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Don Quixote as an archetype

#82: April - May 2010 (Fiction)
meliamom
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Don Quixote as an archetype

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I'm still working my way through DQ, but as I read, there are several movie characters who come to mind. The first few chapters of the DQ are quite humorous: there's DQ making his own armor, convincing the inn keeper to knight him, and forcing the peasant to stop whipping his servant (who resumes with a vengeance) when DQ is out of sight. To me, DQ is the classic "loser" type who dreams of being a hero. Along the way, everyone is laughing at him, but he doesn't seem to get the joke. His character brings to mind Jack Black's character in Nacho Libre (random, I know). I thought of this movie because Nacho Libre even had a sidekick like DQ's Sancho Panza. I also think of Napoleon Dynamite (I also think he had a sidekick). What made the latter movie so funny was the ND was completely unaware of how completely off base he was all the time. It was like he was living in a different decade (a la DQ and his obsession with chivalry and his soliloquy on greatness the Golden Age). Anyway, I know this thread it a little more lowbrow compared to some of the other discussion, but I thought I'd through it out there. .
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Robert Tulip

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Re: Don Quixote as an archetype

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Thanks Meliamom, there must be dozens of examples of smart but deluded heroes and plodding sidekicks.

Don Quixote reminds me of Walter Mitty.

How about Snoopy and Charlie Brown?
Last edited by Robert Tulip on Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
meliamom
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Re: Don Quixote as an archetype

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Thanks for the link. I know know what it means to pull a "Walter Mitty."
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