HUM-H332 — Don Quixote — Winter 2019–2020

This table shows what you should do for each classday; all work should be completed before the start of class on the date for which it’s listed. To put it another way, tests are listed on the day they will be given and assignments on the day they are due.


assignments for week eight
Monday, 3 February Reading Part Two, Chapters 22–24
Reading Questions
• Can you think of any other stories, tales, legends, histories, etc. that involve people going into caves for reasons other than simple physical exploration of the cave interior? Do any of them have any relations to Quixote's cave experience?
• How do you interpret what don Quixote says about his adventures in the cave? What do they reveal about his personality?
• How does the beginning of chapter 24 influence your understanding of the Cave of Montesinos episode? How does it fit with themes we have seen in the rest of the novel?
Report Locus Amoenus
Tuesday, 4 February Reading Part Two, Chapters 25–27
Reading Questions
• Can you interpret the Braying Incident to be making any kind of social statement?
• Why does Quixote react as he does to the puppet play?
• Can you think of any ways in which the puppet play and his reaction parallels, repeats or echoes other aspects of the novel?
• Do any of Don Quixote's actions in this chapter show a change from what behavior might have been expected in Part One? If so, how do you interpret this?
• How do you as a reader react to the revelation of the identity of Maese Pedro?
• In bringing the Braying Incident to a conclusion, what differences do you note between Quixote's and Sancho's actions / speeches? Why does each reach the way they do?
Report The Spanish (16th and 17th century) Novela Bizantina (Byzantine Novel)
Thursday, 6 February Reading Part Two, Chapters 28–33
Reading Questions
• Quixote and Sancho meet the Duke and Duchess in chapter 30. Like Sansón Carrasco, they already know of Quixote from having read the first volume of the book. In chapter 30 and subsequent chapters, do you see anything that is different in theri attitude and actions towards him and Sancho, as compared to Sansón, the Priests and the Barber?
• What is the reason for the argument between Sancho and the duenna (doña Rodríguez de Grijalba) about Sancho’s near the beginning of chapter 31?
Friday, 7 February Reading Part Two, Chapters 34–41
Reading Questions
• For today’s reading, pay most attention to chapters 40 and 41 and the adventure with Clavileño. Does the last sentence of chapter 41 help us to understand the nature of Quixote’s madness?