Don Quixote chapters 10-18

In chapter 12, pg 53, it says “Don Quixote turned, and seeing that it really was so, he rejoiced exceedingly, talcing it for granted they were two armies coming to engage in the midst of that spacious plain, for at all hours and moments his imagination was full of the battles, enchantments, adventures, extravagancies, amours, and challenges detailed in his favourite books; and in every thought, word, and action he reverted to them. Now the cloud of dust he saw was raised by two great flocks of sheep going the same road from different parts, and, as the dust concealed them until they came near, and Don Quixote affirmed so positively that they were armies, Sancho began to believe it.” An example of this corresponds with the constant play between truth and fiction. The truth is they were really sheep, and Don Quixote thought they were men, so he wanted to fight. The novel expands among this because it goes along talking about a big battle. In reality, men don’t fight sheep’s in battle, they fight men. Everything that he puts together in his imagination, came from books that he had read. This brought me back to the books that were burned in the library. Maybe that affected him, and because of what happened to the books, he uses what he read in the books as part of his imagination. If Don Quixote uses his imagination like this from what he’s read from books, then it will expand along his adventure.

In chapter 15, page 68 it says, “to perform these offices the barber was now on his way, carrying with him his brass basin. It so happened that while he was on the road it began to rain, and to save his hat, which was a new one, he clapped the basin on his head, which being lately scoured was seen glittering at the distance of half a league; moreover, he rode on a grey donkey, as Sancho had affirmed. Thus Don Quixote took the barber for a knight, his donkey for a dapple-grey steed, and his basin for a golden helmet; for whatever he saw was near, without staying to reason the case with him, he coughed his lance, intending to run him through and through without more ado.” This again goes along with the theme with the constant play between truth and fiction. The man was really a barber, and he portrayed him as a knight. This shows that how people aren’t even closely related to being a knight, and Don Quixote still imagines them as it. The barber didn’t know how to act when Don Quixote went to charge at him. The barber doesn’t have any experience of fighting, like the knights. Since Don Quixote thinks that he is a knight, he feels like he needs to be a hero and fight anyone who he sees.