The first thing that popped in my head when I saw the excerpt of "The Ingenious Gentleman: Don Quixote of La Mancha" was "this is just gonna be another knight in shining armor story with some Spanish spice". But boy was I wrong! It was nothing I expected.

              Don Quixada was obsessed with books of chivalry. His mind would go so deep into the stories that   he`d let them take over his life (no exaggeration)! In fact, he went to the extent of becoming Don Quixote of La Mancha, aka knight. In Don Quixote`s case it was more about seeking adventure in everything, even the most odd things -- like the windmills, rather than actual knighthood. (Apparently in his head the windmills were monstrous giants, but only a person in the right mind would think otherwise.) He believed knights were meant to serve their kings by slaying giants, monsters and the like. But again, only a person in the right mind or may I say a mature mind would know that knights do more than slay, kill and explore.

              In my opinion, Don Quixote is the epitome of "child at heart". His books influenced him so easily that he immediately believed he was called or meant for what the stories were about. I think his imagination overpowered his common sense and intuition. Only children or what we call "children at heart" would understand his choice; seeking adventure over real-life responsibilities (such as taking care of his property and niece). But who doesn`t love a "child at heart"!