Generally, I found this excerpt of Don Quixote a surprisingly enjoyable read. Don Quixote, 'The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha', sort of reminded me of how children would pretend to be their favorite characters from the several books they read--except that Don Quixote, or whatever his real name is, was in fact a man of fifty who did not pretend but actually became a knight-errant, inspired by the numerous books and works he read about chivalry.

As ridiculous as he seemed when he decided to take up the identity of a knight-errant only after reading about them, I actually admire Don Quixote for doing what he did.  Accepting every challenge in his way, He followed his dreams and aspirations and didn't let anyone tell him otherwise (...maybe because there never really was anyone who was capable of telling him otherwise). He has the true spirit of a knight--a fighter! Although, with his bizarre and absurd (yet absolutely amusing) antics, I wouldn't advise anyone to look to him as a role model in aspects of daily life.

To be honest, I'm somewhat confused about what the story of this deranged man from La Mancha is trying to portray about reading. Students like me have been encouraged to read for the sole purpose of learning, and that we read (fiction) so that we can grow and learn from human experience. But in Don Quixote's case, his mind was completely turned because of his books and he almost totally wiped out the common sense in him. In the point of view of reading as a pastime, maybe what this narrative is attempting to explain is that yes, many times, we read to escape for a while the tedious and humdrum chapters of our own lives into a more engaging and thrilling atmosphere. But in the end, I guess many times as well we tend to, for the better or worse, live and remain in these fantasies instead--much like what happened to the young girl, Ofelia, in the film Pan's Labyrinth.