April 21, 2020 | By Su Karagoz (A20)

Maddie Nell Jane is from Charlottesville, Virginia. Her senior essay is entitled “What Giants? An Exploration of Laughter in Cervantes’ Don Quixote.”

What was at the heart of your argument?

What makes the story of Don Quixote so funny? (And also, so sad…)

How did your essay connect to different aspects of the Program from throughout your four years?

I wrote on Don Quixote for my junior essay as well, and in that essay I explored the relationships in the story and why the ending is so sad (spoiler…it’s really sad). When we read Aristotle’s Poetics freshman year, we read his definitions of comedy and tragedy, and although we spend a fair amount of time on tragedy throughout the years, we only spend a few classes on comedy. I think I was looking to fill a gap I saw in the Program by discussing comedy. Comedy can be easily written off as not as serious as tragedy or philosophy, but that shouldn’t take away from its substance. One of the easiest ways to connect with others is through laughter; therefore, understanding what makes us laugh tells us just as much about life as a work that is strictly serious.

What was the writing process like for you?

I met with my advisor about once a week and tried to spend an hour or so a day writing. Turns out, that wasn’t really what worked for me. I had some really productive days and some not so productive days. Early in the morning and quite late at night were my most productive times. And then of course the days leading up to the due date were extremely constructive, and some of my best writing was done during that time. My older brother went to St. John’s College and graduated two years ago, so I picked his brain a fair amount, as well as pretty much anyone who would listen to me talk about Don Quixote. Oh, and I drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of snacks!

What is the most important lesson you learned during your time at St. John’s?

There’s a right time to laugh and a right time to be sad and it’s worth it to try and figure that out.