote. Events leading up to narration of the story where Don Quixote was restlessly stubborn to find out where the rattling noise of chains and iron were emanating from illustrate a transition from primitive to modern times, “…They heard, I say, strokes falling with a measured beat, and a certain rattling of iron and chains that, together with the furious din of the water, would have struck terror into any heart but Don Quixotes…” (De Cervantes, 1919). Sancho in an attempt to deter Don Quixote from leaving tied the both legs of the horse so that it would not move. It is a fact that when a horse is tied movement is impossible but Sancho implied fictitiously that the horse not moving was Gods work. “…See there, senor! Heaven, moved by my tears and prayers, has so ordered it that Rocinante cannot stir; and if you will be obstinate, and spur and strike him, you will only provoke fortune, and kick, as they say, against the pricks…” (De Cervantes, 1919).

nFurthermore, the story by Sanchos story figuratively brings out the trickery of Sancho and the foolishness of Don Quixote. Sancho made up the story so as to get his master Don Quixote to get some sleep by the traditional method of counting the number of goats. “…. The fisherman got into the boat and carried one goat over; he came back and carried another over; he came back again, and again brought over another- let your worship keep count of the goats the fisherman is taking across, for if one escapes the memory there will be an end of the story, and it will be impossible to tell another word of it…” (De Cervantes, 1919). Quixote is easily fooled by Sancho because he is naïve and doesnt believe people would be deceitful. His view of the universe was simple, clear, orderly and single-layered. In his folly of trusting people to tell the truth Sancho made up a story to lie to him. “…but I know that as to my story, all that can be said is that it ends there where the mistake in the count of the passage of the goats begins…” (De Cervantes, 1919). Don Quixote out of ignorance failed to recognise the hammering sounds just the same way he failed to count the goats and detect a made up story.

nConclusion

nDon Quixote as a whole depicts a fictional tendency that oscillates between reality and fantasy. Cervantes brings out the character of Don Quixote who captures both hearts and minds with his knight errantry pursuit. The story by Sancho in a bid to calm and entertain his master in chapter twenty has various analogical and metaphorical dimensions. The story brings out the trickery nature of Sancho where he is able to trick Don Quixote to believe that it was possible to transport goats one by one across the river. Don Quixotes inability to detect a made up story with no ending equally relates to how he could not recognise the sounds of iron rattling and hammering. Tension between fiction and fact comes out clearly as events leading to the story narration are factual and fictitious at the same time.

nReferences

nDe Cervantes, M. (1919). Don Quixote. Prior.