Stefan Wolfe

Don Quixote Avatar Opinion

I believe that Don Quixote’s attempts to make an avatar of himself are due to the fact he may be going through sort of a mid-life crisis. I have come to this conclusion because of the similarities that Don Quixote, and someone in modern day society share by having a mid-life crisis. Don Quixote feels that his life so far has been unrewarding and when he realizes he is over halfway through his life, he decides to live it to the fullest. He does this by taking a suit of armor that has been in his family and patches it up in order to make it more similar to a knight in the time period of King Arthur. When Don Quixote does this, it mirrors the way a man the same age in a modern time period would buy a very expensive sports car, or go sky diving, or do something dangerous and something they wouldn’t normally do otherwise. Don Quixote, I believe, is most definitely dissatisfied with every aspect of his life, because why else would he change his whole identity and make up a character he believes is more honorable and outgoing than himself. I believe Don Quixote’s attempts to create a new identity is sad due to the fact he is obviously either crazy or depressed and the only way he can feel good about himself is if he creates a whole new identity and visualizes everything around him in a different way.

I have never thought about doing what Don Quixote has done, mainly because I am very satisfied with my life and don’t feel the need to change every aspect around me just to ensure happiness. This may also be affected by the fact I am not nearly as old as Don Quixote, and this may change when I get to be of his age and have a mid-life crisis. I believe Don Quixote is unaware that his attempts, however funny, are very sad and desperate.

Although, it may seem strange to the reader, Don Quixote is obviously happier with his new lifestyle with many adventures. And he obviously doesn’t care what anyone around him thinks of him, which may be the secret to true happiness. This is a great theme to have in a book because even though everyone around Don Quixote thinks he is crazy, he is living a very adventurous and action packed lifestyle. Because he is doing this, he is far happier than anyone around him, contradicting the idea that he is very unhappy and that is the reason he has made the decisions he has made.

Don Quixote is doing what makes him happy and I believe Miguel De Cervantes wanted to incorporate this idea to the reader to portray how little what people around you think, as long as you are happy yourself nothing else matters. Life is too short to care about others views about you when the only viewpoint that matters is your own!