Adventures of Don Quixote: Chapters 17–20

by Argentina Palacios
Sandy (United States of America)
Don Alonzo, who was an old man living in Spain during the Middle Ages, thought he was the heroic knight Don Quixote de la Mancha. He convinced a neighbor, Sancho Panza, to be his squire, and the two "sallied forth" to right the wrongs of the world. Their misadventures with the likes of windmills, castles, and "giants" made them humorously infamous!

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–20
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    On the night of Sancho's seventh day as governor, just when he began to fall asleep, there was a great commotion outside.
  2. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
    About twenty people carrying torches were coming toward his room, shouting, "To arms! To arms, Your Honor! This island is under enemy attack! We need your strength, your ingenuity, your courage to guide us!"
  3. heartless
    lacking in feeling, pity, or kindness
    Then those heartless people blew out the torches and ran around, shouting, walking all over him, stabbing the shields as if they were enemies on the attack.
  4. agony
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
    Poor Sancho prayed, "God Almighty, if you could only finish this fight. I don't care if the island is lost. All I want is to be free from this agony."
  5. ambitious
    having a strong desire for success or achievement
    "My friend and companion, when my only worry was to take care of you, I was a happy man. But I left you. I became too ambitious and uppity, and I became miserable, and I have suffered for it."
  6. uppity
    arrogant or self-important
    "My friend and companion, when my only worry was to take care of you, I was a happy man. But I left you. I became too ambitious and uppity, and I became miserable, and I have suffered for it."
  7. captivity
    the state of being imprisoned
    "...One's freedom, and one's honor, are as important as life itself. Captivity, on the contrary, is the worst evil that can fall on a person...."
  8. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    "...But I can now tell you that, in the middle of those grand banquets, I felt hungry, because I was not free. Those were not my delicacies. Happy is the person who has a piece of bread and only has to thank heaven for it."
  9. intone
    recite musically; recite as a chant or a psalm
    When he was within hearing distance he intoned:
    "Famous Don Quixote de la Mancha, knight who has not yet been recognized in all his worth! I am the Knight of the White Moon. No doubt you have heard of my deeds. I am here to fight with you, to test the strength of your arms..."
  10. gravely
    in a serious or solemn manner
    He said calmly and gravely, "Knight of the White Moon, I have not heard of you before, and I will make you vow that you have never seen Dulcinea de! Tobosa..."
  11. testament
    a legal document disposing of property after a death
    When he woke up, he asked his niece to call his three best friends. He wanted to make confession, he said, and to dictate his last will and testament.
  12. acquainted
    having fair knowledge of
    "It is my last will that my niece, Antonia Quixano, be the one and only heir of my estate. Should my niece, Antonia Quixano, want to marry, she is to marry a man who is not acquainted with tales of knighthood...."
  13. executor
    a person appointed to carry out the terms of the will
    "...I hereby name the priest and Samson Carrasco executors of my will."
  14. turmoil
    violent agitation
    Don Quixote fainted. His loved ones were in turmoil. Yet he lived for three more days, three more days in which he constantly said how much he hated those books that had made him crazy.
  15. epitaph
    an inscription in memory of a buried person
    Samson Carrasco wrote an epitaph for the grave. It was a poem that said, in part, that Don Quixote was a good man, brave to the last moment, and that he will be remembered forever in the entire world for having lived crazy and died sane.
Created on Sun Mar 22 21:23:16 EDT 2026 (updated Wed Apr 01 17:00:19 EDT 2026)

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