Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes

A STEP BEYOND

TESTS AND ANSWERS

TEST 1

_____ 1. Alonso Quixano is driven mad by

A. poverty
B. reading too many books about chivalry
C. his fantasies about the wicked enchanter Freston

A. thinks he will become ruler of an island
B. wants to get away from his wife
C. wants to recover his stolen ass, Dapple

A. pain of unrequited love
B. evils of arranged marriages
C. importance of trusting those we love

A. believes they are victims of a wicked enchanter
B. thinks Gines de Pasamonte was unjustly convicted
C. does not believe the king has a right to take away anyone's liberty

I. illusion vs. reality
II. the evils of the class structure
III. the role of idealism in the real world

A. I & II only
B. I & III only
C. II & III only

A. impossibility of romantic love lasting forever
B. curse of immortality
C. dangers of mistaking fantasy for reality

A. really does come from a noble family
B. knows what it is like to be a damsel in distress
C. is secretly in love with Don Quixote

A. spiteful and self-centered
B. just the type to die for love
C. too young to know her own mind

A. the belief that one's own ideals are superior to everyone else's
B. misguided idealism
C. a form of idealism that went out of style at the end of the Middle Ages

A. the knights-errant he admires are fictional characters
B. Dulcinea never existed
C. he himself is a character in a book

11. What was Cervantes' view of religion?

12. How does Sancho Panza change and become "quixotized" in the course of the novel?

13. Discuss some different forms of humor in Don Quixote.

14. Why is the episode of the Cave of Montesinos sometimes called "Don Quixote's lie"? How does it differ from the adventures that precede it?

15. Discuss the mirror symbolism in Don Quixote.

TEST 2

_____ 1. Don Quixote believes that a knight-errant in search of adventure must

I. abstain from sex
II. fight only with other knights, never with those beneath his station
III. always sleep in a castle

A. I & II only
B. II & III only
C. I & III only

A. the author of many chivalric romances
B. a creation of Cervantes' imagination
C. a Moor expelled from Spain for refusing to convert to Christianity

A. Ruy Perez de Viedma
B. Camacho
C. Roque Ginart

A. the people of seventeenth-century Spain could be very intolerant
B. wars are often fought for petty reasons
C. you should mind your own business, not your neighbor's

A. knows that knights-errant are out of style
B. is a married man
C. thinks chivalry is boring

A. Because so many of Quixote's adventures are based on Cervantes' own experiences
B. Because Don Quixote was the book that made Cervantes' fortune
C. Because he understood his hero far better than the author of the unauthorized version of Part II

A. the reading of the novel about "The Man Who Was Too Curious For His Own Good"
B. the puppet show
C. Countess Trifaldi's tale

A. Knight of the Mirrors
B. man in green
C. hermit of the Sierra Moreno

A. becomes less talkative
B. must beat himself on his own backside
C. treats Dapple more kindly

A. Altisidora's suffering makes him ashamed of himself
B. Sancho finally disenchants Dulcinea
C. he realizes he will never see Dulcinea in this life

11. Why is Don Quixote sometimes called the first true novel?

12. Some psychologists have pointed out that people who have to cope with the insane often start behaving as if they were insane themselves. Can you find any instances of this kind of behavior in Don Quixote? What function do these incidents serve?

13. How does Cervantes further the theme of illusion vs. reality?

14. Do you think Don Quixote shows true courage in his adventures? Why or why not?

15. What is Cervantes' attitude toward the lower classes? Be sure to discuss the character of Sancho Panza in your answer.

ANSWERS

1. B
   
2. A
   
3. C
   
4. C
   
5. B
   
6. B
   
7. B
   
8. A
   
9. B
   
10. C

11. There is no one right answer to this question. You should keep in mind, however, that the majority opinion is that Cervantes attacked only superstition and hypocrisy, not religious values as such. It is easy to find places in the novel where the author pokes fun at the church hierarchy. For example, Quixote's friend, the priest, is a small-minded man who makes himself ridiculous by dressing up in women's clothing. When Don Quixote is behaving like a wild-man hermit, the priest even predicts that the Don will be made an archbishop if he continues to act that way. A few readers think that Cervantes was mocking basic Catholic beliefs. They even compare Dulcinea, a princess only in the Don's imagination, with the Virgin Mary. Whether you agree or not, your answer to this question should discuss the Don's attack on the penitents, and his conversation with the learned canon, both near the end of Part I. These incidents can be interpreted in more than one way.

12. At the beginning of the story, Sancho is a country bumpkin. He knows that Don Quixote mistakes the windmills for giants. Yet Sancho's greed makes him want to believe in the rich rewards his master has promised him. When he does try to fool the Don, by tying Rozinante's legs together, for example, his tricks are crude and obvious. Also, in the scenes at the inn (Part I) you see Sancho torn between belief and disbelief. He is surprised to hear the other guests say that the days of knight-errantry are over. Yet he goes along with the Don's fantasy that the wineskins are giants. In Part II, Sancho plays a very successful trick on Don Quixote, convincing him that a wicked magician has turned Dulcinea into a peasant girl. Sancho pays for this trick when the Duke and Duchess set him up as the butt of their humor. They convince him that Dulcinea really is enchanted and that only when Sancho agrees to flog himself 3300 times will the spell be broken. Sancho has been "quixotized" when he becomes Dulcinea's champion.

13. There is a great deal of physical, slapstick humor in the novel. The Don and Sancho are continually getting beaten up, and these scenes are funny because Quixote believes in a heroic battle while you can see how ridiculous the fights really are. In discussing this form of humor, you might want to consider why the Don's beatings seem less funny in Part II. Is this because you have started to identify with him to some degree? Note that the humor in this section comes from Sancho's trying to avoid a beating. Another source of broad humor is Sancho's way of talking. He uses a mixed-up vocabulary, quotes proverbs in laughably inappropriate situations, and deflates other characters' pretensions by his unwitting honesty. The Don's mock-heroic delusions are also a source of humor. An example of this is found in the scene where he concocts a wild tale about opposing armies after watching the dust raised by two flocks of sheep. More subtly, the author mocks himself and teases you, as when he has the imaginary "historian" Cide Hamete complain about how long and tedious the Don's story is becoming.

14. The episode in Montesinos' Cave is out of character with the Don's other visions. Dulcinea, instead of being noble and ethereal, asks to borrow money. The knight Durandarte is a hero who has outlived his time. For the first time, Don Quixote does not know whether to believe what his imagination has shown him. He has become a doubter. Cide Hamete also interrupts the story to suggest that he can't believe the dream either and that perhaps Don Quixote is lying. A few readers take this seriously. They believe that the Don made up this vision to pay Sancho back for pretending that the peasant girl was Dulcinea. Others suggest that the vision is a "real" dream, dreamed by the Don's sane alter ego, Alonso Quixano.

15. The most important use of mirrors as symbols occurs when Sampson Carrasco appears in a suit of armor covered with tiny mirrors. Sampson, who even calls himself "Knight of the Mirrors," is pretending to be a knight only in order to trick Don Quixote into giving up his quest. Sampson's trick "mirrors" the Don's madness. If you have read the novel carefully, you may recall that in the Prologue to Part I, Don Quixote himself is described as the "mirror" of chivalry. Remember, mirrors not only reflect reality, they sometimes distort it. In a sense, literature mirrors real life. And life itself may only be a distorted mirror in which we see the reflections of eternal truths.

TEST 2

1. C
   
2. B
   
3. A
   
4. B
   
5. A
   
6. C
   
7. B
   
8. A
   
9. B
   
10. C

11. Although there are many elements of fantasy in Don Quixote, the story was realistic for its time. The author introduces a wide variety of characters from different regions of Spain and many walks of life. He comments on problems of his day, such as the expulsion of the Moriscos or the state of the theater. Perhaps most important, Don Quixote and Sancho are full-bodied characters who change and grow over the course of the story. They cannot be summed up by any one-line moral or disposed of by a convenient happy ending.

12. The priest and the barber Nicholas create the elaborate story of "Princess Micomicona" in order to lure Don Quixote back home. Sampson Carrasco twice dresses up as a knight to trick Don Quixote into giving up his quest. The Duke and Duchess create elaborate illusions just to see how the Don and Sancho will react. Sancho makes up the story of Dulcinea's enchantment so Quixote won't find out that he never delivered the letter to Dulcinea. All of these characters' motives are rational, yet self-serving to some extent. They contribute to the confusion between illusion and reality. Yet, we do not come to love them the way Sancho loves Don Quixote, who is completely crazy.

13. In addition to the story itself, the narrative structure of the novel creates different planes of reality. The history of Don Quixote is supposedly a true story, written by an Arab historian named Cide Hamete Benengeli. This historian is really an invention of the author, who uses the imaginary Cide Hamete as a commentator on the action. The comments of the "author" himself may or may not reflect the actual opinions of Cervantes. In addition, in Part II the Don and Sancho realize that their adventures in Part I have become the subject of a book. They know they are characters in literature.

14. Some readers would argue that despite some exceptions, the Don shows courage throughout the story. Others would argue that true courage cannot grow out of ignorance and delusions. A third point of view is that the nature of the Don's courage changes over the course of the story. In Part I, the Don's courage often seems to be false, just as much of an illusion as the giants he sees around him. For example, when Sancho is being tossed in a blanket by some ruffians, the Don doesn't help. He later blames the wicked enchanter for his inability to come to his squire's aid. In Part II, however, the Don confronts a real lion. He has no way of knowing beforehand that the lion is not going to attack him.

15. Like Shakespeare and other writers of his time, Cervantes used lower-class characters for comic relief. Sancho's crudeness, even his greed, are sources of humor. Yet in Part II, when Sancho is given an "island" to rule, he turns out to be wise and just. It is the Duke and Duchess who seem petty and unfair. Most readers feel that the sheer variety of ordinary people, good and bad, in the novel shows Cervantes' understanding of and sympathy for the common people of Spain. In answering this question, consider not only Sancho's performance as governor but the Don's statements about him- for example, his speech on the nature of nobility at the end of Part I.

[Don Quixote Contents]

TERM PAPER IDEAS AND OTHER TOPICS FOR WRITING

• THE NOVEL
  
  1. The French novelist Anatole France wrote: "Woe to him who is not sometimes a Don Quixote, and who never took windmills for giants!" What is your reaction to this statement?
     
  2. Choose one of the following interpretations of Don Quixote and discuss:
     
     1. Don Quixote is a comic character, created purely for our entertainment.
        
     2. Don Quixote is a Christian hero who lives by his faith despite many trials and temptations.
        
     3. Don Quixote is an existential hero, who through sheer willpower imposes his moral values on an amoral world.
        
     4. The character of Don Quixote is an excellent psychological portrait of a revolutionary.
  3. What does the novel say about romantic love?
     
  4. The famous novel Madame Bovary by the French writer Gustave Flaubert has been called a modern version of Don Quixote. You might read Flaubert's novel and discuss why you do or do not think the comparison is valid.
  
  
• STRUCTURE AND STYLE
  
  1. Discuss the differences between Part I and Part II of Don Quixote. Which part do you prefer?
     
  2. How does Sancho's fondness for proverbs contribute to the story?
     
  3. There is a great deal of slapstick comedy in Don Quixote. Choose one or more scenes and explain how the author uses timing, mistaken identities, and suspense to keep the humor moving forward.
• MINOR CHARACTERS
  
  1. Compare Dulcinea and Altisidora.
     
  2. What is Cervantes' attitude toward Maritornes? Is it cruel or compassionate? -
     
  3. Do you think Cervantes created the characters of the Duke and Duchess to criticize the aristocracy in general and the attitudes of wealthy patrons? Or were these characters merely intended as comic devices?
     
  4. What is the symbolic function of Sampson Carrasco's disguise as the "Knight of the Mirrors"? Why is Carrasco sometimes called the "false Quixote"?
     
  5. Did Cervantes believe that the obsolescence of chivalry was a tragedy? Or did he think its passing was a good thing? Whatever you decide, use evidence from the novel to support your conclusion.
• DON QUIXOTE AND SANCHO
  
  1. Some readers think that Cervantes became aware of the serious implications of Don Quixote's character only after his book was partly written. Can you find any evidence to support this idea?
     
  2. Why does Don Quixote die?
     
  3. In what ways does Don Quixote continue to resemble Alonso Quixano, even in his madness?
     
  4. Why does Don Quixote cry when he sees the peasant girl who is supposed to be his Dulcinea?
     
  5. Find three incidents in the story in which Sancho tries to trick Don Quixote. What are his motives in each incident? How do such incidents show Sancho's developing character?
     
  6. Were you surprised when Sancho turned out to be a wise governor of his island. Why or why not?

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GLOSSARY

ALONSO FERNANDEZ DE AVELLANEDA

The pen name of the author of the spurious sequel to Part I of Don Quixote.

AMADIS OF GAUL

The most famous chivalric romance in the Spanish language. The adventures of Amadis and his lady love Oriana take place in Wales, the setting of the legends of King Arthur.

ARCADIA

Originally a district in ancient Greece, the home of the god Pan. By Cervantes' time Arcadia was known as a mythical land of happy shepherds and shepherdesses, the setting of many of the pastoral romances.

BACHELOR

A title accorded to university students who had completed a certain portion of their studies.

BISCAYAN (BASQUE)

In Cervantes' time the people of the Basque country had a reputation for being plain-spoken, honest, and a bit humorless.

"HERE TYRIANS AND TROJANS ALL WERE SILENT"

The opening line of Book Two of Virgil's Aeneid. A good example of Cervantes' use of classical references for humorous contrast, this heroic line introduces the ridiculous episode of the puppet show in Part II, Chapter 26.

HIPPOGRIFF

A winged horse with the head of an eagle.

THE HOLY BROTHERHOOD

A kind of lodge whose members were sworn to keep the highways safe from bandits.

THE HOLY OFFICE

The official name of the Inquisition, a group of officials appointed by the Pope to stamp out heresy. In the beginning, the Spanish arm of the Inquisition concentrated on punishing converted Jews and Moslems who practiced their former religions in secret. Later, its duties included censorship.

KNIGHT-ERRANT

A knight who has taken to the road in search of adventure.

LA MANCHA

An arid, thinly populated region of central Spain. The people of La Mancha (known as Manchegans) were considered backward and unsophisticated, so the concept of a knight-errant calling himself Don Quixote de La Mancha was something of a joke.

LAZARILLO DE TORMES

The title and main character of the most famous of the picaresque novels- tales of lower-class rogues who lived by their wits. Gines de Pasamonte compares himself to Lazarillo.

MAMBRINO'S HELMET

The legend of King Mambrino and his helmet can be found in Orlando Furioso by Ariosto.

MARAVEDI

A copper coin worth very little.

MELISENDRA (also spelled Melisande or Melusina)

The heroine of perhaps the best-known French chivalric romance. The heroine of Gines de Pasamonte's puppet show does not necessarily bear any resemblance to the original heroine.

MOOR

A North African Muslim. The Moors conquered Spain in the eighth century and held most of it until the thirteenth century. The last Moorish stronghold in Spain was conquered at the end of the fifteenth century.

MORISCO

A Moor who converted to Christianity. Spain's Moriscos were descendants of the Moorish invaders who had conquered Spain. By Cervantes' time they were a despised minority.

MR. MERRYMAN

This nickname, which the Don gives to Sancho, recalls the custom of referring to a knight's companions in arms as "merry men."

ORLANDO FURIOSO

A chivalric romance (dealing with the Medieval hero Roland) written in the form of an epic poem. The Italian author, Ludovico Ariosto, was known for his sophisticated wit. A number of incidents in Don Quixote, including the adventure in the Sierra Moreno, parody episodes in this famous poem, which appeared in 1532.

RHADAMANTHUS

Along with Minos, two of the mythological judges of hell.

ROLAND

One of Charlemagne's commanders and, according to legend, a hero of the Christian forces that in the eighth century defended Europe against Moorish invaders (in fact, Roland fought the Basques). His exploits are recounted in the French Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland) and the Italian Orlando Furioso (Roland is Furious).

SANTIAGO AND CLOSE!

A Spanish battle cry. Santiago was Saint James, the patron saint of Spain. "Close" was an exhortation to close in on enemy lines.

"SLEEVES ARE GOOD EVEN AFTER EASTER"

A Spanish proverb meaning "better late than never."

TIRANT LO BLANCH (Tirante the White)

The title of a romance written in the Catalan language. It was said to be one of Cervantes' favorite books. See the comments made about it in Part I, Chapter 7.

REFERENCE
THE STORY, continued

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