Chapter 47
The Ox-Cart Enchantment and the Canon's Verdict
LVII. OF THE STRANGE MANNER IN WHICH DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA WAS CARRIED AWAY ENCHANTED, TOGETHER WITH OTHER REMARKABLE INCIDENTS When Don Quixote saw himself caged and hoisted on the cart in this way, he said, “Many grave histories of knights-errant have I read; but never yet have I read, seen, or heard of their carrying off enchanted knights-errant in this fashion, or at the slow pace that these lazy, sluggish animals promise; for they always take them away through the air with marvellous swiftness, enveloped in a dark thick cloud, or on a chariot of fire, or it…
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Critical Thinking Exercise
Name the When Plain Speech Won't Stay Hooded Move
Re-read the chapter summary and write down where when plain speech won't stay hooded first appears, who pays for it, and who benefits from keeping it going. Then write one sentence you could say to interrupt the pattern without shaming the person caught in it.
Consider:
- •Separate the person's worth from the pattern's cost
- •Notice who has power to stop or fuel the scene
- •Ask what truth would require someone to give up
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you saw when plain speech won't stay hooded in your own life. What finally made the pattern impossible to ignore?
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