Don Quixote Reflection

After reading the required readings from Cervantes’ Don Quixote, I found that the story did not compel me very much on its own, and the writing was dense and difficult to get through. Although I felt a similar problem reading Chabon’s Gentlemen of the Road, I found the story much more appealing, to the point where I could overcome my dislike for the style. Although there are many clever and witty parts in Cervantes’ novel, the story never interested me enough to push through the difficult diction; I continued reading because it was required for class. Also, the story irritated me because I felt that someone needed to truly intervene and stop this poor, mentally ill man from harming himself further. He ends up losing his ear to his endeavors

Obviously, Don Quixote had the noblest of intentions by shoving his way into a situation that had nothing to do with him and bringing about justice. However, after Don Quixote left, the master made the servant’s punishment even worse than before. This was reminiscent of the way that United States interfered with other countries’ developing governments during the Cold War in order to prevent the spread of communism. By entering into societies and replacing the established systems and governments with who they preferred, the United States actually worked against themselves and created many more problems. As a consequence of their meddling, atrocities like the Korean War and the Vietnam War occurred, resulting in huge loss of life on both sides. Moreover, the landscapes in these countries and their neighbors after these wars created situations perfect for hostile and murdering dictators to come to power. In Cambodia, the leader Pol Pot used the devastation of the forest and the United States’ misuse of their country during the Vietnam War to stage a coup and place himself in power. As a result, almost two million people died in fields intended to completely de-westernize Cambodia. The blasé attitude that the United States held towards interfering in other countries mirrors the attitude of Don Quixote when believe that his interference will only cause good