Cervantes' Don Quixote is a classic in the history of Western literature. Don Quixote's figure has transcended the text and becomes a flesh-and-blood, fresh and full-bodied person. He is indeed a strange madman, but we will see many people who are as crazy as him, and will see their own shadows in him. Don Quixote is not only an accidental life, but also rises into a spiritual form, with universal significance. "Ranger Wanderings" is not only one of the key words in the novel, but also a topic that cannot be avoided in the study of "Don Quixote". This article explores the essential meaning of the ranger's wandering and wandering in Don Quixote from the three dimensions of motivation, process and ending of Don Quixote's "Ranger Wandering" behavior.
1. The story of Don Quixote
In a village in Spain, there lived a poor countryman who was fascinated by the knight novels that were popular in society at that time, and wanted to imitate the knights to go out on the rangers. So he named himself Don Quixote, put on tattered armor, carried a spear, rode a thin horse, led his servants, and embarked on three ranger journeys. As a result, after all kinds of difficulties, he was physically and mentally exhausted, full of injuries, and finally discouraged, and when he returned home, he was bedridden, and he suddenly woke up when he was dying.
2. Hero wandering with the characteristics of the times
Cervantes lived during the transitional period of European culture, the Renaissance. During this period, humanistic ideas attacked religious theological thought, leading to a rupture in European culture. On the one hand, human nature has gained unprecedented freedom after breaking free from the shackles of theocracy; Ugliness, on the other hand, was fully exposed after the collapse of religious beliefs. Under such a contradictory social and cultural background, Cervantes's heroic wandering naturally has a unique characteristic of the times. Under the patronage of the Catholic Church, he must not only write characters that conform to the spirit of catholic tradition, but also make his works fit with the times.
1. Ranger's Wandering Road
Cervantes said in the creation of Don Quixote that the purpose of its creation was to "sweep away the set of chivalric novels.". Although Cervantes satirizes Don Quixote's madness in Don Quixote, he portrays Don Quixote as a fanatical, fantasy-filled anti-hero. Obsessed with chivalric fiction, Don Quixote was so unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy that he embarked on a wandering path for a Ranger. Along the way, there is a huge gap between the kingdom he fantasizes about and the real world, through which Cervantes expresses the illusory nature of the chivalric novel to the fullest.
Although Don Quixote is difficult to extricate himself in the world of chivalric literature he fantasizes about, he has practiced his belief in the ideal of chivalry along the way, and he has always faced the dangers and dilemmas he faces, don Quixote embodies the spiritual personality of a brave and resolute hero, and his seemingly absurd wandering road is also a ranger wandering road.
Don Quixote, who was deeply affected by the chivalric novel, not only watched the chivalric novel, but also practiced the chivalrous way he believed in, traveled the world to fight against injustice, relieve the weak and the poor, and achieved the goals of his ideal society, although he was ridiculed by others along the way, regarded as a madman and a fool, but his insistence on ideals and goals never wavered. Even in a difficult situation, locked in a cage, he is completely unaware of his own safety and situation, but he cares about the situation of others and persuades others not to be sad for him.
Cervantes created the image of Don Quixote in order to achieve the effect of the illusory chivalric hero of the anti-chivalric novel. But Don Quixote's madness but innocence and kindness on the Wandering Path make those seemingly stupid and crazy actions in ironic effects and make people awe-inspired by his heroism.
2. The internal motivation of ranger wandering
Don Quixote once proclaimed loudly: "Our will is free." "Freedom" means the absence of the shackles of order, the existence of infinite possibilities. Human beings with free will are not destined to obey all the arrangements of the Creator in peace. The existence of free will makes human beings a being with "will", not only as "what I am", but also as "what I want to be", "what I want to be". This will, which comes from the depths of the will, makes human beings dreamed beings.
Under the guidance of dreams, man dares to break the shackles of the finiteness of existence, cross the "natural" limits of existence, and pursue a higher existence that is different from the daily mediocrity. It can be said that once the dream is generated, human beings must not be "settled" in the original track, which means the budding of the Ranger wandering complex.
Driven by dreams, groups of heroes in the human community have trekked through mountains and rivers, experienced hardships and hardships, and fearlessly ventured into the wilderness of reality and spirit, even at the cost of their lives, just to be able to pick the flower of dreams. From emperors, saints, philosophers, to poets, scientists, and ordinary laborers, they are transforming the world in different ways, and they all come to the same place, all in order to make the world they live in as beautiful as the ideal. In short, the pursuit of dreams is the intrinsic motivation of the Ranger's wandering.
Like a hero, Don Quixote began his own path as a ranger for the dream in his heart, to make the ideal world appear in the real world. To this end, he put into battle in an outdated costume, in the cruel real world, bravely rushing to kill all the way, like the "chivalrous" in Chinese martial arts novels, the road is uneven, drawing swords to help each other, and doing all kinds of chivalrous and righteous acts.
3. Heroes on the Path of the Rangers
Don Quixote experienced all kinds of blows in the real world, everything returned to the original point, the world did not change in any way, and he himself was hurt and physically and mentally exhausted. The failure made Don Quixote more aware of how powerful reality is and how insignificant his own power is. Even after all the hardships and fight for their lives, the dream is still out of reach. At this time, his faith and dreams are in danger of destruction, but he still can't forget the beautiful and charming "Dream Flower" in his heart.
Dreams are dreamed of but there is no way out in the reality of the situation, and the soul struggles in the quagmire of despair. All this dragged down the last shred of don Quixote's life, causing him to quickly fall ill and die, ending the path of the Ranger. It also brings the book to a tragic climax. Heroes, often not how many achievements have been achieved, but dare to rebel against fate, live for faith, even if they are thrown into a battle that is doomed to failure, they never give up. Don Quixote's Path of the Rangers is the Path of the Heroes.
4. The inevitable rebirth of the Ranger's Dream
Death is the ultimate destination of all paths and the ultimate destiny of human existence, and all possibilities are extinguished before this equal boundary. Don Qui Hede's Dream of a Ranger fades with his death. However, the traces of the burning of dreams will never disappear, the flame of dreams will never be extinguished, it will exist in the ashes, waiting for the next ignition.
Dreams will also accompany the existence of human beings, which are rooted in the depths of human nature and the meaning of human beings. If there is no dream, then people can only "what is what is" in the environment that has been set, and can only live obediently on the ground, be satisfied with the status quo, and obey everything. Then human existence will lose any meaning and become worthless.
1. The background meaning of wandering in Don Quixote
Cervantes, as a representative of Spanish realist writers, profoundly reflects the socio-historical situation in Spain from the mid-to-late 16th century to the early 17th century. The social situation in Spain at that time, together with Cervantes's own religious and cultural background and his life experience, became the material for his novels. The wandering behavior of the characters in his novels extensively involves the national customs and social customs of the time. The complexity of the social era prompts the "wandering" character image in his novel to conform to the traditional European hero wandering character image, but also has a distinct characteristics of the times.
Don Quixote, a poor squire with only enough to feed himself, took all the money he had left from his diet to buy knight novels, indulged in knight novels, and, like the knights in the popular knight legends of the time, finally embarked on the path of the false ranger wandering. His superstition of chivalry was a consequence of being influenced by the prevailing values of society conveyed by churches and books. The traditional mainstream values have left a deep imprint on Don Quixote, and the traditional ideas of religious fraternity and feudal loyalty and the romantic love advocated by chivalric literature constitute the code of conduct of knights.
2. The extension of wandering in the novel
Wandering, as a common behavioral feature of the characters in Cervantes's novels, has a rich extended content. In his novels, wandering is not only a state of existence, but also an ideal state and emotional state, and those who are either actively "wandering" or passive "wandering" are the embodiment of Cervantes' affirmation of man's subjective initiative. Therefore, Cervantes abandoned the elements of the curious adventure in the classical novel, so that the characters in the novel pursued love and freedom in the process of "wandering". Don Quixote did not flinch in the face of powerful imaginary enemies, even if the disparity in strength rose to the occasion, and overcame one difficulty after another with tenacious faith and perseverance. This optimism also became a symbol of Cervantes.
Cervantes' Don Quixote, obsessed with chivalric fiction, practiced the illusory wandering of the Rangers. Although Don Quixote's behavior was stupid and ridiculous, he had a good intention, and his wandering behavior satirized the social reality of Spain at that time, embodying the beautiful vision of Cervantes's continuous social progress in reality. At the same time, "Don Quixote" is a world masterpiece permeated with the spirit of modern humanism, as an immortal work that summarizes the universal spirit of mankind, the interpretation of "Don Quixote" will continue to deepen, it has inspired and inspired people who pursue ideals in the past to move forward, and will gain new vitality in different readers and different eras in the future.
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