The novel, Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes shows how humanity can be expressed by helping others and harmful to others by interfering in their personal matters. Carroll B. Johnson says that "the best reason of all to read Don Quixote: to learn about ourselves and to explore our own humanity." Throughout the novel, the characters show their humanity (kindness) by helping others, but at times that humanity turns into cruelty.
First of all, Don Quixote shows his humanity by trying to help the poor boy who was crying. He told the farmer to pay the boy for his duties. Don Quixote said, "Discourteous Knight, it is an unworthy act to strike a person who is not able to defend himself: come, bestride thy steed, and take thy lance..." (47). Despite the fact that Don Quixote wants to help the boy he is unsuccessful in doing so as shown when the boy gets whipped more by the farmer as soon as Don Quixote left. Likewise, Don Quixote also shows his humanity when he promises to make the illiterate laborer, Sancho, the governor of an isle if Sancho goes with him. Even though, the humanity that Don Quixote shows is for his own benefit, it still proves that he explores his own humanity.
In addition, Don Quixote showed humanity when he says, "Immediately release those high-born princesses, whom you are violently conveying away in the coach, or else prepare to meet with instant death, as the just punishment of your pernicious deeds" (82). At that time, Don Quixote helps the princesses get free from the monks by attacking them, but in reality the monks were just carrying the princesses in a carriage. Similarly, the goatherds show humanity when they dressed Don Quixote's wounded ear and invited him to eat with them. Cervantes says, .".. for the goatherds took them off the fire, and spreading some sheep-skins on the ground, soon got their rural feast ready, and cheerfully invited their master and him to partake of what they had" (100). This shows the kindness of the goatherds which shows their humanity.
However, humanity in some characters is lost as shown in Sancho's case. Sancho tries to rob the monk of his clothes, showing that he has no sort of kindness in his heart because he tried to take advantage of Don Quixote's belief in a fantasy world to satisfy his greed. Also, the Duke and Duchess play tricks on Don Quixote by telling him that if Sancho whips himself 3,300 times on his naked backside, Dulcinea's enchantment can by undone. This shows that the Duke and the Duchess have no humanity in them at all.
There are many more cases throughout the novel in which humanity is shown which expresses the idea of how the characters learn about themselves and explore their own humanity. Some characters show that they have no humanity, such as the Duke and the Duchess and Sancho.
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