Understanding the Structure and Characters of Don Quixote

Don Quixote: Cervantes' Masterpiece

Don Quixote is the most important work by Miguel de Cervantes and is universally recognized. The novel is divided into two distinct parts.

Part One: The First Two Exits

• First Exit: Don Quixote, a gentleman driven mad by reading books of chivalry, prepares old, rusty weapons that belonged to his grandparents. Riding his horse, he leaves his home in search of adventures to undo wrongs. He arrives at an inn that his imagination transforms into a castle; he is knighted in a ridiculous ceremony and, after several adventures, returns to his village battered and beaten.
• Second Exit: Don Quixote leaves home again, this time accompanied by a poor neighbor who serves as his squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote promises him profit and the governorship of an island. The appearance of Sancho greatly enriches the expressive possibilities of the novel, as he serves as a confidant to his master, making dialogue and communication between them essential. The two characters contrast and complement each other, maintaining a mutual influence. In this part, the most celebrated adventures occur: the windmills, the fight with the flock of sheep, and the liberation of the slaves. Eventually, the priest and the barber from his village trick him into returning home.

Part Two: The Third Exit

The protagonists resume their adventures. In Aragon, Don Quixote and his squire are welcomed by dukes who invite them to their palace and mock them by pretending they are in a court of chivalry. The dukes appoint Sancho governor of the island of Barataria, but he eventually leaves, exhausted by the disadvantages of command. Finally, in Barcelona, Don Quixote is defeated by the Knight of the White Moon—who is actually Samson Carrasco, a bachelor from his village—forcing him to return home, where he recovers his reason and dies.

The Characters

Don Quixote

He views himself as a knight-errant of antiquity, with a noble mission to defend the weak, right wrongs, and uphold justice. His deranged mind alters reality to fit his thirst for adventure. Like the knights of old, he has a lady of his thoughts, Dulcinea del Toboso, and hopes to achieve glory and fame to be worthy of her love. Initially convinced of his mission, he begins to doubt in the final chapters, eventually succumbing to disappointment.

Sancho Panza

Sancho is more materialistic and realistic, yet he sometimes displays a naive illusion that aligns with his master's fantasies. Throughout the work, he undergoes a process of quijotización. While he initially joins the chivalric life out of self-interest, he becomes an example of unwavering loyalty to his master, comforting and encouraging him through many defeats and few victories.