Don Quixote - Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

From the beginning of the book, the narratives written in the novel are accurate but in question form. Don Quixote, who was the main character of the fiction work, Oedipus became the tragic hero during the Sophoclean crisis. Don also became an honorific prefix and fictional character that made his identity to be defined (Owen & Cameroon 270). For instance, when Don said "it is not your name that defines you," he meant that the idea of someone sets them. Similar to the characters chosen by the authors, this essay will contrast and compare the theme of identity as presented in the stories of Don and Oedipus.

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The Exploration of Identity in Oedipus

The author had the intention to communicate the theme of identity presented in people's characters. In the events that Oedipus displayed, it is clear that the idea of identity is seen throughout the book. One example of Oedipus identity was his response when he reacted to the oracle prophecies, which claimed that he married his mother and killed his father (Owen & Cameroon 276). For instance, when Don arrived at Thebes, he answered the riddle for the sake of saving the city from Sphinx depredations and how he would become a king after planning to marry his mother, Jocasta.

Later the play opens another scourge after he visited the city to find out the person that killed Laius. Even though his decisions were unwitting because of the failure of the oracle to identify his true mother and father, none of the information provided connected to the past. Mostly the prophet gave future predictions. Oedipus may be a great king and wise but had no idea that he was ignorant. Due to this, he was destroyed because of the family curse and the fact that he never knew his true identity.

The story also gives a glimpse on how Oedipus always failed to put efforts towards fulfilling his plans. Due to his failures, it's unclear if this identity is parentage. As a result, Oedipus decided to do what the gods wanted to end losers in his life. As a result, Oedipus began believing that he is the only prince of Corinth (Owen & Cameroon 283). His idea was that his identity would create the urge of finding out the people that killed the former king to revenge for his dead parents.

Oedipus got confused about who he was after someone heard him say that "a strange thing happened and I cannot make the discoveries alone," (Soomo 142). Even though he promised to follow up on the killers his identity denied him the chance to become a fighter and leader that would fight for his people (Soomo 147). The scene shows that Oedipus identity was destroyed from birth because of the cursed lineage. Similar to the herdsman's statement, 'He was born under fate," it clearly shows that he was under a burden of a dreadful curse.

The father's sins are seen to transfer to his son after Oedipus was born, and that is why he went through heroical failures as a slave. The identity of Don could only be fixed through his imagination whenever he shaped his imaginary world into the Chivalric Tales. This is why he was always confused because all he wanted was to become a knight, but his character in the book could not allow him.

Just like he had promised earlier, he later finds out who his birth parents are. However, knowing his real identity does not go well with him because the illusion of who he was that made him devote a lot of energy and time to fight for something that he did not rightfully own. What follows is a heated argument and experience between Oedipus and Tiresias, the seer who fails to speak out before circumstances force him to reveal the secret (Soomo 133). Notably, Oedipus is heard saying, "I am what I am; a fool, if that is what you think, but those that bore you thought me wise enough" (Soomo 143). Learning the truth about his identity was met with some with a lot of confusion, something that is evident from Oedipus's response after his real identity was revealed by a herdsman who understood what was happening.

Even though Oedipus changes to a character, who has a lot of adventures but remains in the realm of imagination, characters around him also believe that he lost his mind because most people humoured his amusement after he lost respect with his life. Even after he was told everything pertaining to his life, he reacted by stating that "Oh! Oh!, it is now clear... allow me to recheck it for the last time to know if I was born to forbidden parents, and if I carry the fate of death in my hands," (Soomo 177).

Oedipus also goes through many identities before discovering who he is, where he came from, and who were his birth parents. As a result, Odepius begins hunting for people that killed his parents to make him a knight. As much as the story talks about Oedipus character, he was an average person that never discovered himself even though he was a son of a king that never took care of him. Don Quixote is identified as a knight even though his character is put in a way to bring out his identity ideally because of the roles of accoutrements that are similar to those of the knights (Cervantes). On the other hand, he was unclear because he never understood his real identity, and this made him ignore everything talked about his life even while he lived in the farmland.

The Quest for Identity in Don Quixote

Don decided to neglect his passion for farmland duties and hunting for other purposes. In the book, the author states "...Don has neglected hunting and the leadership of taking care of his estate. Later folly and curiosity increased until he sold off several acres of farmland for the exchange of books to allow him to carry them home while holding them in his hands." (Cervantes, Chapter 1) He even tries to do various economic activities to gain his real identity but ended up getting confused.

According to the author, Don left meaningful things to him and began believing and following in the books. Don later thought that elements like enchantments, disputes, challenges, wounds and battles are impossible to deal with. Such nonsense made him imagine everything in the book (Owen & Cameroon 285). Through the readings, Don started imaging that everything that he read was real, or had happened in reality and had been put down as part of history.

The readings that he had done affected his perception of reality, making him lose touch with reality at the expense of what he had read as part of history. The kind of books that he read also changed his perception of romance as well as the chivalric stories that he ignored, making him stop identifying with the plain hidalgo.

After he lost all his wit, Don developed one of an extraordinary perception to only serve his country by becoming a knight-errant instead of concentrating on building himself (Cervantes). All that Don wanted was to make all the wrongs that were happening on the world right. He did not want to live in a world full of injustices, thus devoting his life to work as a knight errant.

A Comparison of Identity Themes

The theme is perfectly presented and demonstrated in a way that makes the reader follow through the story, understand the content of the characters, and how the characters transit from one aspect to the other based on their respective circumstances. Despite losing what they had, both the actors work hard towards actualizing their newly found self. Notably, the two characters find confidence in whatever they were doing in achieving their perceived characters that were different from what they were in reality.

From the beginning of the book, the narratives written in the novel are accurate but in question form. Don Quixote, who was the main character of the fiction work, Oedipus became the tragic hero during the Sophoclean crisis. Don also became an honorific prefix and fictional character that made his identity to be defined. Based on the discussion made about the theme of identity in the two stories, both Oedipus and Don end up being knight errands at some point in the stories.

Both actors do not understand their identity until it is late in the story when they get to understand their real identity. It is essential to realize that despite the two works being very different, the theme of identity is coming out very clear. Both Oedipus and Don go through a period where they do not understand who they are. The difference in the style of writing does not affect how the authors present the theme of identity in the two works.

The story also gives a glimpse on how Oedipus always failed to put efforts towards fulfilling his plans. Due to his failures it's unclear if this identity is parentage. As a result, Oedipus decided to do what the gods wanted to end losers in his life. As a result, Oedipus began believing that he is the only prince of Corinth.

Works Cited

Owen, William H., and Alister Cameron. "The Identity of Oedipus the King: Five Essays on the Oedipus Tyrannus." The Classical World, vol. 62, no. 7, 1969, pp. 278-354., doi:10.2307/4346846.

Soomo, Eric. "Two Faces of Oedipus: Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus and Senecas Oedipus." Choice Reviews Online, vol. 45, no. 12, Jan. 2008, doi:10.5860/choice.45-6602.