Don Quixote: The Trickster And The Fool
Matthew Johnson
Professor Farrah Cato
World Lit 2110
December 1, 2017
The Trickster and the Fool There are many characters from stories and poems that I have read that push boundaries. Some of these characters rarely seem aware that almost any boundaries exist. The main character of Miguel de Cervantes’ best-known work, Don Quixote, is among those characters. He constantly crosses the lines between right and wrong, sometimes in ways that disturb and frighten everyone around him. This definitely places him in the category of “trickster”, as explained by Lewis Hyde. Although Don Quixote may not be one to try and cross boundaries, he is still found on the lines between knowledge and insanity, and reality and imagination. Don Quixote’s determination to follow
…show more content…
One way that Hyde defines a trickster is as a character whose “appetites drive their wanderings”. This interpretation of Don Quixote is possibly the best. Quixote wants to pursue his dream of having an ideal, and does not care about anything or anyone around him as he tries to do so. The amount of trouble he causes for everyone around him, though, overrules the sentiment that he portrays. Trickster stories and characters are often used to teach moral lessons, with the characters’ actions backfiring on them. For Quixote’s case, thinking before you act is definitely a lesson that was supposed to be taught. He starts fights for no good reason. One good example of this was when he attacks a group of travelers because he believed that they were kidnapping a princess. His lack of being able to distinguish real enemies from imagined ones is what had created the problem. When he’s
Lessons Can Be Learned In 'Crabbe' By William Bell
729 Words | 3 PagesOne lesson is to not let others control your life. Another lesson is letting people help one’s self. The final lesson is to limit the amount of alcohol one consumes. Firstly, a lesson learned from reading the novel, is that one should not let other people control one’s life.
Comparing Hunahpu And Hubalanque
306 Words | 2 PagesTricksters, much like wise old men, dragons, and knights are common story characters; however, characters like tricksters are not just for story books or tales, they are also widely found in religious writings. Gods like Loki in the Norse mythology, or Set in the Egyptian mythology used trickery or underhanded tactics to gain power or cause damage in their own stories. Hunahpu and Xbalanque are described as tricksters in the story, in one literal sense, when Seven Macaw is talking about them, on page 2497 Macaw refers to them as tricksters. Aside from this, the tactics the boys use also suggest that they are trickster archetypal characters. The two examples that best show this are how Hunahpu attacks Macaw with a blow-dart when he is eating,
Book Thief Upstander Quotes
1355 Words | 6 PagesA huge moment that reflects why this theme leaves such a big impact on me was when I got really upset in elementary school and started crying uncontrollably from my partner criticizing me for something I was struggling with. However, despite the fact that I barely whispered more than three sentences a day, half my class stood up for me, which resonates deeply with me knowing that kids that young were able to define such strong traits within themselves to use, while other adults struggle to show an ounce of those characteristics. A lot of the time it is easier said than done when you see something wrong but don’t do anything about it. In elementary school, my judgment was often clouded and didn’t always lead to me making the right choices such as leaving my brothers in tears because I didn’t want to be with him one afternoon. I thought that if I would do it more often, it would toughen him up and he would avoid annoying me.
How Does Mrs Maudie Use Adult Language In To Kill A Mockingbird
538 Words | 3 PagesAnother example is when Scout talked to the mob of men: “Attitcus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in.” (Lee 205) Atticus told Scout about politeness and she used the advice he had told her and made a difference. Scout was brave enough to talk about what the men were interested in and changed their minds swiftly although she didn’t know exactly what was going on between the mob and Atticus. Politeness is taught from one to another and that habit can be used to make a
The Consequences Of Miep Gies During The Holocaust
736 Words | 3 PagesLearning from our consequences of actions is not only important but it gives you the chance to change your mistake it could also prevent it from happening again and makes you a little stronger in the inside. An inaction could just make you wonder what you could’ve done and cause feeling towards your idea. Of the eight hiders Otto Frank was the only one to survive the Auschwitz camp. Resistance might have told others to act if they were to see anything suspicious or their lives would of been in danger they had a choice to make action or inaction.
Fear In 'Planet Of The Apes'
479 Words | 2 PagesThe lesson that stood out the most to me was Niccolo Machiavelli’s view that fear is stronger than love. Prior to the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar built a nation of apes inspired by love and continuing onto this movie, this way of leadership developed a family. However, this view made him weak among his apes because they expected him to forgive them for doing wrong with little consequences. However, when Caesar was thought to be killed and Koba was the leader, his leadership style of fear resulted in majority of apes going against their morals, values and principles. The fear by him made him powerful among his apes because they expected no forgiveness for doing wrong and the consequence of death.
Does Stevenson Create A Sense Of Terror In Dr Jekyll And Hyde
589 Words | 3 PagesHydes menacing personality evokes a feeling of horror by leaving the reader questioning a character, in this case, Hyde, reliability in the human world
Mythological Hero And Trickster Importance
1560 Words | 7 PagesFor instance, Dionysus, a god of fervent inspiration, insanity, and ecstasy. In Heracles and Dionysus, it states, “After traveling through Thrace and the whole of India, where he set up pillars, he arrived in Thebes, where he forced the women to desert their houses and abandon themselves to Bacchic frenzy on Mount Cithairon (604). Like other tricksters, he is an outsider but also serves as an outlet to express the desires that are in opposition with the ethical code upheld in society. In modern American culture, an example of a trickster is, The Joker an anarchic counterpart to Batman’s struggle for order exhibits more than a few features of the trickster model. He is mysterious, unpredictable and has a significant fixation with gags and pranks that are sometimes innocuous, sometimes lethal.
Winnebago Trickster Cycle
1926 Words | 8 PagesOn a basic level a trickster, just as his name signifies, is a trick-player who uses deception and manipulation in his travels. The fact that he deceives to obtain base pleasures such as food, sex or just the entertainment of tricking someone, is also an aspect to be considered in defining trickster behavior. But Trickster is too complex to only be considered a trick-player. In the process of his deception he tends to overturn and demonstrate rebellion against the established social order and customs. This is not a way to fight against establish society as it may seem, but a way to reaffirm the necessity of rules and customs in maintaining social order in the minds of the younger generations who may hear these stories.
The Theme Of Repression In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
525 Words | 3 PagesJekyll and Mr. Hyde” because the story takes place in Victorian England we see that the characters have no room for expression of emotions or violence. Everything they do is secret, so the more Dr Jekyll is repressed, the more he wants to be Mr Hyde. The original characteristics of Henry Jekyll are reflected as “...life of effort, virtue, and control” (pg. 172) because, most of his life his vice activities were maintained a secret. According to Jekyll, when evil is separated into one body, one will not know right from wrong because there is no conscious in a being of complete evil which was Hyde for
Don Quixote Insanity
288 Words | 2 PagesDon Quixote is an acutely delusional individual. The sails in the distance were only a hallucination, a figment to his imagination. He was also brave; he was willing to battle the sails as they were ghastly creatures. The excerpt from " The Comical History of Don Quixote " play shows numerous ways to explain characteristics of Don Quixote. Don Quixote can be described as an insane person.
Explain How Macbeth Relates To Modern Society
726 Words | 3 PagesThe lesson being taught is to not trying and use unethical means to get things done, and to get things done with intending to hurt the people around
Real Life Techniques In George Orwell's Call Of The Wild
96 Words | 1 PagesAnother example is when Sol-leks attacked Buck for approaching his blind side. Buck then learned not to come to Sol-leks’s blind side. Since he is taking and learning lessons to real-life
Don Quixote And Sancho Panza Analysis
833 Words | 4 PagesDon Quixote is a novel by Miguel de Cervantes that follows the adventures of the self-created knight-errant, Don Quixote, and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through Spain during the time period of the seventeenth century. As the play goes on, the audience comes to realize that the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is a really important one because Sancho brings out the realism out Don Quixote. The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is a really important one because it also puts a spotlight over the topic of social leveling, specifically social prejudice and how social prejudice acts caused characters to treat Don Quixote and Sancho Panza differently. The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is a really important one because their friendship is depicted across social class lines in Spain during the 17th century, where strict social orders were in place.
Reality And Illusion In Miguel De Cervantes's Don Quixote
1081 Words | 5 PagesBased on Don Quixote, fiction becomes the preferable reality and true reality itself becomes unnecessary. In this novel, fiction is the origin from where Don Quixote 's knightly characteristics derive from and the reason why he perceives the world differently from others. With chivalry books being the start of his knight errant ideas, he is molded into this delusional character who has an imaginative vision. For instance, Don Quixote’s first adventure lies in an Inn; however, “as soon as he saw the inn he took it for a castle with
More about Don Quixote: The Trickster And The Fool
Lessons Can Be Learned In 'Crabbe' By William Bell
729 Words | 3 PagesComparing Hunahpu And Hubalanque
306 Words | 2 PagesBook Thief Upstander Quotes
1355 Words | 6 PagesHow Does Mrs Maudie Use Adult Language In To Kill A Mockingbird
538 Words | 3 PagesThe Consequences Of Miep Gies During The Holocaust
736 Words | 3 PagesFear In 'Planet Of The Apes'
479 Words | 2 PagesDoes Stevenson Create A Sense Of Terror In Dr Jekyll And Hyde
589 Words | 3 PagesMythological Hero And Trickster Importance
1560 Words | 7 PagesWinnebago Trickster Cycle
1926 Words | 8 PagesThe Theme Of Repression In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
525 Words | 3 PagesDon Quixote Insanity
288 Words | 2 PagesExplain How Macbeth Relates To Modern Society
726 Words | 3 PagesReal Life Techniques In George Orwell's Call Of The Wild
96 Words | 1 PagesDon Quixote And Sancho Panza Analysis
833 Words | 4 PagesReality And Illusion In Miguel De Cervantes's Don Quixote
1081 Words | 5 Pages