The first modern novel employs humor and satire to explore what it means to be an individual. To help us in our survey of Don Quixote, we'll focus on the following questions:
- How does Don Quixote both mock the past and emphasize the value of tradition?
- Even if Don Quixote is objectively mad, how do his wild imaginings critique modernity?
- What are we to make of and learn from Don Quixote's insistence that he knows exactly who he is?
Recommended Reading: Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quixote. Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: Ecco, 2015.
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind