Don Quixote: A Lunatic or Eccentric?

From the very beginning we had witnessed the unusual behavior of Don Quixote that would probably make us think that he is lunatic. Indeed, we are introduced to a character that changes his entire identity in order to comply with the style of books of chivalry. It appears that he is creating a little “bubble” for himself in which he lives the life of a newly created knight. His old horse becomes Rocinante, Sancho’s donkey became Dapple,  the windmill  imagined as a giant four armed monster, ordinary inns are in his eyes grand castles, prostitutes are noble ladies, and rules of chivalry become applicable to him. Clearly Don Quixote’s vision of the world has changed and he can no longer see the world as it really is. He then leaves his home in search for adventures, with the hope of restoring the ills of society and coming in aid of the needy. Such attitudes could be seen as being humble and legitimate. As a matter of fact most of the characters from books of chivalry do exactly those things and are not considered mad. However, combining Alonso Quijano’s new personality with the real world describes a situation that is not combinable in real life, hence the comic result. That’s why his unusual personality was perceived by the society as insanity. But for me, I think, Don Quixote is an eccentric type of man.  He is eccentric because he just has a unique view of a certain thing though sometimes it appears to be weird, funny or ridiculous. He is the kind a person who intentionally or unintentionally displays odd or unusual behavior and wild yet adventurous individual. Though he has the insanity side, eccentricity is still more dominant. Furthermore, it appears that some of his more eccentric attitudes, which for many constitute his insanity, can be interpreted by others as mere acts of bravery, humanism or can simply find an explanation in the fact that he could be hungry, thirsty and tired. It is likely that at the beginning of the First Part, Don Quixote had indeed lost his mind. Cervantes even puts forward an explanation for this insanity, accounting for the fact that the Hidalgo has had little sleep, food and drink, but has on the other hand been reading numerous books of chivalry. It could be argued therefore, that due to his physical state Don Quixote is not suffering from madness but temporary hallucination. He also appeared to be a hero to Andres, a shepherd boy who was tied in a tree, when he threatened to run Haldudo that if he will not untie and pay whatever he owes the boy. After releasing Andrés, Haldudo swears by the code of chivalry that he will pay him his due, nine months’ wages. Taking Haldudo at his word—after all, he swore a knightly oath—the mighty caballero rides off, satisfied that he has righted a wrong. This part made Don Quixote as the champion of the weak and defenseless.