Candide, 1-15: Straying from the Satire?
We can all see pretty clearly what our cynical friend Voltaire is trying to say with this disgusting little read. The idea of good coming from evil is hogwash, all things don't work out for the best, we'll never live in "the best of all worlds," etc. I don't entirely agree, but I would say his satire was still effective if not for one minor detail: the titular character.
Candide, at least in the first half of the book, just seems very contrary to Voltaire's satiric intentions. He's often optimistic and always hoping, and no amount of bloody violence or execution or butt-chopping ever seems to shake him. It's almost as though every time Voltaire tries to get across the idea that life will always be a painful wreck, Candide still moves ahead to make the best of all worlds from the wreck. He doesn't just collapse to waste away of disease like Pangloss or consign himself to the joint ownership of two perverts like Cunégonde. He's the one trying to rescue those people from those situations, and his persistence in the face of the abominable stuff Voltaire dreams up is actually inspiring.
If Voltaire is trying to tell us that things won't work out for good in the end, making a protagonist like Candide isn't a good start. Even if our hero is ultimately slowly eaten by birds from the stomach up (or something gruesome of that nature), Voltaire is going to have a tough time erasing the impression of Candide's soldierlike persistence from me. So far he's told me that simply having the belief that all things work out for the best, regardless of whether they do, is a laudable thing.
PS: I commented on Darby and Zelda's posts. Hooray for people who post before midnight on Monday!
Candide, at least in the first half of the book, just seems very contrary to Voltaire's satiric intentions. He's often optimistic and always hoping, and no amount of bloody violence or execution or butt-chopping ever seems to shake him. It's almost as though every time Voltaire tries to get across the idea that life will always be a painful wreck, Candide still moves ahead to make the best of all worlds from the wreck. He doesn't just collapse to waste away of disease like Pangloss or consign himself to the joint ownership of two perverts like Cunégonde. He's the one trying to rescue those people from those situations, and his persistence in the face of the abominable stuff Voltaire dreams up is actually inspiring.
If Voltaire is trying to tell us that things won't work out for good in the end, making a protagonist like Candide isn't a good start. Even if our hero is ultimately slowly eaten by birds from the stomach up (or something gruesome of that nature), Voltaire is going to have a tough time erasing the impression of Candide's soldierlike persistence from me. So far he's told me that simply having the belief that all things work out for the best, regardless of whether they do, is a laudable thing.
PS: I commented on Darby and Zelda's posts. Hooray for people who post before midnight on Monday!
I completely agree with your post. It seemed that no matter what or who presented itself/themselves in Cadide's way, he never gave up. He kept going believing firmly that there was good to come, even when it seemed that every good thing he had was ripped from him. If anything, voltaire presented a role model for persistence and confidence.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that Candide never seems to give up, I think Voltaire still proves his point with his choice of character. The way Candide reacts is almost so tragic it is laughable. Voltaire is showing Candide's ignorance of the way the real world actually works. I have a feeling that the people who first read this felt the same way. "Of course life does not work out for the best!" they would laugh, "Bad things happen because life hardly ever works out in your favor." I don't think Voltaire was trying to make Candide a role model, rather someone to be scorned for his naivete.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post and your perspective on Candide. To me, I both pity and admire Candide. I admire him for his persistence and hope (even if it is false); I pity him because he never stops to question if the philosophy of Dr. Pangloss by which he is living his life is true or not. He just accepts it as true without question. He seems courageous in his actions but is what we see as courageous about him just his blind obedience to never give up hope because he was taught that everything happens for a reason? I am not exactly sure how I feel about all of this yet, I just enjoy the realm of possibilities by which this text and questionably admirable character can be perceived. I am looking forward to tomorrow's class.
ReplyDeleteIs Candide's optimism so wrong though? Yes, optimism gets most people killed in this book, but only because it runs too far. Jaquese saves the life of a sailor who only seconds before had punched him to the deck. That sailor throws him overboard. Dr. Pangloss is killed for just talking optimistically. This is obviously absurd, but he is still a character who never gives up on the idea of god's will. Voltaire's point is that bad things ARE going to happen either way but that doesn't mean we have to be the bad thing that is going to happen. As well If we keep saying things happen for a reason when they obviously don't. We won't ever be able to escape pain. Even with that understanding we most likely won't escape it, but saying that Candide's optimism and kindness is silly, misses the point entirely. Candide lives, the devoutly optimistic don't.
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