Page "Don Quixote" Paragraph 23

Although the novel is farcical on the surface, the novel, especially in its second half, is more serious and philosophical about the theme of deception.

Quixote has served as an important thematic source not only in literature but in much of art and music, inspiring works by Pablo Picasso and Richard Strauss.

The contrasts between the tall, thin, fancy-struck, and idealistic Quixote and the fat, squat, world-weary Panza is a motif echoed ever since the book ’ s publication, and Don Quixote's imaginings are the butt of outrageous and cruel practical jokes in the novel.

Even faithful and simple Sancho is unintentionally forced to deceive him at certain points.

The novel is considered a satire of orthodoxy, veracity, and even nationalism.

In going beyond mere storytelling to exploring the individualism of his characters, Cervantes helped move beyond the narrow literary conventions of the chivalric romance literature that he spoofed, which consists of straightforward retelling of a series of acts that redound to the knightly virtues of the hero.