Hi girls, I will let you in on a secret...
Much, if not everything, about The Inferno is already on the internet. Let's "stand on the shoulder of giants" and explore what experts have studied for centuries. Check out this website:

Dante Worlds

You may use this as a resource for your report and student-led discussions. It's pretty comprehensive.
Good luck for the reporting!

Dante`s chapters seem to be getting longer and more complex, in my opinion at least. I had to reread almost all the notes for these 6 cantos. Nevertheless, he does not fail to keep me afraid of the torment in Hell.

In Cantos 7-11, Dante and Virgil, together with the Poets, are descending to the Lower Hell. As they continue on, they encounter problems such as facing the Rebellious Angels and such. Virgil of course never fails to guide Dante and make sure he will make it through, even when they were going to call Medusa! How tragic that would be if his journey had to end with his death in the underworld because of Medusa`s eyes. Thank goodness the heavenly messenger finally came!

They finally enter Dis, the walled-city of Hell, where they find the murderers, suicides, usurers, heretics, seducers, blasphemers and so on, basically all the sinners of fraud and malice and violence and bestiality. I pictured Dis as a walled-city in flames (considering the extremely hot and red iron) with the inhabitants of those whom committed the most serious sins. In my head, its big and dark and red and even smoking. Dante continues to keep my eyes pasted on these pages and soon enough I will get to read his encounter with the evil one as he continues on his journey.

Waaaaaaaah... Reading The Inferno late in the night definitely isn't a good idea. :| And it doesn't help that my cats are becoming noisy and rowdy. It's so quiet and suddenly, they make loud noises since they're playing... Their noise is so surprising!!! Waaaahhhh! They make me jump in shock, especially that I'm reading The Inferno. :| ... The Inferno + noisy cats = not a good combination. == I don't like sudden noises.... 

I'm so scared to read iiiiiit!!!! And especially in the part when the Fallen Angels appear!!! :(((((( The first thing that popped into my head when I read "The Fallen Angels" was the weeping angels in Doctor Who!!!! Gaaah!!! Scary scary scaryyyyy!!! Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!!!!! :((((( oh shizzzz... I'm thoroughly scared now. :((( waaaahhh.. Woe to me. :| 

Besides that, it's so cool how Virgil really helped Dante with all the trouble and stuff. and the part when Medusa came in reminded me of Percy Jackson! XDDD Actually, lots of things in The Inferno remind me of Percy Jackson. Like Charon, Styx, Furies, Cerberus, and the other stuff. Anyway, back to Medusa. Cause there was a part in Percy Jackson that they entered the place of Medusa, and it was full of stone statues. So, there was this one time that I was on the way to the Ateneo lib when I saw a shop that had stone statues in it. The stone statues were, like, Roman warriors and stuff. They looked so spooky. 

"We built Dis city! We built Dis city on pain and woe!"

You are listening to 66.6 Hell FM, coming to you live from the ninth circle! That right there is the jingle that plays around Hell on the loud speakers. (You know like the one in SM.)

Kidding aside, let's get to the point. Reading about the first few circles, I remember finding the punishments so vile and agonizing that I didn't even want to imagine what the lower circles would be like. Especially when Ms. Arawiran brought up the point that after the Second Coming, these sufferings would be not only spiritual, but physical. Can you imagine? On second thought, don't imagine. Even thinking about thinking about it makes me feel queasy. Something so terrible is just difficult to wrap my mind around. It makes me sad and afraid to think of people going through such sufferings. Then again, they are in Hell.

This brings me to my dilemma while reading The Inferno. In principal, it is very clear to me that God, our God, is the most compassionate and loving being who specifically commanded us "Love your enemy as yourself." So it does confuse me that Virgil actually feels happy when Dante wishes even more evil on the souls who are already in eternal torture. Sure, they're in Hell and they deserve to be there. But that's just it. They get the punishment they deserve. Nothing less, and therefore nothing more. It is not our right to decide how much punishment someone deserves. That privilege is solely reserved for God. So, I still do not believe it is right to wish more suffering on those who are already suffering.

I also think Dante's pity for the souls is actually justifiable, no matter how much Dante the author stresses that it is not. We can feel pity for the souls in Hell because they have not seen the Divine Light, they made the choice to ignore it. Yes they made that coice and yes they were damned. But shouldn't we feel sorry for the lives they could have led if they decided not to sin? Is that not something to feel sorry for? Must we not wish all our neighbors into Heaven? These souls in Hell were lost to us when they could instead have been a valuable addition into the kingdom of God, and for that I do feel pity for them.

Okay I just wanted to get that off my chest.

On a positive note, I like how the story from this point on gets more exciting, because it follows no uniform pattern as it did in the upper circles. It makes it more like a story than just a poem. The descriptions of the city and all the monsters add that much to the interest of the book. It's really amazing how Dante can even think of these things. Evidence that the mind of a genius is almost always pretty twisted. (Conclusion: One must be quite sane to think clearly. But to think deeply, one can be quite insane. -Nikola Tesla)

On a side note I really like reading the notes! I like learning cool new trivia, and the notes supply that in between each Canto like a little rest from the sometimes overwhelming descriptions of Hell.

That's all for now folks! *cue Looney Toons theme song

XOXO, Camille

[:)) yuck]

 As we leave the Upper Circles of Hell and enter into Dis, the capital of Hell, the cantos become a bit more difficult to read. Regardless, the adventure continues! 

In cantos 1-6, it made me wonder how these circles were still considered in the good side of hell. I mean, these were already horrifying, what more in the other circles. I cantos 7-11, they entered the forth until the seventh circle. And in the fourth circle, the ones who were here were the ones who guarded and wasted their money on earth. In the fifth circle, these were the ones who were wrathful. In the sixth circle, they were basically the heretics. And in circle seven, these were the ones who were violent against others, themselves, and God. Reading about the sufferings of people like them makes me want to make sure i don't end up like them. If these are what happens in circles 4-7, i am very very horrified to see what happens in the last few circles. I just have to remember some things, money is not everything. You should always forgive and let go. Never turn your back on God. And violence is never the answer.

I honestly didn't know what to expect next in Cantos 7-11. After all, the first six did not really leave much room for a back story that could add more plot to the poem.

When I was reading Canto 7, I felt bored. The Canto didn't really seem all that interesting to me and it wasn't very graphic either. After reading that, I thought that maybe the whole book would be like this-- just Dante describing the sinners. 

It was as if Dante read my mind, though, because suddenly, something interesting happens in the next Canto. Dis is a city in lower hell and for once (finally) Virgil just doesn't cut it. I've been waiting to see when Virgil's explanation would fail because, I mean really, he doesn't do very well of explaining why Dante is in hell. 

Anyway, so when the fallen angels refused to let Virgil and Dante in the city, I was already pretty happy. I was thinking "Finally! Something else happens other than the torturing of souls!". I began imagining the whole scene, from the fallen angels to the messenger from Heaven, and was really amazed by the change of events!

Inevitably, Virgil and Dante gained permission to enter Dis and proceeded on their way. After that, it pretty much returned to the usual Dante-explaining-torture-procedures. He does meet some acquaintances of his and that rather mixes it up a bit. However, I still look forward to the next time something unplanned happens. Because, to me, those seem like the best parts. 

Inferno is getting worse. Between each circles, there are short stories that make the story   smoother. I like the happening in the gate of circle 6. As you can see, Virgil was embarrassed for the first time since he went to the hell. Actually, It was funny to see Virgil and Dante in that trouble. I didn't worry about them because I already knew that there are still more Cantos remained. As I expected, the angel came from Heaven to help them. I got a little disappointment about the angel. What I expected is more graceful and holy angel. Anyway, Virgil and Dante were able to go inside of circle 6 well.

From the circle 6, devils are existed.  This makes me to feel that now they are in real hell. But still Dante has so many curious and no fear. The wise man, Virgil, cares about Dante so much and guides him well more than I expected. Already they are in circle 7, more than half way. Their journey is getting interesting. I hope they can finish this long journey safely.

Dante continues his journey through Hell and it definitely gets worse in every circle he enters. For instance, the fallen angels forbade Dante and Virgil to enter circle six. It makes everything more complicated that I somewhat felt hopeless while reading this part.Well, Hell is a place with no hope, love, happiness, and glory but rather a place full of misery, confusion, tears, and wrath. Every sinner in this circle deserves this punishment given to him. He chose to live his life in a way that he does not care about his actions. In circle four reside the sinners who did not give value to their money. On the other hand, those who are not forgiving and tend to hold their grudges reside in circle 5. Knowing that I may act this way at times makes me realize that I ought to be better and be more careful of my actions. 

I think what I'm enjoying most about The Inferno is how the author infuses mythology into his epic poem. In the assigned Cantos, I was especially entertained by Canto VII. The punishment of the Hoarders and Wasters, which is pushing boulders, reminded me a similar story about a Greek figure, Sisyphus. 

In the next three circles of Hell, the punishments are no longer lenient and are (in a way) grave. What I actually picked up from Canto VII to Canto XI is that the more selfish you get and the more you do things without charity, then the greater the suffering you have to undergo. In the Fourth Circle, the ones who are suffering are the ones who did not recognize the value of money. A lot of us can really relate to this because today, we tend to buy more than what we need. We crave for money and yet we just end up splurging it. The consequences and what not of this sin made got me conscious about the way I handle my money. The Fifth Circle of Hell, on the other hand, really got my attention. I am one to hold grudges against others. It is only now that I realize how grave of a sin it is since Dante ranked it above the avaricious and the prodigal. To make it sound scarier, it's even the last circle before the lower hell. It scares me, really, how something that I thought was "normal" is actually really offensive to God. I'm thankful for this early realization because at least now I can begin to work on the act of forgiving and forgetting. Lastly, Dante proceeds to lower hell and learns that it is where the Heretics dwell. It was hard to relate to this at first since modern-day Heretics are not as hardcore as they were before. What entered my head though are the people who act like they know more that God. I think that it makes sense that they are put on a higher level of suffering because the hurt that they allow God to feel is also on a higher level. Modern-day heretics are the ones who already know the faith yet they still choose to hurt God on purpose. This just alarmed me because of course, we all want to be together in Heaven. It just saddens me that other people still choose to burn in the fires of hell.

From the start, the situation that Dante is in already calls to mind the belief of Christians that life is like a journey which we are passing through to go to the place we were meant to be. I appreciate Dante’s bravery in going into such detail, what hell might have in store for us and casting himself as the main character. Also, though it may be essential to the idea he had created, I wouldn’t have the courage to incarcerate real people to hell, whatever life they had lived. However, I do understand the quality it gives the work. He may have meant to use historical figures as a tool to fuse fiction with reality.

                          Oh my goodness, "The Inferno" really is something else. I`m sure everyone who has read it or is currently reading it agrees. It`s so detailed! Hmm actually a better word would be, graphic. Dante explains EVERYTHING - from how each monster looks like to the color of the air, he doesn`t miss a single detail. Plus, he uses fancy words like "retrograde" and "dalliance". He also uses personification like in "A monstrous clap of thunder broke apart..". Consequently, he plays with his fancy words and tries to make them sound even more fancy by adding other fancy words, here is an example: "that to hide the guilt of her debauchery she licensed all depravity alike..". Wow this guy never stops! But it really does keep me thinking, which is probably why I`m still reading this "horror-themed" book. Although Dante prefers to narrate his journey through Hell in poetic terms, the notes at the end of each chapter make everything so much clearer.(I would be saying "Ooooooh" after every note.)

                            I`m gonna try and reflect on each chapter or "Canto" so you can understand how graphic this book really is (and I`m not even done yet!) or at lease see what he sees. I won`t give too much detail, you should read it yourself and find out.
Canto I-The Dark Wood of Error: Dante describes the wood in one entire paragraph, of course including the three beasts of worldliness. Here he meets Virgil, his symbol of Human Reason who will lead him through error where he must first descend through Hell, ascend through Purgatory and only then will he reach Paradise. So the journey begins..

Canto II-The Descent: So basically this chapter is about how Dante feels unworthy of reaching Heaven which makes him want to stop following Virgil. He compares himself to Aeneas and Paul, how he is nothing compared to them. But Virgil tells him how Beatrice (symbol of Divine Love) was the one who sent him to lead Dante back to God. Fortunately, Dante realizes the gravity of all the heavenly powers that wish for his safe arrival in Heaven and so he continues the journey.

Canto III-The Vestibule of Hell: The interesting part about Inferno is that it describes the sinners and their punishments. (Yes I find it interesting.) In this chapter Dante sees the Opportunists who are the souls that in life they were neither for good nor for evil but only for themselves (kind of like atheists). Included here are the outcasts who took no sides in the Rebellion of the Angels. They neither in Hell nor out of it. Forever they run around pursuing a wavering banner while being stung by swarms of wasps and hornets. (YUCK) Among them is Pope Celestine V! That is another interesting concept of Inferno, it includes historical figures to make it more believable.

Canto IV-Circle One, Limbo:  In Limbo they see the virtuous pagans who were born before the time of Christ. Therefore, they did not receive the light of God`s revelation (baptism) and cannot come into the light of God (Heaven). Their pain is not torment nor torture but it is that they have no hope. Also, it was here that Dante entered the great citadel where he saw David, Noah, Homer, Socrates, Camila and so on! I don`t know about you but I would probably be starstruck the entire time if I were Dante at that point.

Canto V-Circle Two, The Carnal: Here Dante sees Achilles, Cleopatra, Francesca and Paolo who are all swept by the carnal (great whirlwind) because they betrayed their reason to their appetites or passion. What I picked up from this chapter is that the sinners here died for "love". Like Cleopatra who committed suicide to join Mark Anthony and Paolo and Francesca who were lustful and adulterous.

Canto VI- Circle Three, The Gluttons: Here Dante sees those who in life, made no higher use of God`s gifts than to feast in food and drink. Here they are like garbage, half-buried in fetid slush, while Cerberus slavers over them as in life they slavered over their food. Dante describes Cerberus as the ravenous three-headed dog of Hell that rips and tears the gluttons apart with his claws and teeth. Now we know not to dwell in gluttony!

Okie dokie. So, there are a few things that I want to say about The Inferno, but I'll just go with one. Before I begin, I will define a term or name called, "Mary Sue". 

Mary Sue is a nearly perfect or a perfect character and is an unrealistic character. As in, they're totally perfect that they grab all the characters' attention. Usually, Mary Sues are characters that are based on the author, or rather, a 'self-insertion' and Mary Sues are usually girl characters. The male version of a Mary Sue is called a Gary Stu. There are different types of Mary Sues, but I'll only say two, and one is the Victim Mary Sue. They are Mary Sues that are whiny, weak, and pathetic that they couldn't do anything except be pathetic. The other one is the classic Mary Sue. The Mary Sue is so awesome, so perfect, so beautiful, and so everything that all the guy characters fall for her. She's so everything that they'd do anything for her. Even if what they are gonna do is practically impossible. This is where Dante comes in.

In my point of view, Dante is a Gary Stu. I mean, come on! Beatrice (Divine Love), The Virgin Mary (Compassion), Saint Lucia (Divine Light), and Rachel (The Contemplative Life) all suddenly prayed for and immediately cared for Dante when he "lost his way". All four of them are, like, way up there and epic and stuff. But Beatrice still went out of her way to go to hell just to ask Virgil to accompany Dante and bring him to safety. Wow. So much they did only for him. What about the other misled people who are probably in the same situation as Dante? I bet they didn't even think for another second about them. See? Mary Sue-ness, or in this case, Gary Stu-ness. 

And another example would be when the 'Poets of all time appear'. Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan all accepted Dante and made him part of their barkada or something. Fantastic. It's like 'Call Me Maybe' all over again. They just met each other, and are practically strangers, but they still... yeah. :| It's like an I-don't-care-who-you-are-but-now-that-you're-here-we-might-as-well-let-you-join-us kind of group. == Hah. Funny. Anyway, the Victim Mary Sue. Just like I said, he's not exactly whiny, but he "swooned with terror" a couple of times. == Swoon with terror? Wow... Just. Wow. You get the pic, right? Yeah. And, of course, when he felt sad and depressed about not being worthy of Heaven, Virgil just had to comfort him. And the time when "just all seems lost, a figure appears to him." (Canto I : when Dante was faced with the beasts and Virgil "saves" him)? Hah. Yeah... Gary Stu.

Anyway, besides that, the story's interesting. :P I kinda ranted over there but oh well. :P I like The Inferno. It helps people rethink about sinning and stuff. 

After reading the first six chapters of the book, I realized that I am really lucky to be brought up to be a good christian. Being in a school like PAREF and with having friends who are good influences, (one of them is a future numer by the way!) I considered myself lucky to be surrounded by these people so that I would not fall into this kind of eternal suffering.

Going back to the story, I felt like Virgil was not only taking Dante with him but also Virgil is taking me to see what hell really is. The description of this eternal suffering increased my horror for this kind of place. I mean, based from the scary movies that I have watched before and add the screams and pleads of the suffering, it would be really devastating and the one thing would run in my head while seeing and hearing those things would be to get out of there. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Another thing that I realized while reading this book is that to pray for one another while we are here on earth so that we won't be able to experience what the souls in these circles experienced. With care and love for one another, we need to pray to God so that He will help us in getting each and everyone closer to Him and getting us to move away from sin.

As the line in the Moulin Rouge goes:

"Move away from this village of sin."

Honestly, I had this fear of reading Inferno for I knew it would be about Hell and how sinners in there are suffering at that moment. But I have to accept this challenge and see Inferno's effect on me.  First of all, the idea of being lost without knowing why already scared me. I mean who would want that? All that confusion, emotional instability, and what not would drive me crazy. With Virgil's coming, it was somewhat a source of light for me for he would serve as my guide to experience what hell has to offer but seriously, I'd rather not. Second, the division between Heaven and Hell where certain souls are kept and those who actually don't belong in any of those made me think about myself-  how I can be neutral at times, not caring about my actions but still feeling sorry about them; maybe the way I am now will lead me to that place though I most certainly wish I end up in Heaven. Lastly, the way Dante described the souls in the first three circles and their punishments are again, terrifying. It makes me want to reflect on my life now and how I can still improve it. Despite all those negativity, I guess I have to look at the bright side that this book will lead me to be better correcting all I have done wrong.

I'm going to be honest here, okay? I have no idea where I put my copy of Dante's Inferno. I was only able to write this because I read Canto 1-6 on the Internet. But, don't worry, I am definitely going to find it soon. 

Moving on, I guess I am pretty grateful that I lost my copy. I seriously had trouble understanding what Dante was saying. Luckily, I was already on the Internet anyway, so I just looked it up on Sparknotes. It was a lot of help and after the first three Cantos, I kind of got the hang of it. 

What I find interesting about the book would be how fast-paced it is. At first, he's only walking in the desert and then suddenly, he's already in the third circle! It was really surprising. Though the explanations of Virgil were somewhat challenging to understand, I got the gist of each circle and that was all right for me.

Did anyone else notice how Dante seems like a sissy? I mean, I get that he's going through hell literally but he doesn't have to faint every single time. It's funny because each time he faints, he has another way of saying that he fainted that would make it extremely dramatic. 

I haven't read this before nor have I looked around for spoilers so I'm just going to put out there what I think of Virgil. To me, he seems kind of suspicious. After all, he was able to convince Charon, Milos, and Cerberus to let Dante through! Maybe it's just me, but I don't exactly trust Virgil-- especially since he is also part of the first circle of hell.

All in all, the first six Cantos look promising. I'm looking forward to the rest, though I will probably still need some help understanding. Hopefully, in the future, Dante will man up and stop "falling, even as a dead body falls" or "sleep hath seized I fell" or whatever else he wants to call it when he loses consciousness (a.k.a fainting).

 This is my first time to read a book about hell or inferno. And it is so interesting! I am still reading it and already in Canto 30.(I read it in Korean version, :D) Dante described vividly the hell and compared the situations in inferno to actions of animals and things that I can easily imagine. So while I was reading it, I could feel the fears and sadness of Dante.

 But because of Virgil, the guide, I didn’t worry about Dante. Virgil is always with Dante from the start and saves him from troubles. He is wise, generous and reliable. Every time Dante asks questions, Virgil answers the curious of Dante and further, he solves my curious too.

 This book really makes people to think about many kinds of sins and hell. Maybe Dante wrote Inferno for people to be alert mentally from commit a crime. I also could have time to think about the hell and sins.

 Inferno is just the first part of Divine Comedy. I really enjoyed reading it and almost finished it. I want to read the other two parts, Purgatorio and Paradiso to join the Dante's long journey to heaven.

Jessica Yoo

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha begins with a simple man who finds pleasure in reading books of chivalry. And to this he dedicated a great deal of his time and thought, wishing recognition for the heroes of the world he believed most worthy of it. It is from this mere form of recreation that his admiration of the valiant turns to obsession. More fictitious books of fierce knights and romantic notions only fed his appraisal of the valiant which in itself consumed his own mind and captivated him into his own world of fantasy. As occurs often when it comes to obsession this eventually evolved into envy. Don Quixote coveted his own obscure ideas of glory and recognition and resolved to venture in its pursuit.

- Monina Olaguer

Literature has been a part of everyman's life ever since their lives have started. From what I understood in the story, Don Quixote loved reading and in fact it was his hobby and he could just read all day. But maybe too much reading can lead to over thinking or imagining things that we know it couldn't happen to us. He went on adventures and imagined to be a knight like what he read from his book but he would just fail and 'wake up from that dream'. For me everyman actually goes through this stage especially when they love the book and actually imagine o be the character in that book. But I think Don Quixote actually went overboard on imagining things but hey maybe he just wanted to have some fun and actually be in character and enjoy the book he read!!!

- Eunice Salvador

Don Quixote of La Mancha was an amazing character! Reading the story, I was amused by his qualities. Bordering on fifty, his actions would match a young lad better but I still found him very remarkable. At this age I can’t see myself closely comparing any of my fictional reading into reality, however he takes all of his readings and stuffs his imagination with all these enchantments. It became the only thing that he did and he read every single book of chivalry that he could compare the oldest and the most recent literary piece. As he decides that he should make a knight-errant of himself, I confirmed that he really was serious with all the reading that he did that it brought me to think that he had determination. All the things that he wanted to apply in his lifestyle were not close to truth but how he prepared for it was admirable. In the latter part of the story, he tried to defeat the windmills that he described as monstrous giants to Sancho Panza.  For me, he believed that he could achieve anything. And even if he was hurt, he did not stop to have confidence that one day he will be able to defeat an enemy and be that knight-errant that he wants to be.

- Isabel Espineli

Before reading this short excerpt about Don Quixote, I had some expectations on it already. I thought it would speak about someone who has done great things for his country. I somewhat expected him to be a true hero or a political person who has done good service for his people. I also expected it to be more entertaining in a way that it would excite me and urge me to keep reading. Despite all these expectations, this excerpt has given me an idea of how a person’s imagination can grow and lead to so many things. In my opinion, Don Quixote is a risk taker. He is determined to learn about all things connecting to chivalry. His desire of being a knight excites his imagination that he would spend his days acting as one. For instance, he got a horse and named it Rocinante and he also battled with the giants but actually, they were just wind mills. Don Quixote is someone who is also adventurous. He loves to explore new things for himself that would make him more interested in being a knight. As for his squire, Sancho, I could say that he is of true loyalty to his master. He would warn him against danger and follow his ways. He would accept whatever his master believes in no matter how dangerous it could be. He is a man of simple words who can make Don Quixote laugh because of those then. All in all, this excerpt has brought me to experiencing how imagination and creativity can change a man’s perspective at the world. I would actually consider reading some more about this to give me the urge to enjoy it more. 

- Kyra Constantino

I personally think that the moral the story is trying to teach us is that it is risky to engage ourselves too much in the literary works that we read. Meaning, we should set limits to how far our imagination goes. In Quixote's case, after reading on books about knights, he already got fantasy and reality mixed up. After reading the article I realised that there are times when I get too caught up in a book that I tend to get carried away. The article served as a reminder to me, and to all of us for that matter. The author really wrote it in a way that we can clearly see how preposterous it is to be living unrealistically. It is a good thing that we are able to have a vivid imagination of the literary works that we read but we should also keep in mind that the things that we read are not always real and should remain in the book. It is not bad that we escape from reality as we engage ourselves in reading. It becomes a bad thing, however, the moment we surrender ourselves to fantasy. It is okay to escape from reality once in a while. We should just make sure that we do not dwell in our "imaginary world" forever.

- Michaela Defensor

    Upon reading the excerpt from Don Quixote, I was immediately struck with the thought that imaginations can really take a person very far. He enthusiastically took in the role of a knight-errant, one who greatly looked up on—making sure that he looked the part and that he fit the part. Although appearing to be insane, he had the best interests in his heart. Moreover, in trying to imitate a knight-errant, he reminded me of a child; he had the naivete and innocence of the child that he can be anything he wants, anytime he wants. It is in this aspect that we have to take from him, because somewhere along the way, upon growing up, people slowly lose hope in things that hold dear to them; however, Don Quixote never lost that hope. He became what he wanted to be without letting anyone rule what he wanted to be. Whatever may happen, do not let the fire that is hope die within us.

Do you still remember the times when you just got lost in imagination? When you would pretend to be dazzling fairies, beautiful mermaids, courageous knights, powerful magicians, or wealthy princesses? Where you could travel to enchanting places like the center of the world, Mars, Neverland, or Andalasia? Or, when you would possess superhuman abilities? Well, reading the excerpt of The Ingenious Gentleman: Don Quixote of La Mancha reminded me of those times.

While reading Don Quixote, I thought about how my own imagination is ignited by the arts, but mostly by books. I remember the many times as a little girl how I would pretend to be my favorite princess, an animal that I most wanted to be, or even one of the French schoolgirls from Madeline. As I got older, I became exposed to different kinds of novels. Today, I still actively use my imagination. I like to think about becoming a demigod, a wizard, or a superhero, seeking adventure at every corner.

The final scene of the excerpt reminded me of a certain event in Antoine de-Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince. This event is when the narrator of the story shows the adults his picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant, but they only see a hat. Sancha Panza, Don Quixote’s “squire”, is like those adults. In the passage, it seems like he is very dull and unimaginative. He somewhat destroys the fun his “knight” was having. Don Quixote, on the other hand, is the narrator. So imaginative and child-like to think the windmills were horrific giants.

I believe that we should never lose that child-like quality, that innocence. As we get older, we tend to lose that nature. Yes, with age comes maturity, but it doesn’t mean we need to lose our imagination. It’s healthy to still imagine and to still get lost in our daydreams. But, be cautious because we might become a little bit crazy just like the knight of La Mancha. If we do not monitor and lose control of our dreams, it just might lead to disaster.