English 102W Don Rodrigues 2 December 2013 Why Study Literature Reason #1: The Lessons We Can Learn from Don Quixote’s Fulfillment of the “New Man” model The body of world literature is the largest reservoir of knowledge of the human condition. Classical archetypes are recycled, over and over. Common conflicts, our innermost feelings, aspirations, and desires that we face everyday all find themselves manifest in literature. A cogent argument for the necessity of an education in literature is the applicability of themes of the human condition to our everyday lives. In literature lies the experience of our ancestors, who collectively can teach us more about life than we can hope to learn ourselves. Knowing the power of literature, I seek the lessons of novels to settle internal conflicts. Specifically, I have struggled to resolve my own definition of masculinity. Through my experiences with Greek life and the military, I have had a specific definition of masculinity forced upon me: a real man must be physically and intellectually capable, completely independent, and emotionally superficial and isolated. However, I do not believe any of these characteristics actually benefit a man. I find the whole presumption that real men must fit into this definition, which I will call thestereotypical alpha male, to be immature. Real alpha males, or men among men, are those not crippled by societal limitations on their character. Men who instead show emotion, accept help from others, and are more connected to their external world live happier lives and are more successful. Literature confirms my stance on masculinity. By studyingDon Quixote, a novel written1
2 over five hundred years ago in a country 4,500 miles away yet still applicable to me today, I have learned that the main protagonist Don Quixote de la Mancha fits a literary model known as the “New Man” model. Ken Gillam and Shannon Goodman developed the “New Man” model to describe the phenomena of using the growth of male protagonists as a vehicle for the narrative in recent Pixar films. The male protagonist is portrayed at the beginning of the narrative as a stereotypical alpha male: physically and intellectually capable, egocentric, independent to the point of self-destruction, isolated, and emotionally superficial. The alpha male enjoys marginal success during the exposition; however, he soon reaches a point of failure due to the flaws in his alpha male character. To complete the model and become a “New Man,” the protagonist must realize the limiting nature of his alpha male characteristics and embrace a fresh, emasculated identity in which he is codependent, emotionally responsive, unselfish, and wiser. At the end of the narrative, the “New Man” either attains the success that previously eluded his immature, alpha male identity or realizes the pettiness of his earlier priorities and instead focuses his abilities in altruistically.
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