Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote follows Alonso Quixano, an ageing country gentleman who becomes so absorbed in tales of chivalry that he decides to become a knight-errant. Taking the name Don Quixote, he sets out across Spain to defend the helpless, challenge injustice, and perform heroic deeds. Accompanied by his practical squire, Sancho Panza, he repeatedly mistakes ordinary situations for extraordinary adventures, famously imagining windmills to be giants. Their contrasting perspectives create both comic misunderstandings and moments of unexpected wisdom. Cervantes uses their journey to explore the relationship between imagination and reality, questioning the values of honour, heroism, and social convention. Beneath its humour, the novel considers the dignity of idealism and the difficulties faced by people who refuse to accept the world as it is.