CLT 200 Essay #2 PDF

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CLT 200 13 December 2019 The Madman of La Mancha Written in 1605 by Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote is one of the most famous Spanish language novels of all time, known for the inventiveness of its characters and a few episodes that have been popularized in modern culture, such as the “battle against the windmills.” The novel relates the story of an aging hidalgo who primarily occupies his time reading books of chivalric tales. These tales become so ingrained within his brain that he believes himself to be a knight and gives himself the name of “Don Quixote.” He sets out on horseback with a helmet and armor to match, pursuing chivalrous adventures throughout Spain. His peculiar nature, however, has an unusual effect, in that his brain transforms objects he sees—such as an inn to a castle, or windmills into giants. In short, Don Quixote seems to suffer from a break in reality—a mental disability brought about by his consumption of chivalric tales. He no longer views the world as pure reality, but rather as an amalgamation of truth veiled by the lens of “madness.” Don Quixote’s skewed vision serves an important function within the novel by driving the narrative forward and entertaining the reader as a “narrative prosthesis.” The term “narrative prosthesis” refers to the use of disability within literature as a means to the end of communicating a message, or as tool that is used by the narrative for furthering an argument or explaining a concept metaphorically (Mitchell et al., 43). This often involves using a character’s disability for some purpose other than the lived experience of disability, and in the case of Don Quixote, it is no different. One particular section of the novel that exemplifies narrative prosthesis is the battle of the sheep in Chapter 18. Don Quixote and his trusted squire, Sancho Panza, are riding through the country when a great cloud of dust appears from a sheep herd

Davis-Hollander 2 passing by. Don Quixote mistakes the herd for two rival armies and identifies them from his books of chivalry. He proceeds to name each of the warriors within the imaginary army, believing them to be preparing for battle. The mistaken identity of the sheep herd as a direct result of Don Quixote’s disability creates a new adventure for the hidalgo that would otherwise have not occurred—an excellent example of narrative prosthesis at work. Cervantes uses the narrative style, the extreme detail of Don Quixote’s imagination, and the dramatic irony of the episode to portray Don Quixote’s madness, by which means the narrative prosthesis pushes the story forward and keeps the reader entertained. The narrative style of the episode establishes a reference point for Don Quixote’s disability. The narrator of the novel—an Arab historian known only as “Cidi Hamete”—states that “Don Quixote … concluded that [the clouds of dust] were two armies about to engage … in the midst of that broad plain.” By stating that the Don Quixote “concluded” that there was a battle taking place, the narrator proves that he can see into the mind of Don Quixote, and therefore—as an omniscient narrator—has the power to give a more trustworthy perspective on the proceedings (even though his opinions of Don Quixote are sometimes biased). This narrative style allows the reader to realize that not everything the brave hidalgo says is true by contrasting his interpretation to that of both Sancho and the narrator. The immediate implication is that it becomes clear that Don Quixote has a mental disability. While he invents one explanation for the clouds of dust, the narrator calmly explains the reality: “the cloud of dust he had seen was raised by two great droves of sheep.” Therefore, the omniscient style of the narration keeps the story grounded in a point of reference that illustrates the varying degrees of Don Quixote’s disability as the reader compares his description of events to the narrator’s. As part of this style, the narrator also occasionally interjects: “Good God! what a number of countries and nations he

Davis-Hollander 3 named! giving to each its proper attributes with marvellous readiness … saturated with what he had read in his lying books!” In each interjection, the narrator attempts to remain unbiased, but slips in slight jabs at Don Quixote for his ridiculous behavior. “Good God!” appears innocent enough, but in itself it is an expression of exasperation and annoyance with Don Quixote and the vivid imagination that accompanies his disability. In much the same way, the narrator’s words “lying books!” poke at Don Quixote’s weak mental state for reading (and believing in) such rubbish, while referencing Cervantes’ own dislike of the books of chivalric tales. The extreme care to detail as Don Quixote describes the armies proves the depths of his mental disability. “‘That knight whom thou seest yonder in yellow armour, who bears upon his shield a lion crowned crouching at the feet of a damsel, is the valiant Laurcalco, lord of the Silver Bridge.”’ The entire episode is filled with long, meticulously detailed descriptions—like this one—of everything seen by Don Quixote as he describes it to his squire. He creates both the character of the knight Lauralco, as well as his lineage and coat of arms with “lord of the Silver Bridge” and “the lion crowned …” The wealth of information that he describes to Sancho would be impressive if it were a real battle, but given that it is merely a herd of sheep, the striking detail only serves to show how deeply his disability has affected his mind. As the narrator states, “and so [Don Quixote] went on naming a number of knights … out of his imagination, and to all he assigned off-hand their arms, colours, devices, and mottoes.” This statement is both a summary of Don Quixote’s drawn-out speech and an attempt to spare the reader of additional details—for the omniscient narrator is aware that by now the reader must be somnolent—but it also reaffirms the ridiculous aspect of this encounter, mocking the hidalgo’s “imagination” for working so hard to characterize the appearance of nonexistent entities. Although the narrator tries to remain neutral, simply by using “out of his imagination” to explain the source of all of these unique

Davis-Hollander 4 details of both armies, he expresses a negative opinion of the hidalgo and his disability by essentially stating that “he made up” the entire encounter. Overall, the over-abundance of detail reinforces the severity of the hidalgo’s disability. Perhaps the most powerful technique of the narrative is the dramatic irony that appears to the reader in the form of comedy. Part of what makes Don Quixote as a character so fascinating in the first place is his constant cluelessness regarding events around him, and regarding himself. This dramatic irony creates comedy from the awkwardness and ignorance of the hidalgo. After finishing his longwinded description of the battle unfolding, Don Quixote chides Sancho for not being able to see or hear the great struggle of the battling foes. ‘“The fear thou art in, Sancho,’ said Don Quixote, ‘prevents thee from seeing or hearing correctly, for one of the effects of fear is to derange the senses and make things appear different from what they are…”’ In one sense, it is the matter-of-fact way in which Don Quixote provides this explanation for Sancho’s apparent blindness and deafness that provides the dramatic irony, for his conduct makes him seem as knowledgeable as the wisest sage, when in reality, his understanding of the world is completely skewed. Thus, the conviction of Don Quixote’s words is comedic and ironic to the reader who already knows him to be full of nonsense. But the content of his words is important, too. The dramatic irony reinforces Don Quixote’s disability by making him look foolish. As the hidalgo states, it is Sancho’s fear that “prevents” him from being able to “see or hear” properly. However, the irony exists in the fact that it is not Sancho who is incorrectly seeing or hearing, but rather it is Don Quixote himself, for he is the one inventing the entire battle in his mind, and it does not exist in reality for either the narrator or Sancho. The final part of the quote completes the irony and the comedic effect. As Don Quixote states, it is “fear” that deranges the senses and causes objects to appear differently

Davis-Hollander 5 from their true identifies. To the reader that already knows the entire battle is made up, this quote is the ultimate irony, for it is Don Quixote who is “deranged” in his senses and who sees objects differently from what they are. This, of course, begs the question if perhaps it is fear that is responsible for his mental disability, but more importantly, it discredits Don Quixote’s words and gives him the appearance of being foolish, again illuminating the degree of his madness. Through the use of the textual devices of the narration, Don Quixote’s detailed descriptions, and of the dramatic irony, the episode establishes Don Quixote’s mental disability and exposes it to the reader. As an example of narrative prosthesis, his disability is portrayed very negatively within the novel, making him into a comedic fool through the dramatic irony, and perhaps even a pathological liar with the precise detail of his delusion. Although his disability is obvious, its representation is no more than a tool within the narrative. It begins the episode and allows it to continue forward as Don Quixote describes the battle to his squire. However, it fails to ever serve as an actual disability experience, like most examples of narrative prosthesis. In other words, no better understanding of Don Quixote’s lived experience with his mental disability is gained from the episode, as it simply becomes another adventure of the ingenious hidalgo (Cervantes). His madness tells the story for the narrator, like a dog pulling its master along, and becomes a tool of the narrative. The episode of Don Quixote’s battle with the sheep uses the concept of narrative prosthesis in representing his disability. The style of narration establishes the reader’s trust in the narrator, allowing for a reference point to the antics of Don Quixote that follow. The extreme detail of Don Quixote’s descriptions further the perception of the hidalgo as being affected by a serious mental disability and demonstrates the true extent of it. The comedic and dramatic irony complete the process of Don Quixote’s disability portrayal by giving him the appearance of an

Davis-Hollander 6 ignorant fool—a very negative representation of mental disability. The combined effect is to show Don Quixote’s disability as a comedic, ironic, and multipurpose tool for the entertainment of the reader. Without this negative and antiquated yet amusing representation of disability, Don Quixote would simply be another ordinary novel. It is the narrative prosthesis that makes this episode so fascinating.

I affirm that I have not given or received any unauthorized help on this assignment, and that this work is my own. Forest Davis-Hollander

Davis-Hollander 7 Works Cited:

Cervantes, Miguel de, Ormsby, John. Don Quixote. Cassell & Company Limited, 1880. E-book, Project Gutenberg, 2004, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5921/5921-h/5921-h.htm#ch18. Mitchell, David T., and Sharon L. Snyder. Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse. University of Michigan Press, 2000. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.11523....