Unit
14 |
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English
201:
Masterpieces
of Western Literature |
Questions:
Chat:
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Before you read this selection from Don Quixote,
did you have an idea about the character? If so, did you think of
Don Quixote as a romantic, as someone possessing the courage to follow
his own poetic ideas? Were you surprised that Cervantes did not create
that character? Do you know of any other comparable literary characters
that have been appropriated by popular culture & redefined?
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How effective do you think Cervantes tactic
was? Cervantes' theme was to ridicule medieval values. Even though
Cervantes frequently tells us that Don Quixote is crazy, do we resist thinking
of him as simply demented? Cervantes faced a difficult task in ridiculing
medieval culture, such as Courtly Love & Arthurian Romance, without
attacking Spanish Catholicism. Was he effective in doing that?
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Do you think that Don Quixote deflected
awareness or criticism from what Spain was doing in the New World, with
conquistadors dressed up in the same armor that we find so humorous in
Don Quixote?
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Boccaccio provided a glimpse of a positive
Renaissance replacement for the institution of the monastery in the kind
of experiment liberal arts college represented by the young people living
in the country estate. Rabelais invents what he calls a new monastery,
which is obviously a sketch for a university. If Don Quixote is simply
mad & we dismiss his values as deluded, where does Cervantes leave
us? If we turn our backs on the medieval outlook, does Cervantes
sufficiently provide directions for developing a preferable Renaissance
outlook? If not, does this mar Don Quixote as a work of art?
Is Boccaccio superior?
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There have been & continue to be many
"spin-offs" from Don Quixote, including the TV show, Fantasy Island,
the Broadway musical "The Man From La Mancha," & a novel by Graham
Greene that was made into a film by PBS (our two characters drive around
Spain in a Citroën called Rozinante). Why do you think Don Quixote
has inspired so many spin-offs?
Short
Answers:
Paper #3: Please
submit your analytic essay on medieval & Renaissance literataure.
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When
you finish answering the questions, go to the Review
above.