1. Even in a novelistic world filled with brutal acts of violence, the old lady's loss of a buttock (which is mentioned several times) seems like a particularly strange data-point. What's up with that?
2. Which characters in this novel seem fully developed with rounded and psychologically complex identities? Which characters are little more than the narratives of of the misfortune they've endured?
3. It's a comic novel. What moments, episodes, events, remarks strike you as particularly funny--and why?
4. Among the many objects of satire in this novel are (a) the novel and (b) travel narratives. How and where specifically do you see those literary forms coming under attack?
5. At every point in the novel there are circumstances that could provoke Candide to reject Pangloss's teaching. What are we to make of the fact that it is only the events of Chapter 19 that finally "plunged him into a black melancholy" and led him to the conclusion that "if all is going well, it's happending in Eldorado and not in the rest of the world" (p. 486-7)?
Deadline: Monday (4/25), start of class (whether your post counts for Week 13 or Week 14 depends on whether it appears before or after midnght on 4/23).
7 comments:
QUESTION 3
I was amused by this text from the third paragraph of Chapter 10:
‘Oh dear!’ said Candide. ‘Good Pangloss often used to argue that the fruits of the earth are common to all and that everyone has an equal right to them. According to his principles, the Franciscan ought to have left us enough money behind to finish our journey’.
When Candide finds the group has been robbed of necessary travel funds, one might anticipate his reaction be consternation. Instead, Candide frets because the thief did not follow Pangloss’ philosophy. To me, this in itself was amusing. When Voltaire couples Candide’s reaction with the idea the thief is a Franciscan, an order where the “original rule was based on complete poverty” (Oxford American Dictionary), I found myself grinning and appreciating how Voltaire lampoons the blind trust of philosophy (Candide) as well as the disingenuous declaration of adherence to a philosophy (the Franciscan).
#2:
I would say that the old woman is perhaps the only character that has opinions outside of what her circumstances would lead you to believe. The old woman points out herself that because of her suffering, she should have long ago committed suicide. However, she says, "A hundred times I wanted to kill myself, but I still loved life. This ridiculous weakness for living is perhaps one of our most fatal tendencies" (471). Here is one of the first times a character does not simply do as she should do. Candide accepts whatever new philosophy is handed to him, as well as Pangloss who always sticks to his own philosophy. The old woman, however, is actually self-aware and thoughtful on how the real world works. She says that she has actually *learned* from her experience, and that what she has learned is that humans continue living, even though life is not always for the best. You would expect someone in her circumstances to have given up, but she hasn't.
I find Candide the most amusing person in this novel. He just seems to mess up at every instance, I mean doesn't he learn anything. To me he goes from simply amusing to annoying and more of a fool who seriously needs to man up. He just never learns what is it going to take for him to realize that not everyone can be trusted. This is no longer the first time that they have robbed him. Someone should really just give him a smack upside the head; he becomes more of a liability than any other character in this novel. Not only does he endanger the old woman and Cunegonde by killing the two men with whom Cunegonde because he is unable to think calmly and think of all of the consequences that will arise from his actions. He has probably gone through more life changing events in a couple of months or days than most people go through in their lifetime, yet he still retains his childlike qualities. He is far too innocent to be able to survive on his own in the real world. In fact if it had not been for the fact that he has been guided the old women who has gone through so much and the very reliable servant named Cacambo who helped him escape when he would probably been executed for murdering Grand Inquisitor. Candide himself has no real talent and would have been dead long ago if not for the help of the more experienced people. One thing that I do find that is being used as satire is Candide's supposed loved for Cunegonde. I find it very interesting that Candide seems to take very rash actions whenever it involves being able to see Cunegonde. This appears very strange to me since all we know is that they shared a kiss and not even a passionate kiss at that. There has also been no indication that anything romantic ever happened before that kiss or the fact Cunegonde has never stated that she loves Candide. All we know is that she was happy to see him alive, not necessarily that she feels the same way for Candide that he feels for him. Also Candide takes very irresponsible actions in order to eliminate anything that stands in the way of him and Cunegonde being together. Though it is because of his actions that he always ends up ruining up any chance that he has to be in a safe place because he opts instead to always be on the travel. Though through his travels he always ends up coming up against some new troubles and finding some peace, until he ends up ruining it with his inability to think things through. Like when he decides to leave the Eldorado to search for Cunegonde, who may not even share his same feelings and due to his innocence may only be a simple crush.
The part I found to be amusing was when he shot the two monkeys who he assumed were attacking two girls only to find that he actually murdered the two girl's lovers. "God be praised, my dear Cacambo! I have delivered those two poor creatures from great peril. If it was a sin to kill an Inquisitor and a Jesuit, I've certainly atoned for it by saving the lives of those two girls...He was about to continue, but he was struck dumb when he saw the two girls throw loving arms around the two monkeys, dissolve into tears over their dead bodies, and rend the air with wails of utmost grief...Cacambo who replied 'A fine thing you've done there, master. You've just killed those two young ladies' lovers."(477) I found it funny because he was so proud of himself for "saving" those two girls only to find that he caused them immense grief due to his ignorance instead.
Question 3
We had touched on it in class on Friday, but I find all the gratuitous violence in Candide very funny. Staying true to the lighthearted tone of the text, the gore seems rather Monty Pythonesque. The passage we had discussed Friday, with the village decimated by the Buglar war, was too over-the-top for me to take it seriously. Instead, I found it ridiculous and hilarious (the result of being completely desensitized to violence through popular culture, I'm sure).
In response to question 5, it is not until chapter 19 that Candide really feels the string of pessimism. He experiences this society that is free from indoctrination, religious differences, and financial inequalities, but that is entirely separate from the rest of the world. He leaves here with many riches which quickly make him the target of all sorts of tricks. He realizes that a world like Eldorado is ideal and just about unobtainable to the rest of the world, only making it more apparent the flaws of the rest of society. Being at such a loss, Candide finally reaches the point at which his optimistic ideals break.
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