Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh
English 2332
Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh
Fools and tricksters are very closely related and are used simultaneously in poetry and other literary works. A fool can be described as one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding and also can be someone who acts unwisely on a given occasion. A trickster is defined as someone that swindles or plays tricks. Often a trickster is a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore.(Webster's Online Dictionary) Fools and trickster are used frequently in poetry and other literary works to portray distinct meanings for characters. In most instances, fools and tricksters derive from evil protagonists. In the following literary works, every attempt will be made to identify the fool, the trickster and the evil characters in each selection and describe why the characters in each are befitting of their respective designation. Miguel De Cervantes Don Quixote is a fool in many respects. His speech is ridiculous, his ideas are hopelessly out of date, and he has lost touch with reality. Yet readers admire him and know immediately he is the hero of the story. All the things which make him a fool, however unbelievable as it may be, add to his heroic appearance and lets the reader know where Quixote is coming from. Along with this, his foolish nature adds a sense of artlessness and purity, very heroic aspects. Is Don Quixote really a fool or is he so innately wise to know that pretending to be a fool is advantageous? The story of Don Quixote is filled with legendary actions. Alonso Quijano, as he is first known, is a man who lives in the village of La Mancha, in Spain. This gentleman was “close on to fifty, of a robust constitution but with little flesh on his bones and a face that was lean and gaunt.”(Lowall and Mack) He was a man of modest means who resided with his housekeeper who was a middle aged woman, a niece who was twenty, and a man who saddled his horse
Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh
Fools and tricksters are very closely related and are used simultaneously in poetry and other literary works. A fool can be described as one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding and also can be someone who acts unwisely on a given occasion. A trickster is defined as someone that swindles or plays tricks. Often a trickster is a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore.(Webster's Online Dictionary) Fools and trickster are used frequently in poetry and other literary works to portray distinct meanings for characters. In most instances, fools and tricksters derive from evil protagonists. In the following literary works, every attempt will be made to identify the fool, the trickster and the evil characters in each selection and describe why the characters in each are befitting of their respective designation. Miguel De Cervantes Don Quixote is a fool in many respects. His speech is ridiculous, his ideas are hopelessly out of date, and he has lost touch with reality. Yet readers admire him and know immediately he is the hero of the story. All the things which make him a fool, however unbelievable as it may be, add to his heroic appearance and lets the reader know where Quixote is coming from. Along with this, his foolish nature adds a sense of artlessness and purity, very heroic aspects. Is Don Quixote really a fool or is he so innately wise to know that pretending to be a fool is advantageous? The story of Don Quixote is filled with legendary actions. Alonso Quijano, as he is first known, is a man who lives in the village of La Mancha, in Spain. This gentleman was “close on to fifty, of a robust constitution but with little flesh on his bones and a face that was lean and gaunt.”(Lowall and Mack) He was a man of modest means who resided with his housekeeper who was a middle aged woman, a niece who was twenty, and a man who saddled his horse
Cited: Lawall, Sarah, and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol.C. New York: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2002. 2675-2731, 2919-2996, 3001-3060, 3076-3092. Print "Webster 's Online Dictionary." Websters Dictionary, 2006. Web. 11 Jul 2010. .