Last semester, in World Literature I, we read and discussed a few chapters of Don Quixote. What I read I liked and it sure seems like a classic, with some humor put in, with this feminine guy that lives in a functional society randomly becoming a knight. We did not touch on Sancho Panza very much, but followed Don Quixote through some fun adventures. My teacher said that she had the book at her house, so I could avoid filling out one of those nasty ILL forms. I had no idea how massive this book is (940 pages of small print)! It's too late now, so I will just try to get through it. I am sure I will like it, with knights and chivalry and such. Cervantes is also a Spaniard, which I have a huge interest in. Many phrases in the book are in Spanish with a note of what it means. Hopefully I can learn some Spanish words throughout this book. Don Quixote travelling through life, being a knight, fighting dragons, and seeing castles that nobody else has the imagination for certainly reminds me of my life and my very realistic zombie hunting. I have asked multiple people if they believe in zombies, with most answers being no, except my aunt, cousin, and the few people that humor me. This book will hopefully be like an autobiography. I guarantee you señora (as well as Shane, yes you know it's true), I saw a zombie at the Co-Op in Bozeman. Few people believe me, probably about as many as believed Don Quixote attacked those great dragons who discredited him in belief that they were windmills. My last and probably most important reason in the entire world to read Don Quixote by Cervantes is as follows: in a scene in Zombieland, Columbus and Tallahassee meet Little Rock and Wichita in a store. Tallahassee goes to talk with the two girls while Columbus puts a box in the door to prop it open. After Tallahassee and the girls talk for a bit, Columbus walks in and is asked by Little Rock, "So you did all this for a Twinkie?" Columbus replies, "Oh no no no no no. He did [referring to Tallahassee]. I'm just sort of a Sancho Panza type of character". Clearly any reference to a book in Zombieland demands that book be immediately read. Now I have the opportunity.
What have I learned about Cervantes?
The coolest thing I have learned about Miguel is that he was abducted by barbary pirates for five years and held captive in Algeria. He tried to escape four times, and after five years, his family paid his ransom for freedom. Don Quixote was published in two parts, the first of which was published in 1605 and the second in 1615, one year before Cervantes died. Cervantes died the exact same day as William Shakespeare, on the 23rd of April, 1616. Miguel published twelve "short stories" in 1613, titled the Exemplary Novels. Miguel was a Spaniard, born in Alcala de Henares, Spain and died in Madrid. All of his works were originally published in Spanish. At a young age, Cervantes fled Spain after a duel where he wounded a man. He went to Italy and enlisted in Naples as a soldier. Cervantes married Catalina de Palacios in 1584.
A timeline of Miguel de Cervantes' life:
September 29, 1547-born in Alcala de Henares, Spain
1569-ran away to Italy after wounding a man in a duel
1570-enlisted as a soldier in Naples
1571-lost use of his left hand by a musket shot
1575-taken to Algeria by barbary pirates
1580-his family paid ransom for him to leave Algeria
1584-married Catalina de Palacios
1585-publishes La Galatea
1593-his father, Don Rodrigo de Cervates, died
1605-completes the first part of Don Quixote
1613-publishes the Exemplary Novels
1615-completes Don Quixote
April 23rd, 1616-dies in Madrid, the same day as Shakespeare
Below is my timeline, in black and white, of Miguel de Cervantes!
Excellente! :)
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