Don Quixote and The Border Town: A Comparison of 
Literary Creation Characteristics Between China and 
the West

Hui Zhuge; Boye Zheng*

doi:10.18686/rcha.v2i5.4565

Don Quixote and The Border Town: A Comparison of Literary Creation Characteristics Between China and the West

Hui Zhuge, Boye Zheng*

Abstract

This comparative study examines the literary masterpieces Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and The Border Town by
Shen Congwen, focusing on their historical and cultural contexts, character development, and narrative techniques. Despite originating from
different eras and geographical locations, both novels provide a rich exploration of the human experience through the lens of their protagonists journeys. Don Quixote critiques the chivalric ideals of the Spanish Golden Age through its metafictional narrative, while The Border
Town reflects on the impact of modernization on traditional Chinese society. The study highlights the authors use of character development
to delve into themes of identity, perception, and the boundaries between reality and illusion. The narrative techniques and structures of both
novels are analyzed, revealing the complexity of their storytelling and thematic depth. Ultimately, the comparison underscores the universality
of literatures ability to capture and convey the human condition across diverse cultural landscapes.

Keywords

Don Quixote; The Border Town; Comparative literature; Character development

Full Text:

PDF

Included Database

References

[1] Habrle, T. (2023). A COMPARISON OF TWO WRITERS: THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN NUMBERS AND DREAMS. ITALICA

BELGRADENSIA, 85-97. DOI:10.18485/italbg.2023.1.5.

[2] Walsh, B. C. (2023). 'He Could Raise and Lay Ghosts at His Will': Victorian Folklorists and the Creation of Early Modern Clerical

Ghost-Laying. FOLKLORE, 281-303. DOI:10.1080/0015587X.2023.2187157.

[3] Contreras-Barcelo, E. (2023). Reading and creation: A study on literary reading and creativity in initial teacher training. OCNOS-JOURNAL OF READING RESEARCH, 22(02). DOI:10.18239/ocnos_22.2.383.

[4] Generalova E. V., & Stepikhov A. A. (2024). "A Rare Vocabulary Dictionary based on school curriculum literature": Theoretical issues

of creation and methodological prospects for use. Russian Language at School, 78-88. DOI:10.30515/0131-6141-2024-85-1-78-88.

[5] Huseyn, I. Z. (2024). COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PROVERBS AND SAYINGS USED IN THE EPOS "KITABI-DEDE

GORGUD" AND THE DIALECTS AND ACCENTS OF THE NAKHCHIVAN REGION. REVISTA UNIVERSIDAD Y SOCIEDAD,

403-408.

[6] Fu, J., & Hao, X. (2024). A Study of the Relationship between Image and Text of Eighteen Stanzas on the Reed Pipe by Liu Shang and

the Picture of Wenji's Return from Captivity by Li Tang. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 1-10.

[7] Gordon, J. A. (2024). Geographical Reality or Literary Fantasy: The Tainaron nekuomanteion as a Natural Deathscape. Preternature, 33-

54. DOI:10.5325/preternature.13.1.0033.

[8] Krautter, B. (2023). Co-presence, Co-reference and Knowledge Networks. Edge Criteria in dramatic Character Networks using the Example of Kleist's The Schroffenstein Family (1803). JOURNAL OF LITERARY THEORY, 261-289. DOI:10.1515/jlt-2023-2012.

[9] Rudolf, S. (2024). A great star falls-cometology in Syriac language and literature. JOURNAL OF SEMITIC STUDIES, 161-178.

DOI:10.1093/jss/fgad041.

[10] Ceylan, M. N. (2023). A Folk Narrative in the Context of Story, Cinema and Contemporary Theater: Tahir and Zuhre. SELCUK

UNIVERSITESI EDEBIYAT FAKULTESI DERGISI-SELCUK UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF FACULTY OF LETTERS, 65-84.

DOI:10.21497/sefad.1313176.

[11] Patroeva, N. V. (2023). Dictionary of Anthroponyms in Russian Panegyric Poetry of the 18th Century. VESTNIK TOMSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA FILOLOGIYA-TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY, 272-280.

DOI:10.17223/19986645/84/15.

[12] Ospanova, B., Sultanova, N., Oryngaliyeva, S., et al. (2024). Preparing a teacher for professional adaptation in an inclusive educational

environment. Scientific Herald of Uzhhorod University. Series Physics, 519-528. DOI:10.54919/physics/55.2024.51mt9.

[13] Abduvalieva, G. A. (2024). DIFFERENTIATION OF WORD MEANINGS IN TRANSLATION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF RUSSIAN AND TURKISH LANGUAGES). Visnyk Universitetu Imeni Alfreda Nobelya. Seriya: Filologichni Nauki, 262-275.

DOI:10.32342/2523-4463-2024-1-27-18.

[14] Fedotova, S. V. (2023). LITERARY AND CRITICAL SINGULARITY OF THE BOOK ABOUT ALEXANDER BLOK BY K. CHUKOVSKY. TEKST KNIGA KNIGOIZDANIE-TEXT BOOK PUBLISHING, 26-44. DOI:10.17223/23062061/32/2.

[15] Lalonde, A. (2024). Delphine von Schauroth, Corinna-Sister. NINETEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC REVIEW. DOI:10.1017/

S1479409823000423.

[16] Ming, C. (2024). A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE NARRATIVE THOUGHTS IN CHINESE AND WESTERN CLASSICAL LITERATURE. TRANS-FORM-ACAO, 47(05). DOI:10.1590/0101-3173.2024.v47.n5.e02400135.

[17] Boiko, Y. V. (2024). METHODOLOGY OF COGNITIVE-DISCURSIVE MODELLING OF LITERARY TRANSLATION (case study

of Ukrainian retranslations of W. Shakespeares tragedies of the 19th21st centuries). Visnyk Universitetu Imeni Alfreda Nobelya. Seriya: Filologichni Nauki, 276-299. DOI:10.32342/2523-4463-2024-1-27-19.

[18] Oliveira, S., & Albuquerque, H. (2023). Using geographical information systems in literary tourism: an analysis to the "An English family" novel, from Julio Dinis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM CITIES, 995-1015. DOI:10.1108/IJTC-12-2022-0272.

[19] Ebgi, R. (2023). The revival and hybridization of the Jewish character: The book of splendor (Sefer ha-Zohar) between innovation and

Tradition. INTERSEZIONI, 23-38.

[20] Francis, N. (2023). Annals of Vietnam: The Preservation of a Literary Heritage. JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE LITERATURE AND

CULTURE, 83-98. DOI:10.1080/20512856.2023.2298016.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/rcha.v2i5.4565

Refbacks

There are currently no refbacks.