Comment on Anon reads Don Quixote

• southsamurai@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  No, it isn’t.

  Most people will not retain the name of an animal that doesn’t speak. The horse has zero impact on the story, and only serves as a piece of Quixote’ personality signifiers

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  • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I would say Rocinante helps early in the story, with understanding the depth of Quixote’s delusion.

    Whilst in reality Rocinante is an old workhorse; in the delusion of Don Quixote, Rocinante is a grand charger fit for a knight of the highest order.

    Helping to illustrate the core of the story; Don Quixote is applying a veneer of importance and significance over the top of reality. Rocinante is a reflection of the Don himself.

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    • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I agree with the role Rocinante plays for sure.

      I just don’t think that makes the name of the horse a good question. It’s like asking the name of John Wick’s dog. The whole movie hinges on the dog, but what name it has is irrelevant.

      The point of reading something like Don Quixote isn’t the names. Even Pancho’s name is barely important. Hell, I’d even argue that the fact we’re talking about Don Quixote rather than Alonso Quixano even illustrates that names aren’t exactly the prime bit of information that matters.

      Now, it is hard to discuss the story without factoring in name changes. Aldonza/Dulcinea in specific is maybe the biggest symbol of what the Don is experiencing, and the underlying theme of the story. But the specific names? It’s just a bad question for a high school English teacher to ask a student.

      My reasoning is that, no matter what else is retained, names only serve as a point of reference in damn near all literature. When an early exposure to old school, classical literature is happening, the student is going to already be learning three or four things at once, and memorizing the name of a non dialogue character doesn’t serve do achieve that learning, or even test how much that student retained.

      You’ve got them trying to learn how to read critically, how to read archaic styles, how to retain important factors, and how to express what they’ve picked up. The name of an animal that’s essentially stage dressing akin to the sword or armor? That’s entirely the wrong question.

      What would be a good one is, “what does Quixote’s horse symbolize?” Or even, “what do you think about his horse?”. Both would get the student thinking rather than trying to just pull up a word that’s arbitrary.

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      • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        What would be a good one is, “what does Quixote’s horse symbolize?” Or even, “what do you think about his horse?”. Both would get the student thinking rather than trying to just pull up a word that’s arbitrary.

        That is a great point.

        Significantly better questions; than a name.

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      • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        you entirely pissed the point of the post.

        anon is an idiot. he reads this book in two days, and knows nothing about it. he was not reading critically, he was blasting through each page and only ‘reading’ to say he read the novel to impress the teacher, and then he’s so dumb he can’t even remember the name of the horse.

        you call it ‘abitrary’ I call it ‘how can you do algebra if you can’t do arithmetic’

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