Inspiration via the Loss of Magnificence · 9:12pm Mar 16th, 2016
If I were to think back through all of the thinking I did about "The Last Illusion", I could probably point to a number of things as its inspiration. But, there is one thing that I think has stuck the hardest after all the visions and revisions.
The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha is a really old story that I read in high school because I saw it on TV. Wikipedia tells me it was written by Miguel de Cervantes in 1605. For those who do not know, it is a tale about a man who has grown old reading books about fantastic knights in medieval times. One day, he decides to become one. He picks up a sword, some old armor, a lance, a new name, a squire, and sets out on his own adventures. Rather, misadventures, as even in 1605 when this book was written, those old knights were long gone. He is out of place in his own story.
Old knights had a bit of a formula. First, they would brag and boast about some great amazing thing they were going to do. Then, they would do it, and come home to the glory. But, importantly, they would always have a squire with them to write down what they did, and to be a witness to their greatness.
To those who have read the first chapter to my story may instantly see the connection.
My trouble with Don Quixote was the fact that he was a complete joke. He never succeeded. He was made fun of at times, taken seriously at others, but the fact still remains that he never completed a single quest. He's old. He's weak, and foolish. And this shifts the moral of the story to criticize him.
I, for one, embrace his ideals best I can.
