BA #12 Juana Panza

1.) Juana Panza first appears in page 350 of the Don Quijote.

2.) Juana is the wife of Sancho Panza, who has to endure the loneliness at home with her children as her absent husband served as Don Quijote’s squire while a pair of them traveled on a knightly mission.

3.) There were a similar between Penelope in the Odyssey and Juana, they both missed there husband. As for Penelope, “she fell weeping for Odysseus, her beloved husband…(Odyssey.89). Juana main concern was a donkey after she saw her husband, “the first thing she asked when she saw her husband was whether the donkey was in good health…”(Don Quijote.350). But still, she loves her husband although the donkey happens to be the driving force to keep Sancho’s farm in operation.

4.) I think Juana is a hero for she is a loyal and patience wife to Sancho, which she stayed home to keep her children and farm together in one piece while Sancho went off on the adventure more than once with Don Quijote.

BA #12

The priest first appears in chapter forty five and he is a hero because he stands up for Don Quijote when the police want to arrest him. It takes a hero to stand up to authority and that is what the priest does. He convinces "argued so forcefully" (pg15) that the police did not want to arrest him. Then the priest goes on to tell them "that they'd have to be madder than he was not to see his madness" (pg15).

BA#12 Eugenio the Goatherd

1. The Goatherd's introduction is found in Volume 1, Chapter 50, Page 341.

2. The Goatherd is a peasant farmer who tends to his sheep. Eugenio is able to talk to his sheep "as if [they] had a brain" (341). The goatherd tells the men that he became a Shepard along side his friend Anselmo who started to tend sheep after the disappearance of the lovely Leandra. Eugenio tends Anselmo's sheep now (and his own as well), and they both still "sing duets praising, ordaining, our lovely Leandra" (345).

3. The gerdherder is similar to Don Quijote because at one point the men believe both to be a little crazy. The goatherd tells the men that he talks to his animals as if they "had a brain, don't think I'm an idiot , because, really there's a special mystery in the words I use" (341). It is interesting that the men believe every word that the goatherd says, and totally disregard Don's sanity.

4. I believe Eugenio the Goatherd is a hero in our sense of the definition because he sticks up for his own beliefs. The goatherd disregards Don's attempt at adding another man to the group. Eugenio looks disgusted at the way Don is dressed, and asks who the man speaking is, and "why he looks and talks the way he talks" (347). The goatherd is genuine in his depiction of the story of Leandra, and keeps all the men occupied and fascinated with the story. He is someone that the men look up to, even though he is a peasant herder.

BA # 12 Marcela the shepherdess

1)Marcela is first mentioned when Don Quijote and Sancho meet the band of goatherds in V. 1, Ch. 12 on page 63 of our text.

2)Marcela was daughter to Guillermo the Rich. Before her mother died, she was "the most respected woman anywhere around here" (64). Her father, "at the loss of such a good wife" (65), also died, leaving Marcela to be raised in a cloistered environment of the village priest, her uncle. "The little girl grew so beautiful [. . .] that, by the time she reached fourteen or fifteen, no one had ever seen her without blessing God for making her so lovely, and most of them were hopelessly in love with her" (65). The combination of her physical and fiscal endowments combined to make her incredibly desirable. In fact it is by the death of the "famous student-shepherd, Grisostomo, [who . . .] died of love" (63) unrequited for her, that we are first introduced to Marcela. She eventually tires of her cloistered life and becomes a shepherdess, denying the wishes of her uncle and making herself more available to the advances of the villages' lust filled men. In this way, says the goatherd, "she does more damage, here on this earth, than if she carried the plague" (66), because she does not return their overtures. She is vilified, through no fault of her own, though her "reputation for virtue" (76), remains in tact, "no matter how cruel she may be, and prouder than necessary, and a great deal disdainful" (76), too.

3)The figure of Marcela is interesting to compare to the archetype of the chivalric damsel that Don Quijote speaks of earlier in the novel. The assertive, confident and independent nature of Marcela is nearly antithetical to "the damsel." As Don Quijote says, even though we lock damsels away to protect them, "the amorous plague will make its way to them" and, "the order of knights errant was established, to defend damsels" (60). When viewed with Quijote's antiquated gender roles, Marcela reads as a feminist. She is on her own, in the wilds, without the protection of a male benefactor. She determines her own future.

4)It is for this reason that I find her a heroic figure. In a world that must have been severely patriarchal, she vows to remain outside of masculine determinations. "I was born free, and I chose the solitude of the fields so I could live free" (78) she says. "All my desires have their boundaries here in these mountains, and if they ever do go forth, it's only to contemplate the sky's beauty, and the steps the soul takes as it proceeds toward its primal home" (79). Marcela appears at Grisostomo's funeral to defend herself, with these and other words, from sexist accusations. As a hero, she stands up to not only an entire village of men, but an entire society's condescension. She is a heroic woman in her singular character, but she is an heroic person for remaining true to her beliefs in the face of crowded scrutiny.

BA # 12 Sancho Panzo

Sancho Panzo first appears on pg 42.



Sancho Panzo is a farmer that lives near Don Quijote. Sancho doesnt come from alot and is not the brightest person around. After hearing all the stories about Knights and chivalry, Sancho decides to accompany Don Quijote on his adventures. Not to mention that Don Quijote also promises Sancho that he will be the governer of his own island, and money aand gifts will be left to him in his will.

I think that Sancho and Don Quijote are very different. The only similarity that they have is that they are both not very smart. Don Quijote beleives magic is the reason why everything happens and Sancho although doubts him at times, he mostly believes it. "So now you'll finally see, Sancho my son, that what I've told you so many times is true, and everything that happens in this castle is caused by enchantment." (Don Quijote pg 318), "And I believe it." said Sancho, "except for the blanket tossing buisness, which really happened in the usual way."

I think the major reason that Sancho continues on with don Quijote even though he keeps getting hurt is because Sancho finally feels important and needed. Sancho has to in a way lead Don Quijote and take care of him. Without him don Quijote would probably be in a lot of trouble. I would consider Sancho more of sidekick or companion sort of character but he does have some heroic qualities. Sancho is very loyal to don Quijote and no matter what pain he goes through he sticks with him. I feel like he is also a little protective of Don Quijote, so that shows that he is a caring person. The novel also shows that Sancho is tough, even though he complains alot he has gone through alot. Hes been basically poisoned and beaten over and over again but he gets up and keeps going. If that was me I would have given up after the first accident.

Don Quijote first appears right in the beginning of the novel on page 13. The narrator describes Don Quijote as a man with many physical flaws. As we read the narrators point of view Don Quijote is a man that has respect of pervious knights. We also learn that Don Quijote is a hero because just like Odysseus he wants “eternal fame and glory” (15).

BA#11 Pedro Alonso

1) Pedro Alonso first appears on page 31.

2) Pedro is the neighboring farmer who found Don Quijote laying in the road. He is kind to Don Quijote and helped him up, and brought him home.

3) Pedro can be compared to the innkeeper. Both the innkeeper and Pedro helped Don Quijote. The difference between the two characters is the way in which they help him. The innkeeper helped Don Quijote to amuse himself: "To have some fun, he made up his mind to humor Don Quijote" (22). The innkeeper knighted Don Quijote, and feed into his imagination before setting him off on his adventure. He was nice enough not to hassle Don Quijote for the money that was owed. Pedro, on the other hand, aided Don Quijote out of the kindness of his heart. He found Don Quijote on the ground in the road from where a young mule driver had beat him. He helped Don Quijote up, picked up the pieces of his lance, and strapped his gear to Rocinante. Pedro then mounted Don Quijote onto his donkey and walked them home. During which he had to listen to then endless, mindless rantings of Don Quijote.Pedro's kindness to Don Quijote never faltered and continued when they reached the village, before entering "the farmer waited until night had fallen, so the half-dead gentleman might not be seen on so poor a mount" (32).

4) Pedro Alonso is a hero because he is compassionate to Don Quijote. He helps Don Quijote purely out of the kindness of his heart. Pedro's patience and compassion towards Don Quijote are characteristics of a hero.

BA #11 Sancho Panzo

Sancho Panza first appears in page 42.

Sancho Panza was a farmer and a neighbor of Don Quijote. He agreed to be Don’s squire after receiving an earful of delightful but yet delusional story about the knight’s chivalry. He also provided Don’s companionship as well as a role of a person with much clearer vision: “ what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills…” (43).

There are some similarities between Sancho Panza and Don Quijote as they were enthusiastic about traveling to whereabouts unknowns. Don had his armor, shield, helmet and a slightly lamed horse. Sancho was “advised to bring along saddlebags… and …a very fine donkey” (42) which Don “had a doubt about the donkey, trying to remember…whose squire rode on an ass, but couldn’t recall a single one” (42). Sancho had a doubt about Don Quijote’s clear vision: “Didn’t I tell your grace to be careful…these were just windmills…had to have windmills in the head?” (44).

I think Sancho is a hero for providing patience companionship, sympathetic ears and much clearer vision ahead for Don Quijote’s misadventure.

BA #11 Senor Pero Perez- The Preist

1. The priest is first introduced on page 32 of the text. Volume 1 Chapter 5.



2. The priest is a faithful man, who is "great friends with Don Quijote" (32). The priest has concerns that Don Quijote's book's are the cause of his madness. At face value the priest goes along with Don Quijote's story about the 10 giants who attacked him (34) and vows to "burn them all before nightfall tomorrow" (34). The priest is a genuine friend of Don Quijote, who has many concerns over Don's sanity.



3. The priest compares most to the barber, who just like the priest, criticize most of the books that Don Quijote reads. Both being "good Christians" (36), they hope to rid Don Quijote's stakes of idol books which contain blasphimous adventures. The priest, like the barber, are willing to burn all of Don Quijote's books in an attempt to reconcile Don's sanity. While both begin to throw books off the balcony, The priest and the barber find books to their liking and decide that they are not along the same lines as the "chivalrous" ones, on the only basis that they had both read them before.



4. The priest is a powerful character who should be characterised in a heroistic way. He believes deep in his christian heart that the books that Don Quijote has read are truly poison. Why else has Don lost his mind, all he does is read books, night and day. It seems as thought e priest has every true intention of stirring Don in a good direction, even though his christian motive seems a little trival to the average reader.

BA#11

1. Don Quijote first appears on page 13.

2. Don Quijote is a simple man who is “close to fifty, but strong, lean, his face sharp” (13). He spends as much as “two consecutive days and nights” reading tales of chivalry (33). Very early in the novel we are shown that Quijote is delusional. He envisions an inn as a castle, he christens horses and people with mystical names, and he is willing to single handedly engage in battle with “a great crowd” (29). He is loveable, as shown by the support of the townspeople when he arrives home “beaten”, but he is also a prone to making bad decisions that cause more of those endless wrongs he has set out to somehow end.

3. This one is a bit tough. He has a great appreciation for a time long passed, so I’m going to stretch that a bit here and compare him to a griot, Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate, in Sundiata. Quixote can quote (or misquote) numerous characters from the multitude of chivalrous novels he has obsessively read. This part of history is important to him, so this is what he shares with others. Since chivalry is considered nothing more than words on a page that hold no real action in life, Quijote is trying to keep the past alive. A griot claims to be the “memory of mankind” and without them “the names of kings would vanish” (1). A griot must know much more history than our dear Quijote, but both characters keep elements of the past alive.

4. As much as my sympathetic side wants me to call Quijote a hero, my conscience says otherwise. His bumbling errors cause more harm to the precise people he is trying to help. The best example is the poor boy who is being unmercifully whipped by his master. Quijote quickly believes that the master will give in to his demands of paying the boy, and threatens that he will “hunt you down and punish you” (28). As soon as Quijote is outside of hearing range, the master whips the boy to within inches of his life. Quijote’s inability to see the short range of his powers cause much more harm than good. He is not a hero yet, but he deserves some credit for believing so firmly in something and acting upon that belief, no matter how short sighted he is.

BA # 11

Don Quijote first appears right in the beggining of the novel on page 13. The narrator begins the story with describing Don Quijote. "In the village of La Mancha their lived, not very long ago, one of those gentleman who keep a lance in the lance-rack, an ancient shield, a skinny old horse, and a fast grey hound." (page 13). After he is described his name is mentioned.Don Quijote is a very odd character. He is an old man who seems to have gone crazy. He was known to always have his nose in one of those old romance novels and knight tales. Eventually he decided he wanted to become a knight. He realized he needed to do all the things that typical knights he read about do. He needed a horse (which his was not very strong), a woman to fall in love with, armor,he needed to be dubbed a knight, and most importantly he wanted to "set right endless injustices" (Pg17).I don't think that Don Quijote is like any character we have seen. If Don Quijote was actually born a knight then maybe we could compare him to Odysseus or another hero, but he seems like just a ordinary old man who has gone crazy. although he is acting like a hero some could say, he is only acting this way because he wants to be a knight. He was not born for greatness, the sky did not thunder the day he was born. There were no prophecies stating that he was born for greatness. Don Quijote is just trying to act like a knight so he is doing everything that he thinks a knight does. In the other books we have read, the main characters were hero's, and in this book, Don quijote is just trying to immitate one

BA 10 - Oulamba the Hunter

Oulamba the hunter has an important role in the story despite how little we actually see of him. In a scant few pages he is gone and never seen again, but seems to display qualities of heroism. If it were not for his actions this story would not have taken place.

He was initially seen with his brother Oulani wandering into the kingdom of Mali with a maiden in tow, a young Songlon. "Two young hunters, handsome and of fine carriage, were walking along preceded by a young maid." (6). He then recalls a story to the royal court of his travels and adventures.

Oulamba and Oulani were on a journey, wandering and hunting. The idea of a trek, an adventure has been a theme that has run rampant throughout all the heroic epic literature that we have read. While in the land of Do, they learn of a red bull that has been terrorizing the citizens; "We met two hunters, one of whom was wounded and we learnt from them that an amazing buffalo was ravaging the countryside of Do....The king, Do Mansa-Gnemo-Diarra, had promised the finest rewards to the hunter who killed the buffalo." (7). They decide to try their luck where so many others had failed. This is similar to just about every other story we've read; a quest to defeat an unbeatable mythic creature. It's a very heroic trait.

As the quest continued they came upon an old, battered, hungry woman who everyone else ignored. "Touched by her tears, I approached and took some pieces of dried meat from my hunter's bag. When she had eaten well she said 'Hunter, may God requite you with the charity you have given me.'" (7). This is reminiscent of The Ramayana and its ideas about karma. The hero Rama had good things happen to him in response to his good actions, and the same with the bad.

However, it turns out that the old woman actually is the buffalo in question, but decides to help the hunter in return for his kindness. She gives very explicit directions as to how to defeat her when he finds her, and also how to accept the king's rewards, directing him to, when the king allows him to choose of any maiden to marry, to pick out Sogolon, the ugliest one of the crowd. He follows these instructions precisely as told, obedient like Dante the hero of The Inferno.

As he offers Sogolon to the king of Mali, he is the one ultimately responsible for all the events of the book, setting up the birth of Sundiata.

BA#10 Manding Bory/Manding Boukari

1. Manding Boukari aka (Manding Bory) first appears on page 16 of Sundiata when he is born and named.
2. Manding Bory is the third son of King Naré Maghan (Sundiata’s father) and his third wife, Namandjé. He is Sundiata’s youngest brother and best friend. Although he was to be instructed in sorcery, he “had no gift of sorcery” (27).
3. Manding Bory is similar to several sidekicks we have seen. He is like Gilgamesh’s Enkidu, Rama’s Lakshmana and Telemachus’ Pisistratus. He, like the other side kicks of our main heroes, is always with Sundiata to offer support, encouragement, loyalty and friendship.
4. Manding Bory is a hero because he is Sundiata’s “right hand” (16). He is to Sundiata “like a man and his shadow” (23). He stands up for Sundiata when he is too “angry” to speak (27) just like Lakshmana stands up for Rama when he is removed from the throne.

BA #10 Balla Fesseke

1) Balla Fesseke, son of Gnankouman Doua, first appears on page 17. He is the inheritor of the griot position to the protagonist Sundiata; his grandfather and father having filled the role to the previous generations of kings in lineal descent to Sundiata (17).

2) Though it is still early in the epic's development Fesseke has already begun to demonstrate, with heroic devotion, a fulfillment of his role as griot to the prince Sundiata, unveiling a character of principled discipline that embraces his responsibilities. When Sundiata requests an iron rod it is Fesseke that quickly obliges, speaking prophetically in a manner suited to a griot when asked by the smith if Sundiata's time has come: "[t]oday is a day like any other, but it will see what no other day has seen" (20). Subsequently, upon each of Sundiata's supernatural feats of turning the iron rod into a bow and stepping the length of a giant's pace, Fesseke records the moments in song (21). By versifying the accomplishments of the leader he has pledged himself to, and being instrumental in carrying out his commands, he has displayed the characteristics of an effective griot. That his fidelity was begun during the time of Sundiata's lame disfavor adds a heroic honesty to his service.

3) Bella Fesseke reminds me of Lakshmana from the Ramayana. When compared, they share a childhood kinship with their centrally heroic protagonists. Additionally, they are royal characters that are cast out of a kingdom and must continue in their leader's service until fortune allots their return.

4) In the Preface, D. T. Niane briefly describes the historically central role the griot played within ancient African Society: "the griot appears as one of the most important of this [pre-colonial] society, because it is he who, for want of archives , records the customs, traditions and governmental principles of kings" (xxiii). In this setting the griot operates as an embodiment of the culture's conscience, so that as a character within the work his heroic proportions are judged on more of a moral scale of the effectiveness of his confidences with Sundiata. The more physical acts which have been the basis by which we have generally applied to the central heroes of the previous works do not apply as readily for Fesseke. It is as an advisor and intellectual compass that the developement of his heroism will (probably?) take place, even-though his devotion, reminiscent of Enkidu, is already evident. In this way he is not the classic hero wrought from the mold of Gilgamesh, Ramayana and Ulysses. If we assess his heroism it will have to be in terms of heroic support along the lines of Enkidu, Lakshmana and Athena.

BA# 10 Sogolon Djata/Sundiata

1. Sundiata possesses many names, such as Sogolon Djata, Nare Maghan Djata, etc. and he appears at birth on page 13.

2. Sundiata is described as one with a difficult childhood, as he could not walk on his legs until seven and did not possess the beauty of his father. Sundiata, however, was unlike his peers in other ways as well: his intelligence surpassed his age and his father was able to speak to him like an adult, he found things that a child would be amused with boring and did not lash out against the ridicule towards himself or his mother.

3. Sundiata is much different than the current antagonist of the story, Sassouma Berete, the first wife of the king and the queen-wife after he dies. Sassouma shows incredible jealousy and malice towards Sundiata and Sologon with her "fierce laughter which cut through your flesh and penetrates right to the bone" (p19) and with her desire to "put an end to this popularity (Sundiata's) by killing Sundiata." (p24)

4. Sundiata is clearly portrayed as a hero even this early in the book and his life. When he was born "Thunder began to rumble and swift lightning rent the clouds ... A flash of lightning accompanied by a dull rattle of thunder burst out..." (p13), which is indicative of someone of great importance being born. Sundiata possesses both physical strength, "his arms had the strength of ten" (p23) and also a sound grasp of moral justice, which is evident in his response to the test of the old witches, "Each time that you run short of condiments come to stock up here without fear." (p25) Thus far, Sundiata is portrayed as an incredibly gifted child in many ways.

BA#8 - Post 2

1.) An anti-hero that emerges in Canto XIII are the Harpies. "They have broad wings, a human neck and face, clawed feet, and swollen, feathered bellies" (13.11-12).

2.) The Harpies are one of the scariest demons readers have encountered so far in Dante's Inferno. "They caw their lamentations in the eerie trees" (13.12-13). "Eager as greyhounds off the leash, Black bitches filled the woods, avid and quick. They set their teeth on the one who stopped to crouch, and tore his limbs apart" (13.118-121). The Harpies are violent creatures, who's eerie caws fill the 2nd ring of the 7th circle. They deliver pain to all souls which reside there with a vicious eagerness, acting as a machine to serve punishment to those who have sinned.

3.) Like other demons such as the centaurs which keep souls from escaping the boiling blood they are sentenced to spend eternity in and Minos, the demon who judges and assigns the souls their proper place, the Harpies serve a purpose in Hell. "Feeding on the foliage [souls], [they] create Pain, and an outlet for the pain as well" (13.94-95). Every ring in Hell has its respective entity to carry out that ring's punishment. In the 2nd ring of the 7th circle of Hell, we see that the Harpies are that entity.

4.) The Harpies are truly not heroes. Residing as a deliverer of punishment in Hell, they do not fulfill any defining traits which make a hero. They are not humble, self-sacrificing, noble, brave, or any other hero like quality. The Harpies are anti-heroes because they are truly evil entities, which exist for the sole purpose of delivering Pain.

Capaneus; BA#8

Capeneus was first introduced in Canto 14, page 113 on line 38.

Capeneus is a spirit in the third ring in the seventh circle who is being punished for blaspheming against a god. He is an example of someone who is not a hero. Those who committ blasphemy are self righteous and full of pride. They dont see fault in themselves and think they are superior to everyone, even divine powers. While on earth, Capeneus was a successful king who "besieged"(Notes: Canto 13-14; 326) a city called Thebes. The victory was a reason to celebrate but he went as far as to claim that he was undefeatable even against the "great god" (Notes: Canto 14-15; 327) Jove. For his haughty attitude, he was proven wrong and struck to death. Even after he was put to death and sent to hell, his "distainful"(Canto 14.39) demeanour and "scowling"(Canto 14.39) expression showed that his attitude didn't change. Virgil describes him as a spirit with "unquenched pride" (Canto 14.52). This shows that he did not learn from punishment and adopt a humble attitude.

BA 8

1. Dante, appears first page.
2. Dante is the main character and narrator of Dante's Inferno. He, along with his new companion, Virgil, are making their way through the levels of hell. Dante encounters many spirits that he interacts with and observes the torments which they undergo all day, everyday.
3. Dante can be compared to Gilgamesh in the sense that each under went trials to learn about the morals of life and the effects of poor choices. "Speak to me with the answers that I crave about these souls and the sepulchers they fill:"(X.5).
4. Dante it is arguable that Dante is or is not a hero in the poem, but as an author and narrator of hell his is a hero. Dante is a hero for showing and telling others about hell. He tells of the sins that will place sinners in specific levels of hell and what torments the sinner will be faced with. Dante is a hero.