Don Quixote: Themes, Characters, and Literary Style

Themes in Don Quixote

• Utopia and Reality: The conflict between an individual wishing to carry out his dream, "his madness," and an environment that prevents it.
• Justice: The hero is moved by a spirit of vengeance.
• Love: The need to find a beautiful lady who embodies Platonic love. Love will be the engine of many of his adventures.
• Literature: Don Quixote is in itself a repertoire of literary genres of his time.

Characters in Don Quixote

There are more than 700 distinct and individualized characters. They are well-rounded and outlined by dialogue.

Don Quixote

Don Quixote is a gentleman in his 50s who is driven mad by reading chivalric romances. He represents the crazy-sane trope and therefore has an obvious mental clarity that amazes all who hear him. The old gentleman will be less crazy, finally regaining his sanity.

Sancho Panza

Sancho Panza is a humble farmer, apparently clumsy, but loyal to his master. He becomes particularly relevant in the second half of the book. Sancho corrects and counteracts the constant ravings of his master. Later, the relationship of servitude evolves into a friendship, which will result in a new way of thinking and acting: the quixotization of Sancho (from realism to idealism) and the sanchification of Don Quixote (just at the end when he dies).

Literary Style of Cervantes

The work shows a Mannerist style, between the simplicity and naturalness of the Renaissance and the complexity and artifice of the Baroque period. The work combines worship and archaic style, in which the chivalric romances are parodied, and another plain, much closer, more natural and expressive style.

Narrative Technique

A thoroughly modern narrative technique of perspectivism is used. Cervantes appears in the work as a narrator who is limited to transcribing a manuscript that he says he has found. According to this, the original author of the story would be the historian Hamete Benengeli.

With this resource, called the technique of the found manuscript, Cervantes intends to increase the probable character of the story, while also increasing its humorous tone.

Literary Resources

Irony, parody, and dialogue are used. Dialogue serves to characterize the characters, whose life and psychology are known thanks to their form of expression.