Welcome to the Jungle, we've got satire for days

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Ladies and gentlemen, please give your attention to me!...because I am currently lodged under fallen debris and I need assistance this instant. God bless this book because this situation right here between Candide and Pangloss on page 14 in chapter 5 can be a revelation to us today. When I first read this paragraph, I laughed. To me, Candide was struggling to escape from the rubble on top of him and asking for assistance, but Pangloss just ignores him. I don't know why, but I imagined it like a cartoon. After my chuckles, I cracked my knuckles and read through it again, and believe it or not, there's more that can be said. I then thought of the story of Lazarus and the rich man and how the rich man begged Lazarus for just a drop of water for relief from the torments of Hell. Obviously, it isn't a one-for-one relation of the two, but I saw Candide as the rich man as they begged for assistance in relief; and Pangloss as Lazarus as he ignored the cry for help.
But it also got me thinking...we are in Pangloss' shoes in this scene in our day and age. There are refugees, Christians, and non-believers alike crying out for assistance all across the world. Some we will recognize, but we will never make an action until it is too late. We know the nations are crying out for the gospel, but we as comfortable Americans living in luxury don't want to leave our couches to go and do mission work. If we know the situation of Christians around the world being persecuted, why do we wait until the very end to act? There is no better time than the present, and if we continue to ignore the cries for help, the nations will "faint" just as Candide did, except there will be no resuscitation.

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  1. UnknownSeptember 26, 2017 at 12:02 AM

    I also marked this scene in my reading, however I was not so sure what to make of it. Considering the surrounding story that is unfolding around this scene, though I can see your connections being made, I'm not sure they are true representations of Voltaire's purpose behind this satirical scene. What first draws my attention is the selfishness of Pangloss in refusing to abandon his "philosophical" thought for even a minute to help his former student who is in pain. I am doubtful, though, that this is the full point of this scene that Voltaire had in mind.

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