So much can happen over a period of 387 years. To name a few, the United States became a country, trains were invented, cars were invented, airplanes were invented, and the world experienced two world wars. Also during this period two people were born; Miguel de Cervantes and Luisa Valenzuela. Born in 1547, Cervantes would grow up to write one of the most renowned books of his time, Don Quixote. Don Quixote was first published in 1605 during the Renaissance. It is the story of Don Quixote de La Mancha, who is an average middle class, middle age man. Unlike most men of the Renaissance, Don Quixote still believes in Middle Age ideals, specifically chivalry. The book goes on to discuss Don Quixote’s ridiculous quest to become a knight errant and how others react to him. In addition to Cervantes, another important writer was born in this period, her name is Luisa Valenzuela. Valenzuela was born in 1938 in Argentina. During the 1970s, Juan Perón was the president of Argentina, but ruled as a dictator. This was one of the biggest influences on Valenzuela’s writing and can clearly be seen in her short story “The Censors”. The story begins in Argentina with Juan, the main character, who sends a letter to his love, Mariana. After sending the letter, Juan realizes that his letter could get him and/or Mariana into trouble, so he sets out to retrieve it in the censorship division. His plan is to get hired, encounter his letter, and stop the letter from hurting Mariana. He begins his quest, but gets caught up in the job and ends up censoring his own letter mercilessly. This in turn leads to his execution the next morning. Although 387 years separate the publications of Cervantes’s Don Quixote and Valenzuela’s “The Censors”, they share many si...
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...e works are able to transcend time with messages for the world. In these works, one can learn how dictatorships lead to a necessity for reform and that people shouldn’t revert back to old ideals. People can also learn that those who try to be heroes typically don’t succeed in these quests; rather it is those who the opportunity presents itself to. Lastly, that one should not chase outrageous dreams or fall on the sword for those a loved one because it leads to trouble not honor.
Works Cited
Valenzuela, Luisa. The Censors. Trans. N. K. Sanders. Elements of Literature: World Literature.
Ed. Patricia McCambridge. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2006. 964-968. Print.
Cervantes, Miguel De. Don Quixote. Trans. N. K. Sanders. Elements of Literature: World
Literature. Ed. Patricia McCambridge. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006.
689-701. Print.
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