Is such a hopeful, forward-looking view in fact what Voltaire seems to be suggesting through Candide?
What separates the phlegmatic cynicism of Martin or the old lady from more modern forms of anomie?
What (if any) limitations are there to the world-view presented in the conclusion to Candide?
What would you have liked to say, ask, suggest in class today if you had had the opportunity?
Deadline: Monday (5/2), start of class. Whether your post counts for Week 14 or Week 15 depends on which side of midnight Saturday it appears.
9 comments:
I would have liked to ask what the class thought of what would have become of Miss Cunegonde if Candide did not try so hard to be with her? Does the class think that she would have been better off marrying someone else or would she be worse off?
We did not discuss Candide and Martin's encounter with Pococurante, but I think that episode presents an interesting contrast with the final chapter. The dervish's garden at the end of the story is the antithesis of Pococruante's garden and reinforces Voltaire's advocacy for "cultivating one's garden" rather than simply spending all of one's time theorizing and speculating. Whereas the dervish's land is "but twenty acres," (512) Pococurante's is "well laid out and embellished with beautiful marble statues, while the place itself was a fie piece of architecture" (500). The dervish's garden may be modest in comparison to Pococurante's, but unlike Senator, the dervish is able to avoid the "three great evils: boredom, vice, and need" (512). In contrast to the wealthy, self-sufficient Senator, the dervish upholds familial duties.
Exemption from manual labor provides Pococurante with enough leisure to enjoy to concertos and Classical literature. Yet his leisurely pursuits lead Pococurante to a state of idleness and perpetual dissatisfaction. He thinks the Iliad, which Candide enjoys, is "deadly boring" (501) and disparages John Milton as a "crude imitator of the Greeks" (502). Without some sort of physically productive activity Pococurante "is sated on everything he owns" (503) and finds it difficult to enjoy life. The story does not entirely reject intellectual interests, but it suggests that a relatively satisfactory life requires activity that serves one's family or community.
I definitely agreed with the idea that a better world can be achieved through "thinking for oneself" (aka being Enlightened). I think a view that all is for the best or all is for the worst does not necessarily imply that people are fated for certain destinies but rather people are able to struggle and achieve. Although a pessimistic view would make the achievement of a better world seem impossible, anything even slightly more optimistic than an absolutely cynical world would allow that through work, achievements can be made. I think we kind of see this attitude in the old lady who, despite all her hardship, reached the end of the story alive at least. It was by her effort and her work that she was able to counteract any cynical tendencies the world imposes on its inhabitants. So at the end we see that Candide realizes that whether the world is inherently evil or not, we must work - strive to some goal that is for the better.
I think both optimists and pessimists fail to think for themselves. They let their philosophy dictate what they think. When the optimist looks at that half glass of water, his philosophy tells him the glass can be filled. The pessimist sees the same half glass of water and sees it as almost gone. The reality is the glass holds some water. More details are needed to make an appraisal of the situation. To me, the garden is where the rest of the story happens.
I think the story does end optimistically. We discussed this at length last Wednesday when we did the Martin/Pangloss activity, where someone pointed out that while one can argue over whether this is the best or worst of possible worlds, it's best to not only argue, but to actually do something. I think it's interesting that what many of were thinking (as evidenced by how many people were standing in the middle of the spectrum), this is eventually the conclusion that Voltaire left us with when Candide decides that it doesn't matter, he still has to work and live in this world. However, Voltaire clearly also thinks that philosophizing is necessary and worthwhile. Candide at the beginning of the book is simple and seems to just be a vessel that is filled up with the ideas presented to him. At the end of the book, he has learned to look at both sides of the argument, both Pangloss's and Martin's, and come to his own conclusions.
I think that thinking for yourself and laughing at oneself are two of the most crucial parts to a successful and meaningful life. We can can make things better. Things do happen even if we try and prevent them, but that doesn't mean they have to happen in the worst possible way. I think Voltaire does use Candide to portray the message that we should forward to the future because it will be even better than it is now.
I would like to know whether there have been any alternative endings to the story written after this was published.
Voltaire himself was, despite incredible cynicism, constantly fighting for the reform of centuries-old religious and judicial practices in his home country of France. Despite his harsh assessment of the world throughout Candide, he still is quite forward-looking.
I agree that things are better when individuals think for themselves rather than ignorantly follow some non-sense philosophy, but I don't know if that's enough for Voltaire. Bad things happen to characters whether or not it is at the hands of an immoral character or corrupt philosophy, and as earlier mentioned, we observe that man even in its purest form is still corrupt. I believe that Voltaire would say that the world is full of pain and hardship, and men are by nature selfish and prone to harming one another, but a certain self awareness and realism would make things easier to bare and probably make the world a little bit less oppressive.
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