Don Quixote Plot Summary and Key Themes

Plot Summary

Part One

First Part: Cervantes presents the idea that an old man, driven mad by reading chivalric novels, decides to become a knight in the real world of Spain around 1600. He chooses a beloved lady, Dulcinea, and a starving horse. He begins his first venture to be knighted, receiving the Order of Chivalry in an inn he mistakes for a castle. He returns home to La Mancha and seeks the help of a squire, electing a peasant, Sancho Panza, to whom he promises the government of an island if he accompanies him. Thus begin the adventures of Don Quixote, in which both characters experience disastrous events. Don Quixote's neighbors, through deception, manage to bring him back home. The first part concludes with the announcement of a new departure. In this section, the structure of chivalric novels is maintained: it presents itself as a sum of adventures whose conductor thread is the presence of the gentleman and his squire. Within each episode, the narrative structure is clear: the initial dialogue between Don Quixote and Sancho, the adventure, and the subsequent dialogue between the two.

Part Two

Second Part: Don Quixote begins his promised third sally. As a result of his adventures, Sancho fulfills his desire to govern an isle, grows tired of it, and returns to his master. Don Quixote is eventually defeated by the Knight of the White Moon and returns to his village, defeated. After recovering from his madness, he dies.

Themes

• Utopia and Reality: The conflict between an individual who wishes to fulfill his dream—his madness—and the family and social environment that prevents it.
• Justice: The hero is moved by a spirit of justice.
• Love: Don Quixote feels the need to find a beautiful lady to love platonically. For this, he creates an ideal woman in his imagination to call upon the love of Dulcinea del Toboso. Dulcinea becomes the engine of much of his adventure.
• Literature: The entire work is full of references to literary themes.

Characters

Don Quixote

Don Quixote is a gentleman around 50 years old who goes mad from reading chivalry novels. He represents the theme of the mad-sane dichotomy. As the novel progresses, the old gentleman becomes less crazy, finally regaining his sanity.

Sancho Panza

Sancho Panza is a humble farmer, clumsy, loyal to his master, crafty, and possesses a very popular philosophy of life. He corrects and counteracts many of his master's constant follies. The bond between him and the gentleman evolves into true friendship.

Style

The style displays a balance between the simplicity and naturalness of the Renaissance and greater complexity. Cervantes' styling skill lies in knowing how to adapt to the needs of an open and diverse work. A modern narrative technique used is perspectivism. Cervantes appears in the work as a narrator who limits himself to transcribing a manuscript he supposedly found. The most common elements are irony, parody, or the presence of dialogue.