36. What happens after Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island? Look at the italicized text
on page 864 for help.
Athena intervenes to keep Odysseus safe from Poseidon’s storm. She helps him
reach the Phaeacians, and he tells them of his adventures. You can find these
details in the italicized text on page 864.
37. Why do you think Homer starts the story just before Odysseus arrives in Ithaca?
What effect might this have for the audience?
It’s okay if you didn’t have a detailed answer for this question, since you’ve only
read a potion of the story, but it’s important to think about why Homer would
start the story in the middle. By starting the tale at a point just before Odysseus
will finally arrive home, Homer helps build a sense of anticipation that will keep
the audience engaged throughout the long tale of Odysseus’s journeys. Homer
puts the audience in Odysseus’s shoes, so close to home and weary from his
travels. This helps heighten his emotional homecoming in Ithaca, where he
reunites with his son to fight unworthy suitors for his wife. It also sets the scene
for the audience, preparing them for what will come next. It gives them a sense
of why this story is important.
The story of the Cyclops that you read is also the first major story that Odysseus
tells the Phaeacians. Remember that Cyclops prays to Poseidon to curse
Odysseus, asking that he never see his home. This key moment foreshadows the
rest of Odysseus’s long journey, leaving the audience to wonder if Odysseus will
ever make it home. The foreshadowing helps the audience anticipate what is
happening in the story, even though the plot is unfolding in a nonlinear fashion.
DON QUIXOTE STUDY GUIDE (NOT GRADED)
Vocabulary
Rabble
Spoil(s)
Lance
Buckler
Chapter 8
1. What type of creature does Don Quixote believe the windmills to be?
He believes the windmills are giants.
2. What does Don Quixote believe the sails of the windmill to be?
He believes the sails are the arms of the giants.
3. What happens to Don Quixote's lance?
It breaks into pieces when he drives it into the sail of the windmill.
4. Who does Don Quixote believe has turned the giants into windmills?
He believes the sage Friston has turned the giants into windmills.
5. What does Don Quixote intend to use to replace his broken lance?
He says that he will take a branch from the first large oak he sees and use that
as his lance.
6. What overstatement does Don Quixote use when he says that a knight is not
permitted to complain?
Don Quixote states "knights-errant are not permitted to complain of any wound,
even though their bowels be coming out through it" (Cervantes).
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7. In the next paragraph, Sancho states, "For my part, I confess I must complain
however small the ache may be; unless this rule about not complaining extends to
the squires of knights-errant also." How is Sancho portrayed as a foil in this scene?
Sancho is stating the complete opposite of Don Quixote. Sancho wants to
complain even if he is hurt just a little.
8. What is ironic about the following statement? "Sancho bade him remember it was
dinner-time, to which his master answered that he wanted nothing himself just
then, but that he might eat when he had a mind."
In this phrase, Don Quixote refuses to eat his dinner until he has a "mind,” which
is a figurative way of saying he will not eat until he is hungry. The statement is
ironic in Don Quixote’s case, however, because he has lost his mind—the reader
can chuckle and think that Don Quixote may never eat!
9. Why is Sancho not allowed to help Don Quixote if he gets in a fight with knights?
Sancho cannot help Don Quixote because it is against the laws of knighthood to
help a knight (Don Quixote) unless Sancho also is a knight.
10. Sancho agrees not to get involved in any knighthood fight. What is ironic about
Sancho's declaration: "I will do so, I promise you," answered Sancho, "and will
keep this precept as carefully as Sunday."
Based on his other behavior—such as drinking himself to sleep the day before—it
seems unlikely that Sancho is a devoutly religious man.
11. Who does Don Quixote mistake the lady traveling in the coach and the friars for?
Don Quixote believes the friars are magicians, carrying off the lady he mistakes
as a princess.
12. Sancho foreshadows what might happen if Don Quixote gets involved with the
friar and the traveling lady: “I tell you to mind well what you are about and don't
let the devil mislead you" Why does Sancho state this warning?
Sancho knows Don Quixote is going to make a mess of the situation.
13. "Devilish and unnatural beings, release instantly the highborn princesses whom
you are carrying off by force in this coach, else prepare to meet a speedy death
as the just punishment of your evil deeds." Why are Don Quixote's words to the
friars ironic?
Friars are holy men, and yet he calls them devils.
14. Sancho strips the clothes off of the friar who fell to the ground. Why does
Sancho do this?
It appears that Sancho is attempting to be a bit of a comedian.
15. How does this action conflict with Sancho's previous behavior, correcting Don
Quixote's delusions about the windmills?
Usually, Sancho tries to keep Don Quixote in reality, but in this situation Sancho
supports Don Quixote's behavior by pretending to take the spoils from a victory.
16. After Don Quixote has "rescued the princess," what does his speech tell you
about his personality?
Don Quixote is very proud of his skills; and, he is truly delusional.
17. In his speech, what does Don Quixote request the "princess" do because he has
rescued her?
Don Quixote wants the princess to travel to El Toboso and tell Lady Dulcinea
what he has done.
18. What does the Biscayan use in place of a shield?
The Biscayan uses a cushion from the coach.
2015 English 1A Brazil – Study Guide
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19. At the end of the chapter, the narrator says that Don Quixote is about to slice
the Biscayan in half, but then you read these lines: “But it spoils [ruins] all, that
at this point and crisis the author of the history leaves this battle impending,
giving as excuse that he could find nothing more written about these
achievements of Don Quixote than what has been already set forth [There was
nothing more written about the battle]. It is true the second author [Here,
Cervantes is referring to himself.] of this work was unwilling to believe that a
history so curious could have been allowed to fall under the sentence of oblivion,
[the history was never written down] or that the wits of La Mancha [the central
region of Spain] could have been so undiscerning [lacking judgment] as not to
preserve in their archives or registries some documents referring to this famous
knight..." (Cervantes). In this passage, Cervantes basically states that Central
Spain was stupid for not preserving the adventures of this famous knight. Why is
this statement ironic?
Cervantes knows this tale was never recorded because Don Quixote was a madeup character who never performed any knightly acts.
Chapter 9
20. Who is the main character in this chapter? Is it Don Quixote?
No, the main character here is the narrator.
21. Is this chapter told in first, second, or third person?
The story shifts to first person as the narrator tells about his search for the lost
history of the battle. Chapter 8 is in third person. Chapter 9 is in first person.
22. What does the narrator find in the Alcana of Toledo?
He finds a pamphlet that tells the outcome of the battle.
23. The boy tells the narrator something is written in the margin of a pamphlet.
What is written in the margin?
“This Duclinea del Toboso so often mentioned in this history, had, they say, the
best hand of any woman in all La Mancha for salting pigs.”
24. What does the narrator see in the pamphlet and describe to us? Summarize the
description.
The pamphlet contains a drawing of the battle scene. The drawing shows Don
Quixote and the Biscayan with their swords raised, one protected by a buckler
and the other protected by a cushion. Sancho Panza stands nearby, portrayed
with a big belly, short body, and long legs (called shanks in the text).
25. The narrator discovers the outcome of the battle. What is the outcome?
Don Quixote beats the Biscayan, but the ladies in the carriage beg him to spare
the man’s life. Don Quixote agrees, as long as the man promises to go to El
Toboso and present himself to Lady Dulcinea.
26. Remember, Don Quixote is an example of a story within a story. The narrator
disrupts Don Quixote’s story to tell about his own life. How does the narrator’s
disruption of the events affect your experience of the story? Does it change the
way you view the story, Don Quixote, or Don Quixote’s quest?
There is no right answer to this question. It’s just important to notice your own
reactions to a text. The disruption of the narrator may have annoyed you. Or,
you may have found it humorous. In your opinion, how do you think Cervantes
intended for readers to react to this transition between Don Quixote’s story and
the story of the narrator?
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