Phelps, Sydney; Entry #5
Rachel, you're the queen bee.
I thought about the section of the all the dethroned kings a little bit and it almost seemed like a support group for the ex-kings because they were all sharing their miserable stories about being dethroned. This is before the scene with the old man that is content with his life and it just might be comparing how unhappy they are with his happiness. They had already had a taste of power and of being a king so now they are not content with living like a normal peasant. Voltaire could be making another judgment on nobility and people in power like he does earlier on in the book.
I think one of the most important pieces of the book is that it is all a huge satire to make fun of or do make judgments on many people, religions, and philosophies. Every detail placed in the book was to add to the satirical nature of it-- whether it be crazy tragedies, the cruel Inquisition, hypocritical preachers and monks, El Dorado, etc. He also wrote it to ridicule other philosophers and their philosophies. In the intro to Candide it says, "[Voltaire] wrote it to ridicule the optimism of Leibniz"(7), who was a German philosopher of the time (wikipedia).
The main theme of Candide is to prove that optimism and total pessimism are not sound philosophies. Candide always says that, "all is for the best in this world"(24) even though he clearly sees that there is evil in this world and is affected by this evil many times. The character Martin believes that everything is bad in this world even when some good things happen to him; he meets and accompanies Candide, Pangloss is alive, Candide finds Cunegonde, etc. Through the philosophies of Pangloss, Candide and Martin, Voltaire also makes a judgement on the philosophers themselves. He ridicules them for not seeing the reality of the world even when it was thrust in their faces. He ridicules them for spending all their time philosophizing instead of actually experiencing the world or helping others.
Another big theme in his book was the hypocrisy of religions. In the intro, it says that Voltaire was, "a theist in name, a humanist in fact...[he believes that] God is everywhere, morality is in nature itself"(6). He also says that through observing the world it is obvious that their is a Creator because there are such wonderful creations like nature, animals, art, etc. It explains that Voltaire believes that there is a universal God but he does not identify with a religion like Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. For this reason, in his book he condemns the hypocrisy of organized religions. Voltaire shows the hypocrisy of Protestantism through the preacher who won't give starving Candide money, the cruelty of the Inquisition's auto-da-fe, the irony that Muslims pray to their God but then go and kill their enemies, and the lust and corruption of the monks and their monastery.
At the end of the book, Voltaire finally reveals to us his own philosophy of life. The intro also tells us that Voltaire believes that, "the world is mad and cruel; the earth trembles and the sky hurls thunderbolts; kings fight.. Let us limit our activity and try to do as well as we can the small task that seems to be within our powers"(8) and he also believes that, "action is necessary. All is not well, but all things can be bettered"(8). I believe that Voltaire demonstrates his own philosophy through two characters: James, the Anabaptist, and the old farmer towards the end. Neither of them had spectacular lives but they both realized that there is something wrong with this world and each of them took some action, unlike Candide or Pangloss. James was very charitable towards people and helped them if he could, while the old man was content with his humble work at his farm. Voltaire leaves us with the words from Candide, "we must cultivate our garden"(120). That is an instruction to us as readers that we should work hard and do the best with what we have and to not get caught up in philosophies or wishful thinking.
Rachel, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I enjoyed how Voltaire used it so skillfully to display his philosophies and critiques of other philosophers. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Candide #4
Phelps, Sydney; Entry #4
My fellow compañera Rachel, We have finished the race and finished the book!
The first thing that I'd like to address is the fact that Candide once again admits that Martin's pessimistic philosophy was correct. The book says that Candide, "sank into a black melancholy"(94) and that, "Martin was constantly proving to him that there was little virtue or happiness in the world"(94). For awhile, Candide is stuck in this sad pessimistic state but then later on he returns to his optimism. Why do you think Voltaire has Candide so indecisive between pessimism or optimism? I think it may be to show that neither are correct and Candide subconsciously realizes that Pangloss' nor Martin's philosophy correctly define the world. There must be a middle ground.
I think another theme that Voltaire tries to portray in Candide is that things are not always as they seem on the surface. In this chapter, Candide and Martin make a bet to see if a couple, Paquette and the monk, are happy together or miserable. (Of course Candide thinks they're happy and Martin thinks that they aren't happy.) After Paquette had told Candide her story, he says, "but you looked so gay and happy when I met you! You were singing and caressing your monk with such natural affection!"(97). On the surface, the monk and Paquette seemed like a normal, happy couple. However, Paquette reveals that she was miserable and had been passed man to man as their mistress. Her story reveals more mistreatment of women and that things are not always as good as they seem on the surface-- everyone has a story. Through Paquette's story Voltaire also bashes on monks because they are supposed to be very holy and upright, but the monk had bought Paquette as his mistress! The monk also says that, "the monastery is filled with jealousy, discord, and anger"(98). I find it very ironic that a monastery is filled with such hateful things and Voltaire uses this to condemn yet another religious group.
The other topic that I'd like to discuss is the character of the senator Pococurante. Pococurante literally means "caring little"(notes 122), which is very ironic because he seems not to care about anything. Candide tells us that, "he's a man who's never known sorrow or trouble"(98) and Candide hopes that Pococurante will prove his optimistic philosophy since he's lived a "perfect" life. However, Voltaire uses this character to further disprove optimism because Pococurante is bored with everything and Candide says that, "nothing can please him"(103). I think Voltaire uses the character of Pococurante to raise the question of what would a perfect world be like? Would it in fact be boring?
At the very end of the book, Candide, Pangloss and Martin meet an old humble man that owns a small farm and he is very happy with his life. Through this character, Voltaire reveals his philosophy of this earth; that there is good and evil, but in order to have a good life and be satisfied we must work with what we have. The old man does not necessarily have a "good" life because he is rather poor-- and yet he is content. The old man says, "I have only twenty acres of land, which my children and I cultivate. Our work keeps us free of three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty"(119).
PS: The part with the all the dethroned kings confused me. I was wondering if you knew the significance of that part?
My fellow compañera Rachel, We have finished the race and finished the book!
The first thing that I'd like to address is the fact that Candide once again admits that Martin's pessimistic philosophy was correct. The book says that Candide, "sank into a black melancholy"(94) and that, "Martin was constantly proving to him that there was little virtue or happiness in the world"(94). For awhile, Candide is stuck in this sad pessimistic state but then later on he returns to his optimism. Why do you think Voltaire has Candide so indecisive between pessimism or optimism? I think it may be to show that neither are correct and Candide subconsciously realizes that Pangloss' nor Martin's philosophy correctly define the world. There must be a middle ground.
I think another theme that Voltaire tries to portray in Candide is that things are not always as they seem on the surface. In this chapter, Candide and Martin make a bet to see if a couple, Paquette and the monk, are happy together or miserable. (Of course Candide thinks they're happy and Martin thinks that they aren't happy.) After Paquette had told Candide her story, he says, "but you looked so gay and happy when I met you! You were singing and caressing your monk with such natural affection!"(97). On the surface, the monk and Paquette seemed like a normal, happy couple. However, Paquette reveals that she was miserable and had been passed man to man as their mistress. Her story reveals more mistreatment of women and that things are not always as good as they seem on the surface-- everyone has a story. Through Paquette's story Voltaire also bashes on monks because they are supposed to be very holy and upright, but the monk had bought Paquette as his mistress! The monk also says that, "the monastery is filled with jealousy, discord, and anger"(98). I find it very ironic that a monastery is filled with such hateful things and Voltaire uses this to condemn yet another religious group.
The other topic that I'd like to discuss is the character of the senator Pococurante. Pococurante literally means "caring little"(notes 122), which is very ironic because he seems not to care about anything. Candide tells us that, "he's a man who's never known sorrow or trouble"(98) and Candide hopes that Pococurante will prove his optimistic philosophy since he's lived a "perfect" life. However, Voltaire uses this character to further disprove optimism because Pococurante is bored with everything and Candide says that, "nothing can please him"(103). I think Voltaire uses the character of Pococurante to raise the question of what would a perfect world be like? Would it in fact be boring?
At the very end of the book, Candide, Pangloss and Martin meet an old humble man that owns a small farm and he is very happy with his life. Through this character, Voltaire reveals his philosophy of this earth; that there is good and evil, but in order to have a good life and be satisfied we must work with what we have. The old man does not necessarily have a "good" life because he is rather poor-- and yet he is content. The old man says, "I have only twenty acres of land, which my children and I cultivate. Our work keeps us free of three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty"(119).
PS: The part with the all the dethroned kings confused me. I was wondering if you knew the significance of that part?
Monday, December 1, 2014
Candide Blog #3
Phelps, Sydney; Entry #3
My dearly beloved friend Rachel,
So much has happened in this section! My oh my, how exciting! First of all, I would like to discuss with you the significance of the city of El Dorado that Candide and his servant/companion, Cacambo, discover! I researched the legend a bit to confirm my suspicions and this is what my source says about this infamous city, "Through the centuries, this passion gave rise to the enduring tale of a city of gold. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans believed that somewhere in the New World there was a place of immense wealth known as El Dorado"(National Geographic,"El Dorado Legend Snared Sir Walter Raleigh"). I think that Voltaire skillfully uses El Dorado to further disprove Candide's optimism. At first thought, it may seem that Candide did find this mystical land where everything goes right. He even says himself, "It's probably the country where everything goes well, because there must be one like that somewhere. And, despite what Dr. Pangloss used to say, I often noticed that everything went rather badly in Westphalia"(65). I believe Voltaire chooses El Dorado instead of a real place was just for that purpose! El Dorado is a fanciful legend and not a real place-- therefore confirming that the place that Candide searches for does not exist-- at least in this world. Also, I think we see Voltaire's deist beliefs in the El Dorado civilization because they don't worship a "personal" God or practice from the Bible or another holy book. The old man from El Dorado that they are questioning says, "Can there be two religions? We have, I believe, the same religion as everyone else: we worship God, morning and night"(67).
In this section, we get to see some interesting revelations about Candide's character. As stated in your quotes, it seems as though Candide recanted his optimism-- but I believe it was only temporary or he is still stuck in that state of mind. In this section we meet the character Martin, who is a foil to Candide. They both have had terrible things happen to them, but Candide relied on optimism while Martin relied on pessimism. Although Candide earlier recanted his belief in optimism, he still argues for it against Martin's pessimism. Martin explains his beliefs to Candide about the state of the world saying, "I think that God has abandoned it to some malevolent being-- with the exception of El Dorado"(78). Candide replies by saying that there must be at least some good in the world. Candide's discussions with Martin show that he has not totally abandoned Pangloss' philosophies.
Another aspect where we can see that Candide still believes in optimism is in his innocence in his interactions with other people. Candide wholeheartedly trusts people and is easily tricked. He was robbed of all his money, cheated in cards, tricked by an impostor of Cunegonde and seduced by a lady in France. This shows that Candide still remains optimistic about the nature of mankind and believes that they are good at the core. Again, this opposes Martin's view on mankind, who is very harsh towards all the people and assumes the worst of them-- especially of the people of Paris. Who do you think is right? I think it is hard because we have to have some street smart to survive in this world but at the same time I would like to believe in people. Do you think there is a happy medium between optimism and pessimism?
Another issue I'd like to address is the way people treat Candide once they new he was rich. I found it absolutely disgusting and Voltaire must be making a statement about the greediness of mankind. People fawned over Candide in the hope of receiving some sort of payment for their service. Since people say his diamonds, "[Candide] was immediately surrounded by two doctors he had not sent for, several intimate friends who would not leave him, and two pious and charitable ladies who kept him supplied with hot broth"(82). This reminds me of some sections in the epistles where we are instructed not to treat the rich and better than the poor and to welcome everyone with equally open arms into the church.
While Candide is in Paris he goes to the theater to watch a play and he happens to be seated by some critics of the theater. The critics say that a good playwright must, "be original without being eccentric, that he must be often sublime and always natural, that he must know the human heart and make it speak... have a perfect command of his language and write it with purity and continuous harmony, without ever sacrificing meaning to rhyme"(86). This quote just reminded me of the work of Shakespeare-- specifically in Hamlet! Shakespeare's writing is just so flawless but not over the top or "forced".
Something I also found humorous is that Voltaire uses the critics to talk bad about his "enemies" like Freron and Abbe Trublet. (Notes pages 121-122). One of the critics asks the other about the works of Trublet and he responds, "Oh, what a deadly bore!"(86). I just found this extremely amusing that Voltaire uses his book to give a little back handed slap to his "enemies" or those he disapproves of. I imagine Voltaire as a witty, bitter, funny old man. What do you think of Voltaire's charcter upon reading this book?
My dearly beloved friend Rachel,
So much has happened in this section! My oh my, how exciting! First of all, I would like to discuss with you the significance of the city of El Dorado that Candide and his servant/companion, Cacambo, discover! I researched the legend a bit to confirm my suspicions and this is what my source says about this infamous city, "Through the centuries, this passion gave rise to the enduring tale of a city of gold. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans believed that somewhere in the New World there was a place of immense wealth known as El Dorado"(National Geographic,"El Dorado Legend Snared Sir Walter Raleigh"). I think that Voltaire skillfully uses El Dorado to further disprove Candide's optimism. At first thought, it may seem that Candide did find this mystical land where everything goes right. He even says himself, "It's probably the country where everything goes well, because there must be one like that somewhere. And, despite what Dr. Pangloss used to say, I often noticed that everything went rather badly in Westphalia"(65). I believe Voltaire chooses El Dorado instead of a real place was just for that purpose! El Dorado is a fanciful legend and not a real place-- therefore confirming that the place that Candide searches for does not exist-- at least in this world. Also, I think we see Voltaire's deist beliefs in the El Dorado civilization because they don't worship a "personal" God or practice from the Bible or another holy book. The old man from El Dorado that they are questioning says, "Can there be two religions? We have, I believe, the same religion as everyone else: we worship God, morning and night"(67).
In this section, we get to see some interesting revelations about Candide's character. As stated in your quotes, it seems as though Candide recanted his optimism-- but I believe it was only temporary or he is still stuck in that state of mind. In this section we meet the character Martin, who is a foil to Candide. They both have had terrible things happen to them, but Candide relied on optimism while Martin relied on pessimism. Although Candide earlier recanted his belief in optimism, he still argues for it against Martin's pessimism. Martin explains his beliefs to Candide about the state of the world saying, "I think that God has abandoned it to some malevolent being-- with the exception of El Dorado"(78). Candide replies by saying that there must be at least some good in the world. Candide's discussions with Martin show that he has not totally abandoned Pangloss' philosophies.
Another aspect where we can see that Candide still believes in optimism is in his innocence in his interactions with other people. Candide wholeheartedly trusts people and is easily tricked. He was robbed of all his money, cheated in cards, tricked by an impostor of Cunegonde and seduced by a lady in France. This shows that Candide still remains optimistic about the nature of mankind and believes that they are good at the core. Again, this opposes Martin's view on mankind, who is very harsh towards all the people and assumes the worst of them-- especially of the people of Paris. Who do you think is right? I think it is hard because we have to have some street smart to survive in this world but at the same time I would like to believe in people. Do you think there is a happy medium between optimism and pessimism?
Another issue I'd like to address is the way people treat Candide once they new he was rich. I found it absolutely disgusting and Voltaire must be making a statement about the greediness of mankind. People fawned over Candide in the hope of receiving some sort of payment for their service. Since people say his diamonds, "[Candide] was immediately surrounded by two doctors he had not sent for, several intimate friends who would not leave him, and two pious and charitable ladies who kept him supplied with hot broth"(82). This reminds me of some sections in the epistles where we are instructed not to treat the rich and better than the poor and to welcome everyone with equally open arms into the church.
While Candide is in Paris he goes to the theater to watch a play and he happens to be seated by some critics of the theater. The critics say that a good playwright must, "be original without being eccentric, that he must be often sublime and always natural, that he must know the human heart and make it speak... have a perfect command of his language and write it with purity and continuous harmony, without ever sacrificing meaning to rhyme"(86). This quote just reminded me of the work of Shakespeare-- specifically in Hamlet! Shakespeare's writing is just so flawless but not over the top or "forced".
Something I also found humorous is that Voltaire uses the critics to talk bad about his "enemies" like Freron and Abbe Trublet. (Notes pages 121-122). One of the critics asks the other about the works of Trublet and he responds, "Oh, what a deadly bore!"(86). I just found this extremely amusing that Voltaire uses his book to give a little back handed slap to his "enemies" or those he disapproves of. I imagine Voltaire as a witty, bitter, funny old man. What do you think of Voltaire's charcter upon reading this book?
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