In Part One of Cervantes' Don Quixote, our hero appears to be more of a bumbling, reckless idiot than the gallant knight errant he professes to be. However, amidst the ridiculous nature of his various adventures, there is an underlying indication that Don Quixote possesses an outstanding capacity for intellectual and rational thought. In the first half of this novel, we see brief glimpses of his sophisticated reasoning and philosophizing, yet the full extent of Don Quixote's mental sanity and understanding of the modern world becomes strikingly apparent in the latter half of the text. Realizing that his world no longer espouses the valiant tenets of the chivalric era, Quixote sets out to bring back these ideals by living the life of a typical knight; he feels as though simply preaching to others about this idyllic time period is insufficient. Unfortunately, Quixote's aggressive and peculiar approach at bringing back this era is often misinterpreted as madness. However, in the novel's second half, the reader can begin to see the depth of Quixote's capacity to rationalize and realize that his choice to play the role of a knight is a result of his thorough understanding of the modern world and his ultimate rejection of it.

In order to address the question of whether Quixote is aware of the modern world, it is essential to establish the character's intellect, a much-debated topic. Often, when other characters declare to Quixote that they believe he is completely insane, he merely ignores these statements and continues to fight in the name of his Lady Dulcinea. Regarding these types of scenes, it is overly presumptuous to associate Quixote's resilience to the modern world with an inability to understand surrounding circumstances. Faulty reasoning like this underestimates Quixote's ability to comprehend subtleties, which ultimately results in a severe misconception of the character. In fact, it is clearly shown at the start of Part Two that Quixote does indeed understand subtlety and the full implications of his actions. Upon his arrival back home, he is greeted by his niece, housekeeper, and barber who still regard him as a lunatic. And in an effort to bring him back to reality, the barber proceeds to recount to Quixote a tale concerning a man who often spoke like an individual of great intelligence but, at times, broke into wild and inane talk, believing himself to be Neptune. In response to the barber's story, Quixote immediately replies indignantly, " 'So that, Master Barber…is the story which came so pat to the point that you had to tell it? O, Master Shaver, how blind is the man who cannot see through a hair-sieve' " (477). How can Quixote understand the subtleties of the barber's story which, according to him, was "so pat to the point" if he were not conscientious and sharp-minded? We cannot simply disregard his intellect and view him as a man unaware of his actions.

He further shows his impressive deductive skills when he begins to analyze the barber's story and its underlying implications. "I, Master Barber, am not Neptune…and I am not trying to make anyone believe me wise when I am not. I am only at pains to convince the world of its error in not reviving that most happy age in which the order of chivalry flourished" (477). If he were truly unaware of who he is, it would be virtually impossible for him to understand that the barber, when referring to graduate in the story who believed he was Neptune, actually meant that Quixote was blind to his true identity. In addition, he repeatedly emphasizes that he has thoroughly comprehended the barber's story. He states, "Therefore I wish to remain at home, since the chaplain is not taking me out; and if Jupiter, as the barber has said, will not rain, here am I who will rain whenever I please. This I say so that Master Basin may see that I understand him" (478). At first, it may be convenient to simply regard Quixote as an irrational individual incapable of seeing his world in its true light. Other characters such as the man in green believed him to be out of his wits, yet upon hearing his orations regarding learning, the "man in the green was lost in amazement at Don Quixote's reasoning, so much so that he had begun to alter his previous opinion that he was an idiot" (570). To change one's perception from regarding an individual as an idiot to an impressive, rational person is remarkable; only a deeply profound and sensible statement from Don Quixote could have elicited that shift in perception. Ultimately, it can't be denied that Quixote is a figure who has an impressive ability to catch subtleties, thus possessing a discerning mind.

Upon establishing Quixote's rationality and apparent intellect, we can begin to see the extent to which he understands the difference between modern society and the age of chivalry. Besides the obvious differences concerning the fact that "most of our knights nowadays prefer to rustle in damasks, brocades, and other rich clothes…and there are no knights to sleep in the open, exposed to rigour of the skies, in full armour," the modern society has taken on the characteristics of an era in which "sloth triumphs over industry, idleness over labour, vice over virtue, presumption over valour, and theory over the practice of arms, which only lived and flourished in the golden age and amount knight errants" (477). The latter description in which Quixote rattles off the distinctions between his time and that of the age of chivalry is striking in numerous respects; he clearly sees the schism between the two time periods. He has recognized the fact that modern day people no longer want to take action against injustices. Instead, people have become lazy and content on theorizing rather than applying their ideas to real life. And perhaps this is the reason why Quixote actively becomes a knights errant; unsatisfied by merely telling others the way they should behave, he is intent on actively showing the world of their erroneous ways.

Quixote's understanding of the chivalric age becomes even more noticeable as he begins to list the names of fictional and real-life characters who existed during this age of gallantry. "If I am not right, tell me, who was more virtuous and more valiant than the renowned Amadis of Gaul? Who was wiser than Palmerin of England? Who was more approchable and skilful than Tirante the White? Who was more gallant than Lisuarte of Greece" (477). Quixote lists many more names of knights who possessed inco mparable amounts of dauntless courage, sincerity, impetuosity, fearlessness, prudence, boldness, invincibility, gaiety, and courtesy (477-478). By asking the questions such as, "Who was wiser than Palmerin of England," he is implying that there is a lack of wise men during his time; similarly, there must also be a lack of knights who possess enough courage, sincerity, and courtesy.

When the priest interjects by stating that many of these figures were probably fictional, Quixote sets out to show that the debate of whether they are fictional or not is irrelevant. According to him, "that is another mistake into which the many have fallen, who do not believe that such knights have ever existed….my absolute faith in the details of their histories and my knowledge of their deeds and their characters enable me by sound philosophy to deduce their features, their complexions, and their stature" (479). Quixote emphasizes here that an individual's faith is the only requirement for a character to come alive. In addition, it doesn't appear to matter much whether these men were real or fictional; the mere fact that these types of people were written about shows that the general public during the age of chivalry held the virtues of knights as paramount. Therefore, to understand the tenets of that age and to conclude that the people of his time are far removed from the knights shows how well Quixote understands both eras.

The act of rejection is a clear sign that Quixote has weighed the advantages of each time period and has consciously chosen the age of chivalry as his favorite. This powerful statement speaks not only of his preference for the age of gallant knights, but it also reinforces the idea of how well he understands each era. After all, one can only reject an offer after consideration and a fairly extensive examination of the opposing sides. Quixote says, "I am only at pains to convince the world of its error in not reviving the most happy age in which the order of chivalry flourished" (477). By attempting to revive the age of chivalry, he has obviously rejected the modern world because he believes that the chivalric age and its attributes to be superior. Later, he states even more bluntly, "All these knights and many other I could mention, Master Priest, were knights errant , the light and glory of chivalry. These, or such as these, I should wish to take part in my project; and, if they did, His Majesty would find himself well served at great saving of expense, and the Turk would be left tearing his beard" (478). This example is a good illustration of Quixote's thought process; he states that the knights were the "light and glory of chivalry" and after that statement, he deems this trait as being worthy enough for him to follow in the footsteps of the knights. By wishing to become a knight, he has consciously rejected his own time and its corresponding ideals.

Quixote's resiliency to his own time is apparent in later parts of the novel. The fact that he no longer explains his actions as he did earlier shows how well he has molded himself to act and think like a knight errant. If Quixote had been able to pick up subtle hints from the barber, wouldn't it be likely that he'd understand outright statements? When he believes he has met his Lady Dulcinea, he exclaims, "O Princess and world-famous Lady of El Tobosco! How is it that your magnanimous hear is not softened when you see the column and prop of knight errantry kneeling before your sublimated presence?" (529). In response, the peasant girl retorts angrily, "Tell that to my grandmother! Do you think I want to listen to that nonsense?" (530). Instead of explaining once more his intention to bring back the age of chivalry by acting like a knight, he simply lets her comment pass. From previous examples, we clearly see that Quixote is not an individual who does not understand when people say that he is mad; afterall, he was able to pick up such subtlety from the barber's story. Therefore, we see that Quixote is fiercely determined to carry out his mission to bring back the chivalric age despite any objections, even from his Lady Dulcinea.

Some people call Quixote a man living in his own elaborate fairy tale while others regard him as a visionary. However, it is unnecessary to place him into simply one category; we can see that this character is a conscientious man simply due to the fact that he lives in his own age of chivalry. Quixote is fully aware of the time period he lives in, so much so that he becomes disgusted with it and seeks to bring back the age, in which knights fought tirelessly, not for wealth, but for truth and justice. However, what it most admirable in this character is undoubtedly his approach to make people aware of the advantages of the time of chivalry and to, perhaps provide himself an outlet for his ingenious imagination. Ultimately, orofessing the attributes of the chivalric age is not enough; instead, he truly aims to show people that the chivalric age, an age in which action overcomes sloth, can only be brought back by becoming active and thus, becoming the gallant knights errant.