--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So...what are you working on now?\" “Right…" description: "\"“So...what are you working on now?\" “Right now, an essay about Don Quixote.” “One of my favorite books.” “Mine too.” “What’s the gist?” “It has to do w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/david-mazzucchelli-26145_books_so-what-are-you-working-on-now-right-now_2225892.png" --- # So...what are you working on now?" “Right now, an essay… ![“So...what are you working on now?" “Right now, an essay about Don Quixote.” “One of my favorite books.” “Mine too.” “What’s the gist?” “It has to do with the authorship of the books.” “Is there any question?” “I mean the book inside the book Cervantes wrote, the one he imagined he was writing.”…” quote by David Mazzucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/david-mazzucchelli-26145_books_so-what-are-you-working-on-now-right-now_2225892.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/david-mazzucchelli-26145_books_so-what-are-you-working-on-now-right-now_2225892.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/david-mazzucchelli-26145_books_so-what-are-you-working-on-now-right-now_2225892.png) > ““So...what are you working on now?" “Right now, an essay about Don Quixote.” “One of my favorite books.” “Mine too.” “What’s the gist?” “It has to do with the authorship of the books.” “Is there any question?” “I mean the book inside the book Cervantes wrote, the one he imagined he was writing.” “Ah.” “Cervantes claims he is not the author, that the original text was in Arabic.” “Right. It’s an attack on make-believe, so he must claim it was real.” “Precisely. Therefore, the story has to be written by an eyewitness yet Cid Hamete Benengeli, the acknowledged author, never makes an appearance. So who is he? Sancho Panza is of course the witness – illiterate, but with a gift for language. He dictated the story to the barber and the priest, Don Quixote’s friends. They had the manuscript translated into Arabic. Cervantes found the translation and had it rendered back into Spanish. The idea was to hold up a mirror to Don Quixote’s madness so that when he finally read the book himself, he would see the error of his ways. But Don Quixote, in my view, was no mad. He only pretended to be. He engineered the collaboration, and the translation from Arabic back into Spanish. I like to imagine Cervantes hiring Don Quixote in disguise to decipher the story of Don Quixote.” “But why did Quixote go to such lengths?” “He wanted to test the gullibility of man. To what extent would people tolerate blasphemies, lies, and nonsense if they gave them amusement? The answer: to any extent. For the book is still amusing us today. That’s finally all anyone wants out of a book. To be amused.”” [David Mazzucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mazzucchelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dialogue explores Cervantes' metafictional technique of attributing authorship to fictional characters to critique reality and human gullibility. **In simple terms:** Cervantes uses layered narration to expose how stories can manipulate belief and amusement. Key Takeaway Recognize how narratives can shape perception and question authorship. Themes literature metafiction human nature truth illusion Mood thoughtful curious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic discussion - literary analysis - creative writing - teaching literature - philosophical debate Key Concepts authorship self‑reference mirroring illusion gullibility Questions to Reflect On - How does layered authorship affect reader trust? - What does this say about the purpose of fiction? A Different Perspective The analysis may over‑interpret authorial intent beyond textual evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ## Related quotes > [The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-by-cervantes-translation-is/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [I know that many writers have had to write under censorship and yet produced good novels; for instance, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote under Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-know-that-many-writers-have-had-to-write-under-censorship-and-yet/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [If you look into your own mind, which are you, Don Quixote or Sancho Panza? Almost certainly you are both. 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I'm interested in running the City of New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-albanese/i-m-not-interested-in-being-don-quixote-i-m-interested-in-running-the/) [Sal Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-albanese/) > [“Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reading-made-don-quixote-a-gentleman-believing-what-he-read-made-him/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single handed, he is trying to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-don-quixote-is-the-most-metal-fictional/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [I don't despise 'Don Quixote,' but it is a book I don't... get. I'll have to come back it. 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It’s an attack on make-believe, so he must claim it was real.” “Precisely. Therefore, the story has to be written by an eyewitness yet Cid Hamete Benengeli, the acknowledged author, never makes an appearance. So who is he? Sancho Panza is of course the witness – illiterate, but with a gift for language. He dictated the story to the barber and the priest, Don Quixote’s friends. They had the manuscript translated into Arabic. Cervantes found the translation and had it rendered back into Spanish. The idea was to hold up a mirror to Don Quixote’s madness so that when he finally read the book himself, he would see the error of his ways. But Don Quixote, in my view, was no mad. He only pretended to be. He engineered the collaboration, and the translation from Arabic back into Spanish. I like to imagine Cervantes hiring Don Quixote in disguise to decipher the story of Don Quixote.” “But why did Quixote go to such lengths?” “He wanted to test the gullibility of man. To what extent would people tolerate blasphemies, lies, and nonsense if they gave them amusement? The answer: to any extent. For the book is still amusing us today. That’s finally all anyone wants out of a book. 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