Imagination and Don Quixote

An Esssay on Miguel   De Cervantes Don Quixote
By Jacqueline Cepparo
In this essay we will look at the psychology behind Cervantes masterpiece Don Quixote, and the use of imagination as a theme in the book.   This essay is for students of pyschology as well as world literature, this essay is created mainly to analyze the character of Don Quixote, and his pysche.
Let us begin with the humble origins of Cervantes’ hero, who in the beginning of the book is commonly known as Alonso Quixano the good to his neighbors and those who   know him and love him.   Alonso Quixano is the everyday man of early 17th century Spain. Cervantes tells us he was once fond of the hunt, hence his pet greyhound, which is an old dog, and underweight like his master. The author goes on to tell us that his diet is simple, and rather paltry. He is an older gentleman of about 50 years of age.   He lives with a housekeeper, and his neice, whom we learn later on is named Antonia.   Tall, lean, and trying to keep his dignity like many a poor Hidalgo during that time, he has a major eccentricty that worries his niece and housekeeper, and also the town curate and barber who come to visit him for intellectual discussions.   This eccentricity is his obsession with chivalry books. Remember that obsessions are never looked upon favorably, and we will take a closer look at that as well.   Master Alonso has sold many valuable acres of land to stock up on books containing fictitious events involving knights, ladies, dragons and damsels in distress, as well as enchantments and many other absurdities.   He locks himself in his study, and ignores the real world around him for this particular pleasure.   Already, we get the idea from the author that this man has a problem with percieving reality.   That “problem” is built to a climax when our good Alonso Quixano the farmer and something of a family man ( though he has never been married)   decides to become ‘Don Quixote’.   The chivalric obsessions clearly have driven...