As I read these chapters the same thing kept popping into my head, and that is why?  Why did Cervantes choose to have all the characters do the random and crazy stuff they did?  Why did don Quixote do this, why did Sancho do that? Why did this or that happen?  So many questions through out these chapters, and not a lot of answers.

My first big ‘why’ question is why did don Quixote pay Master Peter for destroying his puppet set, and the innkeeper for his stay, when he hasn’t paid for anything he was supposed to in the past? Not only is he paying for what he owes, he’s paying for stuff he doesn’t owe, like other peoples meals.  If he is paying for stuff for strangers, why wouldn’t he give Sancho some money or gifts, who he actually owes?  Besides that, it seems he’s came to his senses a bit.  At first this would lead me to believe that he is wising up, but the rest of the chapters proved that theory to be wrong.

Like before, when Sancho was in trouble with the army for mocking them, why didn’t don Quixote help him? Why did he let them beat Sancho up?  Not only did he let him get beat up, but he got mad at Sancho for getting beat up!  During the puppet scene and while don Quixote tried to convince the army not to attack the village, it made me think he was getting better, and then he went right back to not being logical.

The biggest ‘why’ of all goes to the Duke and Duchess.  Why on earth would they go through all the trouble of playing tricks on don Quixote and Sancho?  Is it because they are bored and have the means to do so, or are bad hearted people and enjoy seeing them suffer, or simply trying to show off for other people?  Whatever the reason may be, I haven’t understood it yet.  Why would the Duke offer Sancho an isle to govern, when he doesn’t know anything about Sancho, whether he’s a good person or not, or even capable of governing.  Why promise him an island, a positive thing, and then be negative towards him, with the lady from the car saying in her poem, “‘T is needful that thy esquire Sancho shall, on his own sturdy buttucks bared to heaven, three thousand and three hundred lashes lay, and that they smart and sting and hurt him well.”(Cervantes)  The Duke and Dutchess wan Sancho to physically hurt himself!  Do they like Sancho or not?

Hopefully in the next set of chapters I will get some answers to all my questions, as the Duke and Dutchess story continues.