Analyzing the excerpt 'Fight with the windmill'

Prompt: Analyze the excerpt 'Fight with the windmill'

Analyzing the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill'
 

I. Outline for Analyzing the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill' (Standard)

1. Introduction

Introducing the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill'

2. Body of the Essay

- Excerpt Content:
+ Don Quixote sees the windmills but mistakes them for giants charging into battle.

- Character Don Quixote:
+ Comes from a noble family.
+ Appearance: Tall, thin
+ Enjoys reading knight-errant stories and sees himself as a knight, seeking a lady to adore...(Continued)

>> See detailed Outline Analyze the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill' here.
 

II. Sample Essay Analyzing the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill'

When we talk about Spain, we not only recall the land of bullfighting but also remember the swashbuckling novels. A quintessential example of the swashbuckler genre is the work 'Don Quixote' by the author Miguel de Cervantes, from which the excerpt 'Clash with the Windmill' leaves a lasting impression on readers of all generations.

Don Quixote, whose real name is Alonso Quijano, is an old impoverished nobleman dreaming of becoming a knight due to his fervent passion for chivalric tales. He embarks on his journey by searching for the rusty armor of his ancestors, dubbing himself as the knight Don Quixote of La Mancha and designating his loyal steed as the warhorse Rocinante. Moreover, he also designates his former unrequited love, the lady Dulcinea del Toboso, as his noble lady, and accompanying him on this journey is his squire Sancho Panza. The excerpt narrates Don Quixote mistaking windmills for giants charging into battle. Despite Sancho Panza's fervent attempts to dissuade him, Don Quixote charges forward to fight them. The result is his defeat, with both him and his horse being thrown far away.

With the physique of a fifty-year-old tall, thin man, Don Quixote rides his steed across the land to vanquish evil and aid the virtuous. His passion for chivalric tales blinds him to the point where he believes that the thirty or forty windmills in the field are 'thirty or forty monstrous giants' and deems it 'a just war, and great service to God, to wipe such scum from the face of the earth.' He also believes that he will become wealthy by seizing the spoils of these giants. When Sancho Panza mentions they are windmills, Don Quixote dismisses his opinion, stating that Sancho Panza 'knows nothing about adventures.' The giants he sees have 'long arms, some of them nearly two leagues in length,' when in reality, they are merely windmill sails, 'that when the wind blows they turn the millstone inside.'

Fighting with windmills is one of the most remarkable excerpts in the novel Don Quixote by Cervantes. To gain detailed insights into the work, in addition to the analysis of the Fighting with Windmills excerpt, you can also refer to: Analysis of the scene where Don Quixote fights windmills, Analysis of the character Don Quixote before fighting windmills, Your feelings when reading the Fighting with Windmills excerpt, Summary of the Fighting with Windmills excerpt.