Week 4 Analysis - Justifications in Candide...
Voltaire was a fearless writer who scoffed at any and all punishment for honestly expressing himself. This is evident in many of his works that push the boundaries or what was excepted by clergy and royal officials during his time. Unafraid to question government or the hypocrisies of absolutism and some philosophies/religion. As referenced in the history/context section of Norton Anthology's World Literature describing Voltaire, he specifically questioned ideas like Alexander Pope's Essay on Man which focuses on the idea of "whatever is, is right". This questioning is the key in understanding central themes of Voltaire's Candide. In Candide themes of inhumane treatment, questioning well accepted philosophies, religious freedom and hypocrisy run rampant throughout the work portraying them through the eyes of central protagonist (name is in the title), Candide.
Central characters Candide, his muse Conegonde and his teacher/philosopher Pangloss are introduced and immediately Pangloss' mentality is established; informing his students of the ideals Voltaire so fervently finds troubling: "It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end" (356). The idea presented by Pangloss shares many similarities to Alexander Popes "whatever is, is right"; which Voltaire disagrees with, pointing out the flaws of such train of thought through the experiences of Candide. Candide faces torture, betrayal, exile, death of friends and family only to come back to the conclusion set forth by his teacher Pangloss; accepting his fate in each scenario, believing whole hardly that what happens to him is to serve 'the best end'. This train of thought is finally questioned after Candide witnesses the death of his teacher, "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are other world's like? . . . But oh dear Pangloss, greatest of all philosophers, was it necessary for me to watch you being hanged, for no reason that I can see" (364). This quote in many ways encapsulates the entire idea of the literary work, questioning the justifications for violence, inhumane treatment because of differing thoughts or opinions and the perceived randomness of natural disasters.
Central characters Candide, his muse Conegonde and his teacher/philosopher Pangloss are introduced and immediately Pangloss' mentality is established; informing his students of the ideals Voltaire so fervently finds troubling: "It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end" (356). The idea presented by Pangloss shares many similarities to Alexander Popes "whatever is, is right"; which Voltaire disagrees with, pointing out the flaws of such train of thought through the experiences of Candide. Candide faces torture, betrayal, exile, death of friends and family only to come back to the conclusion set forth by his teacher Pangloss; accepting his fate in each scenario, believing whole hardly that what happens to him is to serve 'the best end'. This train of thought is finally questioned after Candide witnesses the death of his teacher, "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are other world's like? . . . But oh dear Pangloss, greatest of all philosophers, was it necessary for me to watch you being hanged, for no reason that I can see" (364). This quote in many ways encapsulates the entire idea of the literary work, questioning the justifications for violence, inhumane treatment because of differing thoughts or opinions and the perceived randomness of natural disasters.
Ceasar, one of the reasons I was drawn to your analysis is because I’ve noticed that your writings are so precise. I can clearly identify your subject/theme, not to mention, I usually notice something in the story that I did not before. In saying that, I do agree that Voltaire does fearlessly combat the irrational ideology that “everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end.” Do you think that this type of thinking relinquishes people from personal responsibility? Do you believe that this type of thinking is where the phrase “the means justify the end” came from? Or is this different than Dr. Pangloss philosophy?
ReplyDeleteYou stated that Candide started to question the philosophy of Dr. Pangloss after he witnessed his death, what if you added whether Candide drifted away from this type of thinking or stayed loyal to his beloved teacher? This information could provide for a stronger argument if Candide realized that what he believed was foolish through this literary piece of work.
Great analysis, I like the way you formatted this and along with the format each sentence goe into specifics so it' easy to understand what your writing about. The analysis looks strong and does well with not only using a good amount of quotes but they also stick to the point and don't stray off topic so well done there too. The only thing that I can think of suggesting after reading this is maybe include a conclusion sentence. It ends with a good explanation of a quote, but adding a sentence that sums everything up might be something worth doing in the next analysis. If a final sentence was to be added I think including the title, author, and what you liked most about the work or even what you didn't like would close well rather than closing on a quote explanation. Overall I enjoyed reading your post and I look forward to reading your next one.
ReplyDeleteHey Ceasar! I enjoyed reading your analysis of "Candide." The quote you shared from Pangloss definitely does have about the exact same message as Alexander Pope when broken down. Nice job noticing that. I also like how you pointed out the way Candide questions if everything really happened for the best and whether or not things could have turned out differently, it serves as good evidence for your analysis. I wish you would have mentioned when Candide killed the Israelite and the Inquisitor though. I felt as though you could have come up with some insightful commentary to provide regarding those events and how they cause us to further question whether or not those two murders were justified. I wonder if it would be possible to say that the two murders he committed were justified but not the hanging of Pangloss or vice versa. Or maybe that all or none were justified. Either way, your analysis was very good, Ceasar and it brought up a very important subject to look into.
ReplyDeleteHi Caesar! Oh my goodness, your first sentence was totally entrancing! I was already excited to read your post from that point. He truly did push the boundaries. I admire how risky he was with what he portrayed and I appreciate his ability to speak his mind. I also absolutely love your choice for the last quote. Like you said, it really does sum up the work. It is truly morbidly beautiful. Great job!
ReplyDelete