Don Quixote is an absolutely delightful read. It is, on the surface, hilarious, yet, at the same time, sorrowful. It is hard not to laugh at the absurdity of Don Quixote's adventures, or the witty, proverb-laden language of Sancho; yet, it is also hard not be sad at Don Quixote's nobility and Sancho's good nature being subjected to tricks and pranks by those who are sane, and should know better.
Don Quixote, when he dispenses advice during moments of lucidity, and Sancho, when he handed down judgments during his brief stint as governor, were both wise and worthy of respect, not ridicule. They demonstrated that, despite the outward madness and folly, each had a soul worthy of any of the gallant knight-errants that Cervantes so brilliantly parodied.
Don Quixote, to the point of literal madness, showed the value of an unswerving commitment to an ideal, displaying fortitude and grit in the face of physical and emotional pain. Sancho, at the risk of being branded an even greater fool, showed the value of loyalty, and, despite his ambition, appreciation of the simple things that make a man truly happy. Both of them, one by finding gentleness in the other's foolishness, and, the other, by finding nobility in the other's madness, demonstrated the true nature of friendship.
This work is a true classic, the measure of all novels that succeeded it and Cervantes, without a doubt, is a genius.
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