Don Quixote and Hamlet are both exceptional examples of madness being used to drive a narrative. Their madness speaks to us all in a multitude of different ways. Showing us that there is a reason behind their madness, despite what first impressions give us. Asking important questions that we all face, from what it means to be crazy, to the place of justice and the value of hope. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay What is reasonable is subjective, depending on how one thinks. It is when you act in a way that the majority does not understand that you are considered crazy. However, the ideals that drive these two "mad men" are not ones that most people would call strange or even abnormal, but it is the way they go about achieving them that baffles others. Hamlet wants justice for his father's murder and his mother's betrayal. While Don Quixote strives to punish all the bad deeds committed and protect the innocent. Not so strange, is it? There is little debate about Don Quixote's madness, for it is clearly stated: "...and so, through little sleep and much reading, his brain became so dried up that he became finally came to lose his mind. " (p. 25) Although there is some debate over Hamlet's sanity, as Hamlet states after speaking with his father's ghost that, "...As I shall perhaps afterwards think that he It is appropriate to put an ancient arrangement,…” (p. 953). ) Some claim that this statement proves that he was not really crazy. This would neglect the warning that Horatio gives to Hamlet before Hamlet follows the ghost: "...Who could deprive your sovereignty of reason and lead you into madness?" (p. 951) and he was right all along, Hamlet fell into madness after following the ghost. Even in both stories, someone recognizes that there is a reason for their madness. In Hamlet, while trying to discover the cause of Hamlet's madness, Polonia examines Hamlet's interaction with Polonia's daughter, Ophelia. In which he admits that "Although it is madness, there is no method." (p. 956) Don Quixote After causing lions to lose in a city, Miranda's Don Diego eventually admits that everything in Don Quixote's explanation for his actions was measured on "The Scales of Reason". While both books question what it means to be mad, Don Quixote had a great explanation and a great question for everyone to think about when it comes to what we consider madness. “When life itself seems crazy, who knows where the madness hides? Maybe being too practical is folly. Giving up on your dreams may be madness. Too much reason can be madness and the craziest thing of all: seeing life as it is, and not as it should be! Ironically, it is when Don Quixote regains his “sanity” that he comes close to his own death. Under the guise of madness, the two heroes explore themes of justice. The first time in Hamlet we are shown to value justice is when he encounters a ghost who claims to be his recently murdered father. While Hamlet believes the ghost's claim that his uncle murdered his father, Hamlet refuses to act without having definitive proof, just in case he is wrong. So Hamlet pretends to act like a madman so that his uncle lowers his guard around him. Hoping his uncle will let it slip that he actually murdered his father. Even though Hamlet has enough evidence to convince himself of the.”