So, my post is about Candide but in two different occasions…

1) Candide, while a young man, has the mentality of a child. He trusts Pangloss and his theory that everything is for the best. I believe that this is incredibly naive and I have huge trouble understanding throughout the entire novel why he has the mentality especially in the very beginning (he’s exiled out of his home, he is taken as a slave, and he is constantly taken advantage of). It is because of this childish and naive mentality that I try to understand Candide’s casual behavior in regards in his killings.

2) I have read Candide before and I still don’t understand the reason why Candide WILLINGLY leaves El Dorado… El Dorado is symbolism for Paradise!!!!!! He had finally found the place that cannot be found and had access to untold riches and he leaves… I understand at this point that Candide will do whatever he can to get to Cunegonde, but leaving paradise was astonishing and kind of stunning as well.

I think these two scenes are important because these two scenes stick out the most to me. Candide’s behavior and actions show a very large contrast and it’s very shocking. I also find Candide’s disregard for El Dorado to be very startling. I try to understand why Voltaire would write a novel much like this one and I come up with a blank. I know this class is the consequences of enlightenment so I wonder what Candide’s reactions and behaviors would be like if he an actual professor who was actually knowledgeable in things that are really important instead of a made up subject and is actually a professor. I wish Candide grew up in an environment that would have helped him have common sense. His naivety is his biggest downfall. While one could argue that he has his happily ever after in a farm, it can be universally agreed that he would have been better off in the beginning if he understood that not everything is “for the best”. Even if he wasn’t educated very well, I just wished that he would have noticed what he had when he was in El Dorado. In this case, I believe that being “enlightened” would not have had a negative consequence…

After reading of only twenty chapters, I can say this novel is extremely fast paced and in some parts of the scene, I would prefer the author to slow down so i can enjoy visualizing the intense scenes more which I will get further into details later. The positive side of the fast paced novel is that as a reader, it gave me a chance to imagine and create my own stories of the scenes to help me transition to the next. However fast paced it is, it is not a boring novel and far less confusing as reading Tartuffe which felt like I was reading a 30 page poem which I was not used to.

In the beginning of the novel where Candide was kicked out of the castle, he portrayed a character of someone who was weak and ignorant of the world outside of the castle. At this point, I predicted he would encounter a lot of hardships/misfortunes which was true as I read on.

I liked how the author, Voltaire, described the scenes during war in a gruesome way so us readers can clearly see and feel how life was during the horrible times. For ex. disembowelment of Cunegonde (which never happened), cutting the baroness to bits, eating human flesh such as the old lady who is the pope’s daughter. It was hard reading these scenes but besides all these misfortunes, there are some good fortunes that follows after. This became repetitive in some way as I continue to read on to the end of chapter 20.

Back to the Title, Candide or Optimism. Throughout the stories of Candide who traveled across countries and gained real world experience, he kept bringing up his philosophy tutor, Pangloss, who he looked up to. Pangloss was his light during his darkness moments in life and taught him to stay positive and reasons why certain things happened to people. “There is no effect without a cause; all events are linked by the chain of necessity and arranged for the best” a quote that Candide mentioned throughout his misfortunes that he learned from Pangloss.

One of my favorite scenes which caught me by surprise and wished the author can slow down the pace is the scene where Candide killed Cunegonde’s brother because he was displeased when he found out Candide wanted to marry his sister, Cunegonde. Because of the disappointment, Candide killed the brother. This scene caught me by surprised because I thought after Candide reunited with one of the Baron’s, he would be saved and no longer need to run away to another country, no longer need to kill any more humans, and end his emotional stress and troubles. But, in a flash of one paraphraph, I was caught in a surprised moment to read that Candide killed the brother, adding to the list of people he killed. This is from a man who was once ignorant about the world and never once killed anyone before he was kicked out of the castle.

To end my post, I would like to share a quote, “Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.” The memories of the misfortunes of Candide will pass as with time. Sometimes we end up in darkness. We can find hope and light during darkness like how Candide did when he traveled to new countries and met the new cultures, people and kings, but because of misfortunes, he can lose the hope and light he once had during his darkness moments. The character Orgon from Tartuffe can relate to this quote, also. During his darkness moments, he met Tartuffe which was his light, but he can lose him there.

Candide is a novel by Voltaire where the main character is Candide follow by Cunegonde, the daughter of a German baron, who acts as Candide’s benefactor until he discovers Candide’s love for his daughter. From that moment Candide was kicked out from the castle and had to travel a lot to save his life.

This novel is so fascinating, not only because talk about love but because all those characters give a moral to people’s life. For example, one of the characters that grabbed my attention was the old women because even though she had to face a lot of obstacles she realized that life was better than death and it was ridiculous to try to suicide herself and run from problems.” –With great pain, I untangled myself  from this vast heap of bleeding bodies and dragged myself under  a great orange tree by a neighboring  brook, where I collapsed, from terror, exhaustion, horror, despair, and hunger.”(371) this old woman had to face too many things at the same time, not only that she  had to be part all of misfortunes but also she had to be part of all the massacre made by that time. This woman had to work as slave, was raped and also had to presence the death of her mom. This woman is so admirable because with that miserable life that she was living a weak person would committed a suicide. However, she showed that sometimes in life people have to be strong and leave problems away. As Pangloss would say “everything is for the best” in other words, those bad and horrible circumstances gave her experience and strength to guide people like Candide and Cunegonde.

Characters like Candide and Cunegonde are examples of how people have to fight for what they want, Candide had to confront millions of obstacles to get to the place his princess was. At the end Candide could found his love and the old women who as a real women who was part of his journey. –well, are still madly in love with Miss Cunegonde of Thunder-Ten-Tronckh? Yes, ma’am, replied Candide” (395) he showed that his love was real for miss Cunegonde and that all the sacrifices he was making was because he wanted to be with the love of his life.

The story of Candid is best described as a roller coaster of events. Throughout the story there were ups and downs, such as storms, earthquakes, forced to join the burglar, reuniting with Cunegonde, free sheep and riches in Eldorado, and finding out Pangloss is still alive. The passage that most interested me was the ending, when Candide finally reunites with Cunegonde, after the long journey he has been through. I found this scene interesting because it was very ironic. Throughout Candid’s journey, he was telling everyone he met how beautiful his lover, Cunegonde was, and he is willing to pay any price to reunite with her. When Candid reunites with Cunegonde, the first thing he realizes is her appearance. He calls her ugly, admitting he’s losing interest in her, and says he doesn’t want to marry her anymore.

This scene is also ironic because it shows the consequences of enlightenment. In the kingdom of Thunder-Ten-Tronckh, Pangloss is considered “the oracle of the household.” (Voltaire, 355) Growing up, Candid listened to Pangloss’ lessons and believed that everything happens for a reason, and it will end up leading to the greater good. Throughout Candid’s journey, he faced a series of unfortunate events, and each time he overcame them, he would tell himself, if Master Pangloss was here, he would say this will lead to a good result. When Candid met Martin, who was also considered a wise philosopher, Martin told Candid the complete opposite. Martin believed that the world is evil, and there will be no happy ending. Candid, who is blinded by Pangloss’ philosophy, ignores what Martin says, which results in an ending full of disappointment. Candid ends up marrying the no longer pretty Cunegonde, and everyone works hard for the rest of their lives on their farm.

Candide’s adventure definitely reflects the reality of the world. After Candide was expelled from the castle, he had experienced many tragedies and saw the different sides of the world. He saw the cruelty of war and the brutality of human nature. Candide finally realized that his belief was wrong. One of the most crucial scene is in chapter 6 when Candide saw Pangloss was hanged in front of him. Candide said “If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others like?”(pg. 364) At this point, Candide questioned the philosophy of optimism. He started to think about life in his ways instead of following Pangloss’ teaching. After he experienced the death of Jacques and Pangloss, Candide found out that the world is not what he and Pangloss thought of. This scene is a very important turning point which changes Candide’s idea of the world.

I feel Candide and the main character, Orgon in Tartuffe are very similar. They are both naïve and lack of their own minds. Candide was influenced by Doctor Pangloss’ philosophy and Orgon was affected by the hypocrite, Tartuffe. Both Candide and Orgon blindly followed the wrong person and hardly try to question their teachings. It is obvious that Candide and Orgon were both misguided. However, both characters eventually found out the truth after they encountered various misfortunes.

Overall, this novel is very interesting and meaningful. Voltaire depict a story of a poor man, Candide in order to reflect the flaws of optimism. Candide was living in his utopia world at first. However, it is impossible to use the philosophy to explain everything that Candide has experienced after he left the castle. I believe we should be optimistic about life but everything has a limit. If we are being too optimistic about everything, then we will lose many chances to improve our lives. Life is controlled by ourselves. It is important to work hard to achieve your dream instead of waiting for all the great things happen.

Reading the first few chapters of Candide, I immediately thought of our discussions in class on duty vs desire. Candide’s life in the beginning was a desirable one. He lived in a beautiful castle with beautiful people and no worries. However, he had a desire to be with Cunegonde when his duty is to remain loyal to the family. The problem was that Cunegonde had the blood of “pure” royalty and Candide was not. One day he allowed his desire to overcome his duty and in front of everyone at the dinner table, he kissed Cunegonde. Although, both had the desire to be with one another, the family did not feel the same. At that moment, the king took Candide and literally kicked him out of the castle. Candide was banished and so began his fortunes and misfortunes.

All that has happened in the story was do to the fact that he let his emotions get the best of him. However, what intrigued me was that he continued to allow his desires to get the best of him. In every situation in the story he chose desire no matter how bad or good the situation had become. From what I’ve read so far, this continued to occur. However, there was a scene that had stricken me the most that I felt was an important turn in the story. In chapter 17, Candide and Cacambo stumbled upon the country of Eldorado. This place seemed to be a utopia and yet Candide could not imagine staying there without Cunegonde by his side. In chapter 18, Candide asked the king of Eldorado to provide him a way out of Eldorado and the king thought him as a fool. However, the king did provide Candide and Cacambo with what ever they needed. This scene provided the reader to get a sense of how strong Candide’s desire for Cunegonde was. That his love blinded him of everything, even his own stability. To leave a “perfect” place like Eldorado after all the things Candide had been through, you’d have to be stupid.

The scene that I will be responding to is the when Jacques tries to save the sailor but actually falls into the water. At this moment, Candide wants to save Jacques but Pangloss responds by saying “The bay of Libson had been formed expressly for this Anabaptist to drown in (362).”

This quote by Pangloss strikes me the most because my initial reaction was that this was ridiculous. I thought, how could the bay be made entirely for Jacques to drown in, if there was a bay created there already to get travelers to Libson. Also, how can this bay be made entirely for Jacques to drown in, if everyone other passenger on the ship was perished as well. It also strikes me at how quickly they decided to let Jacques drown to his death, even after Jacques took both Candide and Pangloss in when they had nothing.

This moment seems to be important because it shows how much Candide relies on Pangloss’s teachings from the beginning of the story till the end. Even though Candide knows how much he owes Jacques for taking him in, caring for him and getting him back on his feet when everyone else in Holland treated him cruelly when he first got there, he still choose to follow Pangloss’s teachings instead of what his heart believed. It seems as if Candide does not always have control of himself, but must rely on Pangloss himself or his teachings to guide him through his life.

This moment relates to the rest of text because continuously, throughout the text when Candide is alone and believes that Pangloss is dead, he would always mention Pangloss. For example, “If Pangloss was had not been hanged, he would give us good advice in this hour of need, for he was a great philosopher (367)” or “That Pangloss would have be hard put to prove his system. I wish he were here (388).” These two quotes are examples of how even when Pangloss is not besides Candide, Pangloss’s teachings is relevant throughout. It also shows that Candide realizes how much he relied on Pangloss when he was by his side, that without him there, he still tries to think life him. When Candide is discussing with a scholar at Madame de Parolignac’s house, Candide brings up one of the teaching points of Pangloss starting “Troubles are just the shadows in a beautiful picture (395).” However, in this instance the scholar states that “Your hanged philopsher was joking. The shadows are horrible ugly blots (396).” This scene shows that Candide’s life revolved around what Pangloss has taught him and nothing else. Even after Candide and the scholar kept disputing over their differences, Candide is hesitant to agree with the scholar throughout their conversation.

Candide – Voltaire

Candide was a straight to the point story with very short chapters and Voltaire did not go with a lengthy introduction. By the end of chapter one, Candide is removed from his home by the Baron because he catches him giving his daughter an “innocent kiss.” After this scenario, Candide’s journey begins and he had experienced a crazy yet terrifying life filled with an abundance of emotions. Candide’s tutor, Pangloss, shared his philosophy that everything is done for the best in this world. Candide being an optimistic person has carried this mantra with him throughout his journey. The separation between him and Miss Cunégonde brings him to a dark melancholy state. He desires her more than anything in the world which is insane because of the amount of trouble he goes through for her. He has killed people for her like the Grand Inquisitor and the Jew named Don Isaachar. Miss Cunégonde was disturbed to see these two men killed by Candide.

Voltaire classified the role of women in this story to be quite dreadful. Women were raped, abused, and traded for countless times. The story of the old woman who was the daughter of the Pope suffered an account of calamities such as being enslaved and raped many times and experiencing half death laying on a “mountain of bleeding bodies.” Women had no power during this century of life and had to follow orders from an authority figure who had owned them.

My favorite character in this story would have to be Martin because he was very pessimistic and believed that nothing in the world is made for the best and often humans will torment each other. His statement was very much appropriate during this time period because of the wars and conflicts between countries and villages. There was always violence in every moment. Although Eldorado was a utopian society which proves his statement wrong but not everyone can live in this perfectly perfect place. It seems unreal and usually ends up as a disaster because of the abundance of happiness and wealth.

Voltaire made the ending an unhappy stagnant ending. Everyone was together in this farm and they worked hard to maintain it. Every character felt unhappy yet they needed to cultivate the garden in order to build their own satisfactions. Candide was unhappy with the money and luxury he has living with his beloved who is now unattractive and he is filled with misery. Choosing the path of desire has screwed him over and he realized that materialistic ideals do not last forever.

Many misfortunes take place around the world and we may experience these events sometime in our lives. The consequences of desire can lead to unhappiness which can be very difficult to  comprehend. Although the violence of the story’s time period does not compare to present day but we do have many social justice issues that are as brutal as the ones Voltaire has described. The story was a bit overwhelming to read because every sentence was intricate and complexed but it was overall very interesting.

CANDIDE – VOLTAIRE
General Thoughts & Comments:

I really enjoy Candide, because it teaches me a lot. This novel shows me a set of misfortunes for all characters. I feel a little unpeaceful when I watching this reading. At the beginning of the novel, it’s such as a romantic story. However, after Candide and Cunégonde share an “innocent kiss”. The nightmare is coming, Cunégond’s father sees their kiss and banishes Candide from his house. “Cunégond was killed soldiers” Candide heard from Dr. Pangloss. Later, he reunited with Cunégond and she is survived from murder, it sound like fortunes is going to start. However, he also knows that Cunégond is a servant and mistress to two men. It is like a roller coaster ride, it goes from happy, disappoint, happy, disappoint. You never know what will be happen, it is unpredictable.

It reminds me that about the human life, even your or my life won’t be always successful, you will going to meet some troubles in your life, you can’t just avoid or ignore, they are still there. Just like Candide, even his life is misfortune, life must going on and he also tries to help each character in the novel. If you don’t give up, fortunes will goes to you.

At the end of the novel, he marries Cunégond and they buy a small farm. It tells me that success will come over after work hard for a long period of time. There is a big difference between this idea and Candide’s initial idea, which he believes that wealth would just come to him because he deserve it. I think that it is really important to our life, it’s telling people that don’t just sit somewhere and waiting for chance, but chance is waiting for you.

CANDIDE – VOLTAIRE
General Thoughts & Comments:
-The pace of the story moves along pretty quickly and the title of each chapter more often than not, gives away the ending of the chapter (it’s like a mini spoiler). Not too much description is given regarding the scenery or event but you can still understand the flowing of the story, especially with the character’s dialogues.
-I made a note of the fact that the Baroness “boxed her ears” – I didn’t know what that meant & I had to stop and Google it. I found various definitions for that term ranging from destroying balance and eardrums to creating massive wave of great pain. I guess that was Miss Cunegund’s form of punishment. I don’t know much about the 1750’s traditions or regulations about marriage but since Candide and Miss Cunegund was punished for an “innocent” kiss, I was brought to believe that this family does not condone incest. It took me by surprise a little bit, because with the little knowledge that I have about interfamily relationships in history, especially with the Eastern world, people did not care about incest and actually promote and encourage it. It was seen most often in China where royalties would like the crown/title to be in the same bloodline and therefore, brothers, sisters and cousins were forced to marry each other to preserve their position in the royal court.
-Another word I had to look up is consternation, which means alarming amazement or dismay
-I was a bit confused when the generous men who treated Candide to a meal suddenly cuffed him and brought him in to be tortured. Was it because of his ignorance regarding the King?
-While reading about the spoils of war, the descriptions were extremely vivid and detailed, to the point where I could actually visualize it. The author made no point to sugarcoat it or skim past the imagery, and it was not until I read further into the reading that I realized that “ripped or torn open” actually meant rape. I thought that the bodies were actually ripped in half or cut into pieces, but seeing how Miss Cunegund survived, Pangloss was actually referring to her legs that were forced open.
-I also noticed a repetition of events in the form of characters conveniently arriving at the scene, with phrases similar to “blank just happened to be nearby” or “just at that moment blank…” which was seen most notably with the Baron in the middle of Candide & Miss Cunegund’s kiss, and with Miss Cunegund’s two lovers intruding her conversations with Candide. When I think about this in the form of a movie or play, I can see the intruding characters as a plot twist like an “uh-oh” when they step in, but when it’s in the form of writing, it seems a bit amateurish because the author did not build the plot enough for someone to just drop in – I just feel like it seems too convenient and too overplayed in this story
-As of now, Anabaptist James is my favorite character and the most generous and genuine man in the story. However, one of the things that really angers me about his character is that he’s too nice and I am extremely aggravated by his death. He’s too nice to the point where he lets someone take advantage of his niceness and allows himself to be thrown overboard…?! To that point, he was foolish enough to try to save the man who just injured him… why?? In life, having a big heart isn’t enough, you also need to have a big enough brain to care about yourself, to prioritize yourself and to know when others do not deserve your attention or time. I’ve seen a lot of characters in readings and shows that are too idiotically nice like James and I’ve been able to see them progress and grow, and learn that not everyone deserves their help. They were able to see when they were being taken advantage of, when their help isn’t necessary or appreciated, and just learn that life isn’t always about helping others – you have to learn to help yourself too. In this case, I wasn’t able to see James grow, instead, he was left helpless, drowning and left to die!! I just witnessed a great, generous, compassionate man thrown overboard by this despicable character and that has upset me greatly.
-Moving on, the character that I wished to see James grow into, I can see a little in Candide. I was proud of Candide when he thrusts his knife into the two lovers in the house because there was no better way to resolve things, and I like to see that the main character has the guts and strength to move on in life. He did what he had to do and I am supportive of his actions.
-I definitely took notice of how the perspective and narrator in each chapter changes without notice, and the author was very wise in doing so without having to declare it beforehand by starting the paragraph with imminent details that we already know about the character. For instance, in Chapter 15, the chapter started with the narrator’s grief about the death of his parents and ravishing of his sister, and with that information, the author made it obvious that the narrator is Miss Cunegund’s brother.
-Upon reaching the last chapters of the reading, I am overwhelmed by the various philosophies explored in these chapters. I am an optimistic person and would like to remain an optimistic person, therefore, I did not pay much attention to the other philosophies that strayed from positivity, most notably, I did not think too much of Martin’s comments. Yes, he’s seen the worst in life but I feel that it could have been avoided and if anything, it all happened to him for the better because he’s met Candide now and he’s been able to go on an adventure to help him reclaim his loved one. With that said, I don’t care to think too much about the negative things that has happened in this book, especially since Candide, Pangloss, Martin, Cacambo, Cunegund and the old woman were able to make it out of the miserable lives they were in and have their little farm house and garden! Compared to the hardships that they endured before, their simple life right now seems like a blessing, and a happy ending to this negative story. I’d just like to add that how Pangloss and the Baron had miraculously stayed alive after their misfortunes seem a little farfetched and if anything, why was James not allowed to have the same fate as them and allowed to be rescued by Candide?!
– This story overall kept me intrigued but is generally not what I enjoy reading and kept me outside of my comfort zone.