Don quixote & doctor faustus in the world/ in the tradition

Don Quixote & Doctor Faustus In the world/ In the tradition

In the World In the tradition Response  Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Don Quixote In his novel Don Quixote Cervantes ridiculed chivalry novels andfascination for them (at that time such books were popular). Cervantes revealed the most inconsistent and most ridiculous points (in his opinion), which were present in the majority of these novels. He illustrated these points depicting Don Quixote’s “ glorious deeds”. Cervantes created a character who was a personification of the extreme form of fascination for chivalry novels since Don Quixote “ hit upon the strangest notion that… he should make a knight-errant of himself… putting in practice himself all that he had read of” (Davis et al. 258). From the very first pages of his novel Cervantes claimed that only insane people could regard those books as worthy since they did not have any meaningful idea which could be useful for the reader to acknowledge. Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe revealed some of the most topical issues of pride, faith, the power of science. Marlowe articulates the major idea that people should not be too proud since there is too much yet to learn. Marlowe reveals a story of a medieval Icarus whose “ waxen wings did mount above his reach”, but caused his death (Davis et al. 384). Marlowe also notes that people long to have more they have or can get (Faustus, for instance, wanted to obtain more knowledge). This didactic work also teaches the viewer that any “ contract” with the devil will lead to damnation only, since Faustus does not even advance in his study, but wastes his talent after the contract signing. The playwright considers many ethical issues and, finally, states that faith, Christian virtues and science can enable people to achieve new tops and gain the necessary knowledge. Works Cited Davis, Paul, Gary Harrison et al, eds. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Books 1-3. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.