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?