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?
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Candide Blog #2
Phelps, Sydney; Entry #2
Dear Rachel,
I am in agreement with you that Voltaire does condemn a lot of religions in this book for being hypocritical or cruel. He condemns Catholicism, Protestants, Islam and he also observes the cruelty and absurdity of the Inquisition. In the auto-da-fe ritual, "Candide was flogged in time with the singing, the Biscayan and the two men who had refused to eat pork were burned, and Pangloss was hanged"(31). Voltaire seems to make a judgment on the cruelty of the Inquisition and these public penances of the auto-da-fe. (I researched what an auto-da-fe was and got my information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9). He also makes them seems cruel by the absurd "crimes" that they committed. He says they were punished for not eating pork and for talking and listening with an air of approval-- which are ridiculous reasons to be killed or tortured. The reason why Voltaire is so judgmental to religions is that he is a deist and believes in a universal and impersonal God. In the introduction Voltaire says, "I shall blame every nation that has abandoned the universal God for all these phantoms of private gods"(5).
I was surprised that Cunegonde was alive and returned in the story. I thought she had died and just had been another tragedy in Candide's life. I believer her situation adds to the exaggeration of people's sufferings and life and also brings to light the absurdity of women being traded and sold like slaves and the cruelty of women being treated like property. I think the woman's stories are also very similar to those of Cunegonde's and add to the denial of optimism because of all the evil in the world. (I again got some information of the woman's significance in the story from sparknotes.com).
I believe that Candide wishes Pangloss was with him very often because terrible things are happening to him and Cunegonde and he can no longer explain these terrible events with Pangloss' philosophy. Candide starts to question the philosophy and says, "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others like?"(31). Later on, he also says that, "it's the New World that's the best of all possible worlds"(41). But, it seems as though Candide discovers that the New World is no better than Europe because he has to flee and leave Cunegonde in Buenos Aires and he ends up killing Cunegonde's brother. The woman that accompanies them has a worldview based off of her experience in this world and she acknowledges the evil in the world, which Candide fails to acknowledge.
The woman's talk of suicide almost reminds me of Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech. She says, "what could be more stupid than to persist in carrying a burden that we constantly want to cast off?"(49). Her reasoning for suicide is similar to Hamlet's, in the aspect that life is so full of burdens and sufferings that it almost seems reasonable to want to end your life. The woman does not believe in optimism like Candide or Cunegonde, rather she is rather pessimistic of this world because of her sufferings. Despite her pessimism, the woman still has hope and "loves life", so she does not commit suicide. I think this reveals that the woman has a strong and courageous character.
I think Voltaire mentions rape so much because it is a terrible thing to happen to a woman. It just reinforces the idea that this world is full of evils and is not the "best possible world". I think Voltaire also addresses the issue of women being treated like property, being sold, raped, and enslaved.
Dear Rachel,
I am in agreement with you that Voltaire does condemn a lot of religions in this book for being hypocritical or cruel. He condemns Catholicism, Protestants, Islam and he also observes the cruelty and absurdity of the Inquisition. In the auto-da-fe ritual, "Candide was flogged in time with the singing, the Biscayan and the two men who had refused to eat pork were burned, and Pangloss was hanged"(31). Voltaire seems to make a judgment on the cruelty of the Inquisition and these public penances of the auto-da-fe. (I researched what an auto-da-fe was and got my information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9). He also makes them seems cruel by the absurd "crimes" that they committed. He says they were punished for not eating pork and for talking and listening with an air of approval-- which are ridiculous reasons to be killed or tortured. The reason why Voltaire is so judgmental to religions is that he is a deist and believes in a universal and impersonal God. In the introduction Voltaire says, "I shall blame every nation that has abandoned the universal God for all these phantoms of private gods"(5).
I was surprised that Cunegonde was alive and returned in the story. I thought she had died and just had been another tragedy in Candide's life. I believer her situation adds to the exaggeration of people's sufferings and life and also brings to light the absurdity of women being traded and sold like slaves and the cruelty of women being treated like property. I think the woman's stories are also very similar to those of Cunegonde's and add to the denial of optimism because of all the evil in the world. (I again got some information of the woman's significance in the story from sparknotes.com).
I believe that Candide wishes Pangloss was with him very often because terrible things are happening to him and Cunegonde and he can no longer explain these terrible events with Pangloss' philosophy. Candide starts to question the philosophy and says, "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others like?"(31). Later on, he also says that, "it's the New World that's the best of all possible worlds"(41). But, it seems as though Candide discovers that the New World is no better than Europe because he has to flee and leave Cunegonde in Buenos Aires and he ends up killing Cunegonde's brother. The woman that accompanies them has a worldview based off of her experience in this world and she acknowledges the evil in the world, which Candide fails to acknowledge.
The woman's talk of suicide almost reminds me of Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech. She says, "what could be more stupid than to persist in carrying a burden that we constantly want to cast off?"(49). Her reasoning for suicide is similar to Hamlet's, in the aspect that life is so full of burdens and sufferings that it almost seems reasonable to want to end your life. The woman does not believe in optimism like Candide or Cunegonde, rather she is rather pessimistic of this world because of her sufferings. Despite her pessimism, the woman still has hope and "loves life", so she does not commit suicide. I think this reveals that the woman has a strong and courageous character.
I think Voltaire mentions rape so much because it is a terrible thing to happen to a woman. It just reinforces the idea that this world is full of evils and is not the "best possible world". I think Voltaire also addresses the issue of women being treated like property, being sold, raped, and enslaved.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Candide Blog #1
Phelps, Sydney; Entry #1
My dearest and highly esteemed colleague and friend, Rachel, how are thee faring upon these holiday vacations?
I strongly agree with you that this tale of the quest of Candide is terrible and horrifying. This short novel is extremely satirical and has some dark humor elements as Candide encounters himself in the most ridiculous tragedies of unreasonable misfortune. Voltaire creates these terrible circumstances of death and carnage to reveal how ridiculous Candide's and Pangloss' philosophy is. In the intro to the book it says, "but the author accept[s] neither Martin's pessimism nor Pangloss's optimism at their face value"(8). I think that this makes it clear that Voltaire is trying to satirize and poke fun at the absurdity of total optimism and total pessimism. Through the horrible events that happen to Candide, like him being kicked out of the castle, the war, the shipwreck and the earthquake, Voltaire shows that there is evil in this world and it is very foolish to believe that, "all things are necessarily connected and arranged for the best"(24). I think that Candide and Pangloss are deluded with fanciful ideas and do not see the world at face value for what it is..
I agree with you that Voltaire portrays Pangloss as a hypocrite. I think he may be trying to make a comment about the philosophers of that day who preached about right and wrong and then went and had affairs or hesitated to help their fellow human beings. I believe we also see this in the Protestant preacher refuses to help Candide when he was starving. The man was preaching for "the good cause"(24), and yet he tells Candide that he does not deserve to eat because he's not against the Pope. It almost seems as though no one is spared from Voltaire's criticism except for James the Anabaptist. Could this be because Voltaire agrees with James' worldview and philosophies? I think from what we've seen is that James has a happy medium of recognizing that there is sin in the world, but he does not fail to help those in need like Candide and Pangloss. What do you think of the Anabaptist, James?
(I got some insight on the importance of the character of James from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/candide/characters.html).
To answer your question, I do not believe that it was fair for the baron to kick Candide out of the castle because his daughter, Cunegonde, was the one that came on to him. It also seemed that they had mutual feelings from the way they behaved. I believe Voltaire makes another judgment on the "royal folk" because the baroness would not marry Candide's father because he only had "seventy-one generations of nobility"(17). He criticizes them for being obsessed with their noble lineage more than their character and whether or not they proved to be noble through their actions.
I found the scene about the war strange. Candide just walks by all the men, women, and children dying without giving a thought about helping them. He deserts the army to go, "reason about cause and effect"(23). It seems as though everyone cares more about their philosophies or their "causes" more than actual people. Do you think seeing the war made Candide question Pangloss' philosophy at all? Also, I think the worst tragedy that Candide has suffered has been the death of Cunegonde-- it seemed like he genuinely cared for her because he did not forget about her and asked Pangloss about her.
PS-- here's a good quote that shows Voltaire's contempt towards philosophers-- "Candide, trembling like a philosopher, hid himself as best as he could during this heroic carnage"(23).
My dearest and highly esteemed colleague and friend, Rachel, how are thee faring upon these holiday vacations?
I strongly agree with you that this tale of the quest of Candide is terrible and horrifying. This short novel is extremely satirical and has some dark humor elements as Candide encounters himself in the most ridiculous tragedies of unreasonable misfortune. Voltaire creates these terrible circumstances of death and carnage to reveal how ridiculous Candide's and Pangloss' philosophy is. In the intro to the book it says, "but the author accept[s] neither Martin's pessimism nor Pangloss's optimism at their face value"(8). I think that this makes it clear that Voltaire is trying to satirize and poke fun at the absurdity of total optimism and total pessimism. Through the horrible events that happen to Candide, like him being kicked out of the castle, the war, the shipwreck and the earthquake, Voltaire shows that there is evil in this world and it is very foolish to believe that, "all things are necessarily connected and arranged for the best"(24). I think that Candide and Pangloss are deluded with fanciful ideas and do not see the world at face value for what it is..
I agree with you that Voltaire portrays Pangloss as a hypocrite. I think he may be trying to make a comment about the philosophers of that day who preached about right and wrong and then went and had affairs or hesitated to help their fellow human beings. I believe we also see this in the Protestant preacher refuses to help Candide when he was starving. The man was preaching for "the good cause"(24), and yet he tells Candide that he does not deserve to eat because he's not against the Pope. It almost seems as though no one is spared from Voltaire's criticism except for James the Anabaptist. Could this be because Voltaire agrees with James' worldview and philosophies? I think from what we've seen is that James has a happy medium of recognizing that there is sin in the world, but he does not fail to help those in need like Candide and Pangloss. What do you think of the Anabaptist, James?
(I got some insight on the importance of the character of James from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/candide/characters.html).
To answer your question, I do not believe that it was fair for the baron to kick Candide out of the castle because his daughter, Cunegonde, was the one that came on to him. It also seemed that they had mutual feelings from the way they behaved. I believe Voltaire makes another judgment on the "royal folk" because the baroness would not marry Candide's father because he only had "seventy-one generations of nobility"(17). He criticizes them for being obsessed with their noble lineage more than their character and whether or not they proved to be noble through their actions.
I found the scene about the war strange. Candide just walks by all the men, women, and children dying without giving a thought about helping them. He deserts the army to go, "reason about cause and effect"(23). It seems as though everyone cares more about their philosophies or their "causes" more than actual people. Do you think seeing the war made Candide question Pangloss' philosophy at all? Also, I think the worst tragedy that Candide has suffered has been the death of Cunegonde-- it seemed like he genuinely cared for her because he did not forget about her and asked Pangloss about her.
PS-- here's a good quote that shows Voltaire's contempt towards philosophers-- "Candide, trembling like a philosopher, hid himself as best as he could during this heroic carnage"(23).
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Brave New World #4
Phelps, Entry #4
Dear Bethany, I think the people of the
society do have morals but they are perverted or hidden by the soma. For
example. Bernard and Helmholtz have the urge to go help John when he was in the
riot even though it would not benefit them at all. When Bernard sees John in
the riot he was, "urged by a sudden impulse, ran forward to help them;
then thought better of it and halted"(214). I just think it is instilled
into them as a society to be selfish or to do things that benefits themselves
or the society. Plus, they are pretty drugged with the soma all the time-- and
even get soma rationing. I think the soma buries the moral law inside them so
they do not see anything wrong. Also, do you think that the lower castes get
rationed soma and the upper castes don't because the Alphas are smarter and
have to be drugged more? I think that's why they freaked out so much when
Bernard was not taking soma or sleeping with girls because they were afraid he
was too aware.
I think the author chose to have John
recite Shakespeare because he uses a lot of devices to appeal to people's
emotions. The people from the society do not understand what the big deal about
love is-- because they've never experienced it. Helmholtz, unable to comprehend
Romeo and Juliet, thinks, "getting into such a state about having a girl--
it seemed rather ridiculous"(184). I think the people in the society are
almost not taught to have feelings for each other and sex is such a common
things and nothing special. We also see this when Lenina does not understand
why John won't "have her". John quotes Shakespeare and says, "If
thou dost break her virgin knot before all sanctimonious ceremonies may with
full and holy rite"(191). He thinks that they should get married before
sleeping together, thus adding another contrast between his morals and the
morals of the society. I think John's "love" for Lenina is under
false pretences. I don't think he really loves her-- I think he just likes her
because she's pretty or something. Also, I think Lenina seems to like guys who
are "different" like Bernard and John. Maybe it is because
subconsciously she is unsatisfied with the society. What do you think? Do you
think John really loves Lenina or Lenina really likes John?
One thing that I found very disturbing in
the section was the scenes at the "Senility ward"(198), which is like
an old folks home for people that are dying. I was very disturbed by the "death
conditioning". Basically, they just had kids hang around the dying people
so they would get used to death and not be frightened by it. The nurse did not
understand why John was so upset that his mom was dying because she had been
death conditioned. The nurse says,"undoing all their wholesome death
conditioning with this disgusting outcry-- as though death were something
terrible, as though any one mattered as much as all that!"(206). I think
as well as being death conditioned they are also conditioned not to get
attached to people because she did not understand that John will miss his
mother when she's gone. What do you think about the death conditioning?
I also think we learn in this section that
John does not like London and definitely did not live up to what his mother had
told him about it. He thinks to himself, "that beautiful, beautiful Other
Place, whose memory, as of a heaven, a paradise of goodness and loveliness, he
still kept whole and intact, undefiled by contact with the reality of this
London"(201).
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Brave New World #3
Phelps Entry #3 A Brave New
World
Bethany, I agree with you that the
Savages are seen as so dark and depraved because we are seeing it through
Lenina's and Bernard's eyes. I think, at least to me, the savages seemed less
grotesque than Bernard's and Lenina's society. For example, I think the
religious savage ritual was less shocking than Bernard's solidarity/orgy ritual
because the savage ritual was almost like a religious celebration and I could
understand the motives behind it. John said the ritual was, "for the sake
of the pueblo-- to make the rain come and the corn grow. And to please Pookong
and Jesus"(117). The whipping was almost like a punishment sacrifice and
Lenina could not understand that nor understand the religious aspect and that's
why she was so frightened. What do you think of the Savages' culture? To me it
seems like they're a whole bunch of cultures all jumbled up because they talk
about Jesus but then they also worship Pookong who is a Native America god.
They brought John into the society to
study him and his mother, the "savages". Mustapha Mond, The Ford,
says he finds them of, "sufficient scientific interest"(141). Also in
regard to the story, John brings some insight of the society and his response
to it. John says, "O brave new world that has such people in it"(139)
as a response to being invited to go to London with Bernard. What significance
do you think this phrase play in John's attitude towards the society? I know
John is not very surprised by the technology of the society as Bernard writes,"The
Savage... shows surprisingly little astonishment at, or awe of, civilized
inventions. This is partly due, no doubt, to the fact that he has heard them
talked about by the woman Linda"(158). Although he is not surprised by the
technology, he is struck by their lack of morals. In his society there is a set
of right and wrong like marriage, murder, lying, etc. But in Lenina and
Bernard's society the morals are totally different and they do not fight
against there physical desires. In this section we see John fight against his
attraction towards Lenina, which is unheard of in their society and it upsets
Lenina. While at a "feeling film" John, "looked down at [Lenina]
for a moment, pale, pained, desiring, and ashamed of his desire. He was not
worthy"(169). (By the way, what did you think of the "feeling
film"? I found it interesting.) Again, here we see John struggle against
his physical desires which is something that sets him apart from Lenina and the
society.
As for Bernard, I am quite disappointed
in his lack of character. I thought he was good because he fought the system of
the society and he did not agree with it. I think now we see that the only
reason why he did not like it was because he did not fit in. Now this new found
discovery and success is going to his head. He also boasts to Helmholtz about
his savages and, "success went fizzily to Bernard's head, and in the
process completely reconciled him to a world which, up till then, he had found
very unsatisfactory"(157). Also, as you pointed out, he is now getting all
the girls. I think in due time he will regret his behavior after all this
commotion about the savages calms down and he is no longer popular. What do you think about his character change?
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