1.The Declaration of indepence was an important document in America’s history. How did the enlightenment and writers like Kant and Voltaire influence the writers of the declation?
2. Throughout this semeseter we approached and read works of literarture containing satire. Explain how it plays a key role in the works we read and how it makes the pieces more interesting.
Reading Herman Melvin’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” was pretty entertaining. Although strange, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Bartleby. After all, he inf act die unhappy. He was most certainly depressed. There was something seriously wrong with the dude, if he refused even to eat. Personally I find mental illness, fascinating. Although a cruel reality, it’s interesting to see where a person’s mind can go and linger.
Humanity is funny because its the only species that causes other humans to grow weary and insane. Bartleby, once a goodworker, slowly fell deeper and deeper into a depressing state. Soon he was so unhappy that his actions forced the narrator to move his business. Then after that, he was taken to a mental institution because he didn’t move from the room where he had once worked. There he even refused food, and died. What led Bartleby to such madness? Getting fired from a Dead letter office. Can getting fired really have such an effect on a person? Kind of insane.
Sad story. 🙁
Growth can be a slow and tedious process. Voltaire’s “Candide” is not just a satirical commentary on humanity, but a piece that can be interpreted as a story of change and progress. Throughout the piece the main character, Candide, is faced with the numerous challenges. These events force Candide to reevaluate his life and change his perspective on reality. The beauty of “Candide” is its accessibility. It is an easy story to read with deep meanings hidden within.
One message Voltaire conveys in his piece is the importance of self improvement. If you wish to see change in this world, you must first seek it within yourself. Candide figures this to be true only at the end of the novel, after breaking out of philosophical prison he was brought into by Pangloss, his childhood tutor. Finally after all the misfortunes and mishaps, Candide began to think for himself, and therefore he decided to make his own decision to cultivate a farm, and to live off the land. No longer a slave to someone else’s logic, Voltaire leaves us hoping that we too, will make our own decisions, and live according our own philosophy, not one given to us by someone else.