Reading the Classics discussion

Group discussion thread for Don Quixote (Cervantes) Week 1, Book 1 Prologue - Chapter 11 (78 pgs)

This one is a bucket-list read. Here's a link to the Course Hero Reading Guide. Definitely take advantage of it, just like with Zhivago:
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Don-Qu...

Jenn is leading the discussion on this one. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for the guide Brian!

Erika wrote: "Thank you so much for the guide Brian!"

This one will be crucial. I've actually decided to use 3 different translations also (Ormsby, Grossman, Davis). Will read selections from each as we go until one grabs me. Started with the Ormsby btw (someone here said it's wonderful) last night: the Kindle version is free, it draws wonderful reviews, and so far I'm loving it. Since it's free, you might take a look, even if you've acquired another. You could sample a couple if you choose.

Just a heads-up. Cervantes is quite a commitment, so might as well do it up right.

I love how much the prologue of this book gives you a feel for how the book is going to go and immediately tells the reader not to take it too seriously. I can’t imagine how much this shocked readers in the 1600s. You can tell immediately that it is going to be a fun read even though the story itself hasn’t even begun!

Brandon wrote: "I love how much the prologue of this book gives you a feel for how the book is going to go and immediately tells the reader not to take it too seriously. I can’t imagine how much this shocked reade..."

Indeed, it takes a well-meaning, nameless friend to convince him to tell the tale in the first place :)

I started laughing during the prologue thinking "this sounds like a 17th century Seinfeld"! 🤣

it is thought by some scholars that his full name was actually Miguel de Cervantes de Saavedra de Seinfeld.

😂🤣😂 Sancho Panza "Costanza"

You guys are absolutely cracking me up. Now I’m going to visualize the characters just like that.

I am really enjoying this book so far. I'm starting chapter 5 now. Quixote is hilarious, and I love how everyone he encounters looks at him like he is insane, and he doesn't even notice since he is so caught up in his fantasy. It was great how the innkeeper played along so well with dubbing him a knight. I loved that scene!

I'm really enjoying it too! I'm interested to see where this takes us!

This line from chapter two cracked me up: “As a result, his pace was so slow, and the sun rose so quickly and ardently, that it would have melted his brains if he had any.” The narrator doesn’t pull punches on our poor gallant night do they.

Was anybody else surprised by how effective of a fighter Quixote was in Chapter 3. He took out those mule drivers, who I don’t picture as small guys, with ease.

Brandon wrote: "This line from chapter two cracked me up: “As a result, his pace was so slow, and the sun rose so quickly and ardently, that it would have melted his brains if he had any.” The narrator doesn’t pul..."

But did he, really? Were they really small guys? Were they even people? Or was he tilting at windmills even earlier than we expect? I get the feeling the narrator is going to play with us a lot, sometimes letting us 'in on the joke', as in the quote you share; and sometimes leaving us inside Quixote's mind, perhaps seeing a pair of cattle skulls as opponents to be vanquished.

I'm just guessing, but I think we're meant to see Quixote as he really is: a romantic fantasist with a heart of gold, but little common sense. The joy of this whole thing for me, so far, is that we get to enjoy his fantasies, while knowing they are just that.

Think it's going to be a fun read.

I didn’t even think about it like that Brian! If you need any proof that a group read like this is worthwhile there you have it.

Brian wrote: "Brandon wrote: "This line from chapter two cracked me up: “As a result, his pace was so slow, and the sun rose so quickly and ardently, that it would have melted his brains if he had any.” The narr..."

But the innkeeper was there, wasn't he? Or was he a fancy figure too...? What? That's definitely a new way of thinking. Don Quixote himself being insane is unreliable, and so could the narrator be. Or, was he really insane, though? Even the fact that we're only reading the version of Benengeli passed on through another translator to Cervantes to (the translator you've used, too but that isn't in the plot) us shows that Cervantes is deliberately telling us that we aren't going to get the truth as it is — only an interpretation. He seems to be imploring us to read between the lines and see the limitations of human perception. Interesting.

Yes, the innkeeper is there. But Don Quixote mistakes him for a knight, capable of knighting him. It's only my theory, but I mentioned it looks like Cervantes will sometimes leave us in Quixote's head - as with the battle with the mule drivers (we don't really know who or what DQ had encountered) - and sometimes will let us in on the joke, as with the innkeeper.

I may be WILDLY off. But I do suspect that in DQ, things will not always be how they appear.

I think DQ is in a sense Everyman, in that every one of us wishes we had the courage, and were just crazy enough, to pursue our wildest dreams.

What’s interesting is that the Innkeeper clearly is knowledgeable about the stories Don Quijote is reading. He uses the rules of that world to make Don Quijote understand that he just can’t go about life without money and manipulates that world to hurry up the Knighting ceremony. Technically Don Quijote can’t embark upon being a Knight because he hasn’t officially been Knighted. The whole scene is hilarious...but it also shows us that Don Quijote is a dangerous figure to those around him because he’s living in a fantasy. I’m fascinated by the way he builds and constructs his character, much like an author goes about creating their characters. He names himself, he thinks carefully about what he needs in order to construct his persona...