Seize the Day (Chapters 1-2)

A World Based on Appearances

Instantly after I read the first couple of lines, I realized “Seize the Day” would be a novel like no other we have read so far. The omniscient narrative voice made it a more descriptive and analytical narrative in which all points of views and circumstances could symbolize something of importance to the novel, unlike the others. Besides, this story seemed to unfold in a contemporary moment with more relatable events to present-day.

Initially we are introduced to our main character and to a trait which majorly describes his persona. “When it came to concealing his troubles, Tommy Wilhelm was not less capable than the next fellow. So at least he thought…” (Chap. 1 Pg 1) This satirical remark from the narrator allowed us to distinguish Tommy’s insecurities. Based on the fact that he is attempting to cover up his true feelings we can perceive that his not in touch with his sentiments and that probably he is a very insecure man which hides his true self. As a hook, the author takes the opportunity to mock the character and all of us who share Wilhelm’s issues given that people which relate to it, presume no one notices their effort to disguise how their feeling, even though that is not always the case. As Tommy’s typical morning carried on we get to learn more about his personality. One of the characteristics which amazed me the most was the fact that “He bought the paper and some cigars and drank a Coca-Cola or two before he went in to breakfast with his father.” (Chap. 1 Pg. 2) The fact that Wilhelm smoked cigars and drank Coca-Cola before breakfast reflects he is a very nervous and anxious person. Both of those habits demonstrated he had vices which were highly affecting him. That morning, as well, he hadn’t met his father on the fourteenth floor as he usually did. Instantaneously Tommy freaks out and has a feeling that trouble lies ahead of him clearly indicating he was an enclosed person which disliked change. Wilhelm’s morning continues as accustomed and through flashbacks presented by his thoughts we get to discover more about his peculiar personality. For instance we come across the meaningless lies he tells such as commenting that he had bought his shirt instead of saying it was a present from his boss. We also realize how lonely Tommy is. In one case he went to the movies alone because he didn’t want to play gin with the same people due to his constant loses.

Further on in the chapter the narrator begins describing an investment Wilhelm has done on the market with his neighbor Mr. Tamkin. The lust for money is clearly represented and the anxiety of its significance is present especially with Tommy’s dad which considers money a way to measure success. Due to the fact that Tommy had recently lost his job we have to opportunity to witness their weird and mistreating relationship in which Mr. Adler, Tommy’s dad, demonstrated his shame and disillusion while Tommy accumulates rage and searches for acceptance. By comparing both father and son last-names we can easily figure out that something has been altered. I first imagined that Tommy had decided to change it due to the hatred towards his father but as we advance in the narrative we find out it was in his attempt of becoming an actor.

When adding up all the factors presented, I assumed this novel would highly concentrate on appearances, superficiality and materialism. The constant concentration in the cloth their wearing, the importance given to money and other factors signify a major theme “But how we love looking fine in the eyes of the world…” (Chap. 1 Pg10-11) By the end of the second chapter we see Tommy along with the other characters introduced as shallow but Tommy redeems himself when he admits to having made mistakes in his live, in other words, he takes credit for his own failings. "For all the time I have wasted I am very sorry," (Chap. 1 Pg. 22)

An attention-grabbing fact which I found through the first two chapters was the constant apparition of cigars and water. I believe cigars represent a harmful vice of which Tommy has become obsessed with, slowly it harms him inside just as the fact of hiding his feelings and wanting to be accepted so bad slowly kills him inside. Concerning water I could only relate to the fact that he was drowning metaphorically meaning he is being suffocated by his own self and the society which surrounds him. May the two symbols have significance or are they just plain coincidence? Will Tommy begin to change and retain himself from destructive habits and accept himself or will he allow society to bring him down?

Candide (Chapters 20-30)

This final section of the novel begins when Martin and Candide sight the coast of France and begin speaking harshly about the country. Martin mentions how the people were fools, too subtle, stupid, and pretended to be witty. He remarks “…wherever you go in France, you will find that their three chief occupations are making love, backbiting, and talking nonsense.” (Chap. 21 Pg. 94) Indeed by comprehending Martins pessimistic attitude we could predict that that would be said about any place he visited, but what amazed me about this statement was the fact that the author of the novel was born in Paris and lived great amounts of his life in it. Why would Voltaire be so unsympathetic when speaking about his native country? Had he experienced an atrocious event? Later on in the story we encounter a similar contradiction when the novelist refers to England. In his life he had clearly communicated that the British government and culture were the most progressive and admirable, even how in Candide he demonstrates an admiral’s execution for an irrelevant motive. Perhaps Voltaire’s purpose was to convey the fact that even the most appreciable places, events, and people had imperfections, thus life was practically miserable.

Further on in the novel Candide initiates to become unsatisfied after traveling basically around the world after a women which has become nearly unreachable. He starts questioning the world and its purpose thus asks Martin, “Do you think that men have always massacred each other, as they do to-day, that they have always been false, cozening, faithless, ungrateful…” (Chap. 21 Pg. 96) Martin answers back with a question that goes, “Do you think that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they could find them?” (Chap. 21 Pg. 96) Off course that the natural instinct of an animal is to attack, trap and devour its prey for purposes of survival of itself and its offspring, but are we considered animals? Ounce more I believe Voltaire is somehow positioning the human race as a salvage beast that acts like animals, but indeed can we be considered animals based on our behaviors? I consider that the natural instinct of an animal or human is selfish and based on its own survival therefore it can’t be established whether humans have acted this way in the past or if they will in the future, it can only be recognized that it’s a natural egotistical instinct that we all posses, the real question lays on whether we will be able to control it.

Later on in the narrative I came against a topic which I’ve been arguing along the blogs which revolves around the paper the women played in the novel. Before hand I had mentioned that women were usually seen as objects and were mistreated and unappreciated. On chapter XXII the character of a seductive and alluring woman named the Marchioness is introduced. “Your passion for her started from the moment you picked up her handkerchief. Be so good as to pick up my garter.” (Chap.22 Pg. 105) After dinner she takes Candide to a private room where she uses her seductive powers to attract and lure men and extract from them whatever she desires, on this case she was handed two enormous diamonds which she noticed on Candide’s hand.

All along the novel the characters, their mistakes and their journeys make up an allegory that is used by Voltaire to symbolize the idea of finding a balance between pessimism and optimism. To enhance this message he uses traits on each of the characters to represent each of their personalities. The characters faults, the voyages they overtake and the individual they expose to be, reveal a feature which allows us to understand an overall significance. For instance Pangloss philosophies demonstrate him as an optimistic character always hopping for the best and believing everything indeed is for a good purpose since the world was created by a perfect being. On the other hand we come across Martin, another philosopher with complete different theories. Martin’s philosophies confirmed he was a pessimistic individual given that he believed everyone lived unhappily and that in spite of having wealth such as Prococurante, everyone grew to be discontented. To sum up the novels metaphor it can be said “When man was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put there to dress it and keep it, to work in fact; which proves that man was not born into an easy life.” (Chap. 3o Pg. 143) Meaning that malice and sin will take place such as that committed by Adam and Eve, but to make life bearable one must accommodate to the circumstances, labor and tolerate them.

Candide (Chapters 16-20)

Chapter sixteen continues with the adventurous journey of Candide and his servant after leaving Cunégonde and the old lady behind. After crossing the frontier they come upon to ladies being chased by monkeys. To my amazement after Candide kills the monkeys the ladies mourn over their deaths. Why could they possibly be whipping over the decease of two creatures that were chasing them? Do monkeys have significance or symbolism to their culture? To my astonishment Cacambo replied, “Why should you find it so strange that in some parts of the world monkeys obtain ladies favours? They are partly human, just as I am partly Spanish?” (Chap. 16 Pg. 70) After reading this remark I found the comparison ridiculous, the fact that Cacambo was partly Spanish was a matter completely different from that of a monkey being partly human. Even though the human race has been believed to evolve from monkeys I consider them to be animals and regard it as immoral and senseless for a woman to relate in such an intimate way with an animal. Perhaps Voltaire intended to mock and demean the human race by comparing it to an undeveloped and salvage creature.

Next I came up with a sentence which I believe reflects the occurrences of the entire novel. “In fact, the laws of nature teach us to kill our fellow creatures, and that is what happens in every corner of earth.” (Chap. 16 Pg. 71) I consider it mirrors the incidents of the novel given that it states that the misfortunes and violence taking place on earth are due to the fact that we were brought to the planet and our natural reactions are usually selfish and it’s within our nature to battle against others. Along the novel we constantly find vicious encounters among the characters, for instance we can take into account the old ladies past, Cunégondes abuse by soldiers, the Anabaptists death and the constant wars between Bulgars and Abars.

When reaching Oreillons territory Cacambo and Candide become prisoners soon to be eaten, but after the truth is revealed they are treated with politeness. “They offered them girls, gave them refreshments, and led them back to the borders…” (Chap. 16 Pg. 72) This declaration reminded me of my past blog were I mentioned how women were treated abusively. This statement reaffirms my believe, since it reveals that women were viewed as objects, inclusively they were used in offerings for courtesy.

Cacambo and Candide continue through their voyage in search of a way to reunite with Cunégonde. In their journey they come across a placed called Eldorado were they come to stay for a couple of weeks. Among this civilization they come to see a different face to the world. Individuals in this place tend to avoid materialism, prisons, and court cases among others, “It is probably the country where all goes well; for there must obviously be some such place.” (Chap. 17 Pg. 77) Candides overview of this civilization is a sign of his optimism. Even though he has gone through many misfortunes and has had to confront unbearable aspects of life he still believes there is a place in the world where all goes well. In this hidden society supposedly everyone remains happy, “With the agreement of the whole nation, they made a law that no inhabitant should ever leave our little kingdom; and that is how our innocence and happiness have been preserved.” (Chap. 18 Pg. 78) This quote reminded me of Candides past. Before being expelled from Thunder-ten-tronckhs castle, Candide had not experienced what the real world was actually about. He lived with ignorance and unawareness of the true facts going on, and assumed life was exactly as he was taught by Pangloss. Fortunately or unfortunately when being barred from the mansion and experiencing life’s disgraces he understood the worlds truth, but before hand he lived happily among the nobility of Westphalia.


Coming close to the end of this section I noticed that in Eldorado there was a constant appearance of humming birds. For instance the old man’s seat was made from humming bird feathers, they were dressed with humming bird garments to meet the king and in the banquet with him they were served twenty humming birds on a platter. I found it unusual due to the fact that humming birds are really small, rare and fast animals. Is it a coincidence that this animal is constantly mentioned or does it symbolize something?

Along theses chapters I also found a representation of what I believe can come to be the theme of the novel. It stated, “I realise that my country is not much to boast of, but a man should be satisfied with what works moderately.” (Chap. 18 Pg. 83) I interpret this phrase as conforming to what one has, not being too optimistic and expecting too much nor being too pessimistic and anticipating for the worst. A balance must be found were you can settle and conform to what you have. The key to happiness as the book states is complying to yourself, you belongings and your surroundings.

Candide (Chapters 4-9) (Chapters 10-15)

Chapters 4-9

When beginning to read the next couple of chapters I commenced to notice a change on the events and circumstances taking place. All along I had noticed that Candide was lacking in personal opinion due to the fact that he had no experience and no base of comparison, therefore he believed everything he was taught. After being kicked out of the castle he has the opportunity to confront the real world and have his own perspective on life. Soon he becomes aware of all the devastation and cruelty taking place, and his theory on “the perfect world” starts to turn aside. Unfortunately with the reappearance of Pangloss, the progress he had achieves becomes slightly stuck, and Candide begins doubting and contradicting his theory’s against those of Pangloss.

When Pangloss and Candide reunited the philosopher tells him about the misfortune that fell upon Cunégonde, the king, himself and everyone back in the castle. Astounded by the horrible events that took place Candide faints twice, he was devastated by the fact that someone which he considered “…a pearl among women, the masterpiece of nature.” (Chap. 4 Pg. 29) had been so violently treated. It amazed me how he refers to someone which he had kissed ounce as a masterpiece. Clearly noble women were highly respected and admired, and Cunégondes seductive beauty conquered Candide’s heart to a greater extent of that stated in the novel.

When Pangloss finished telling the tragic story he remarked, “But we have been amply avenged, for the Abars did just the same in a neighboring estate which belonged to a Bulgar nobleman.” (Chap. 4 Pg. 28) Based on Pangloss theory everything happened for the best in the best of all worlds, but how could such a catastrophic event be beneficial? The philosopher’s statement included revenge and tragedy for not only the Abars but the Bulgars too. Nothing advantageous was being brought out by this violence, nothing positive would further on occur based on this event. This comes to prove that perhaps the natural world was created perfectly and that humans indeed as well could be created ideally, but the evolution of the human race on the planet had come to show otherwise and not all that took place would lead to a greater good.

As I continued reading I came up with a statement to which I believe everyone can relate, “…love, the comforter of humanity, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all living beings; tender love!” (Chap. 4 Pg. 29) I believe love is the base of life. Our everyday purpose and everything we do is based upon the search or use of love. Love is what keeps us going everyday and preserves human life. Regrettably there are many times in which we are found in the absence of love, therefore cruelty and violence take place such as in the world Voltaire is presenting.

“Men must have somewhat altered the course of nature; for they were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them twenty-four pounders of bayonets, yet they have made themselves bayonets and guns to destroy each other. “(Chap. 4 Pg. 31) stated James the Anabaptist, which contradicted Pangloss theory. Possibly we were brought into the world as flawless beings, but clearly as James states we have evolved into sinners. Humanity has created its own violence and developed ways to propagate it throughout the years; we have become our own enemy.

As the novel develops we can evidently see that the Anabaptist is portrayed as a wise being that comprehends and has actual theories about life. He serves for the good of everyone, inclusively the sailor which struck him. After being punched by a sailor he returns to help him, risking his life and accidently falling into the water. As Candide attempted to help him “… Pangloss stopped him by proving that Lisbon harbor was made on purpose for this Anabaptist to drown there.” (Chap. 5 Pg. 33) Evidently Voltaire is mocking religion and philosophers. The Anabaptist, which wasn’t catholic, indeed is a noble being, wise and helpful to human kind was left to drown based on Pangloss idiotic philosophies.

Further on horrible accident continue to happen, among them an earthquake which ended the lives of thirty thousand men, women and children, the Anabaptists death, and the destruction of Lisbon among others. Along with these events the University of Coimbra announced a sacrificial ritual to prevent approximating earthquakes. “…the Basque and the two men who refused to eat bacon were burnt; and Pangloss was hanged… The same day another earthquake occurred and caused tremendous havoc.” (Chap. 6 Pg. 37) Consequently Candide was left alone, the Anabaptist had drowned, Pangloss was hanged, and Cunégonde was disemboweled by soldiers. What greater good had come from all of this? The sacrifices had been useless and besides the destruction caused to the port, three life’s had been ended pointlessly. Finally Candide was begging to realize the reality of the world, the violence and the imperfection of it.

The section ends again recurring to love. After Candide reunites with Cunégonde and they share their stories Candide kills Cunégondes master as a result forcing them to leave. As I mentioned before, love is the center of the universe and what preserves life. It must always be present among us to prevent violence, but in this case violence was present in the name of love contradicting my initial prediction. Off course that loves will always be `present among humanity causing both harmony and destruction. So possibly if we were brought to the world as ideal beings by a perfect God are we supposed not to love to live in peace? Voltaire expresses a mixture of all the elements of life such as religion, love, and philosophy and through satire attempts to ridicule them and show their reality.

Chapters 10-15

Along the following chapters I found several occasions in which Voltaire used satire to mock both the nobility as well as the catholic religion, but this time the development of the novel had changed drastically. Candide, Cunégonde and the old lady are no longer victims of the world’s violence but they have become included in it. As Candide experiences more of the real life he becomes involved in what the world is really made up of. He has become a murder avoiding his actions and running away along with his lover.

At the beginning we can still see grasps of Pangloss theories left in Candide. Although he has now faced reality and majorly doubts Pangloss theory, Candid still idolizes his lifelong teacher and still recurs to his lessons. For instance after escaping the Inquisitor, Cunégonde whines about the loss of her diamonds and moidores , Candide responds, “Our excellent Pangloss often proved to me, with a sigh, that worldly goods are common to all men, and that everyone has an equal right to them.” (Chap. 10 Pg. 47) Although Candid has a better understanding of the worlds true circumstances, he still refers to nonsense such as believing that everyone has the same rights over natural goods. Even though most of the planet resources can be owned by anyone, during the past the church was dominant over the land and rich resources were owned only by the nobility, therefore although they were common, only aristocracy possessed them.

On the other hand we also see statements mentioned by Candide which lead us to believe he has left Pangloss theories behind. In this case Candide said to his companions, “We are going to a different world, and I expect it is the one were all goes well, for I must admit that regrettable things happen in this world of ours, moral and physical acts that one can not approve of.” (Chap. 10 Pg. 48) Finally, throughout his experiences, he has been able to realize that all the misfortunes taking place are not for the best. The tragedies, violence and murders that the three character shad to go through were for no greater good or positive purpose. Indeed Candide has begun to recognize the devastation and hypocrisy of the institution and leaders found on earth.

The characters continue in their voyage towards Cadiz complaining and whimpering about their unfortunate affairs. Cunégonde and Abigail seem to collide on eachs hardships and which were worse, Cunégonde responds, “…unless you have been ravished by two Bulgars, had two stabs in your belly, and two of your country houses demolished; unless you have had two mothers and two fathers butchered before your eyes, and beheld two of your lovers flogged at an auto-da-fé, I don’t how you can rival me, especially as I am a barons daughter with seventy-two quartering’s in my coat of arms…” (Chap. 10 Pg. 48-49) This quote allows us to see mainly all the devastation that had occurred, all the deaths and all the cruelty that was taking place. From Voltaire’s point of view it is clearly represented a mockery towards the aristocracy that due to the fact that she had a certain number of quartering’s and was a baron’s daughter nothing of this sort was supposed to happen to her. Are poor and lower class people the only ones who must suffer? Can’t a baron or inclusively a king have misfortunes? Abigail replied by telling Candide and Cunégonde about her past and all the bad luck and brutality she had gone through and when doing so she mentioned she was the daughter of Pope Urban X and Princess of Palestrina. “Having heard the old woman’s story, the lovely Cunégonde began to pay her respect due to a person of her rank and quality.” (Chap. 13 Pg. 58) It is absurd that Cunégonde would be paying her respect to the old women due to her rank not because of her strength and the troublesome past which she overcame. Clearly Voltaire despised the superficiality of the nobility and the class discrimination.

Along these chapters I also found Voltaire’s way of ridiculing sex and women. Abigail tells her companions of the time when she came against pirates. She mentioned “… what surprised me more was that they put their fingers into a place where we women normally admit nothing but a syringe-tube. These seem to me an unusual custom, but that is how we regard everything new when we first leave our native country.” (Chap. 11 Pg. 51) The ignorance of the women in a way saved them from a greater trauma, but they were being sexually abused and didn’t even know about it. It reflects women’s lack of knowledge and ignorance towards subjects other than manners and servitude. Females were treated as objects as we can see from the rest of the novel; they were sold and bought, sexually abused and emotionally mistreated. On the other hand Voltaire also demonstrates women’s seductive and physical powers for instance Abigail’s beauty when young that allowed her to manipulate men and saved her from for instance being ripped by limbs such as her mother, instead she was protected by the captain that considered her the most beautiful and wanted to keep her.

Along these chapters Voltaire uses a lot of satire to mock Africans, women, aristocracy, popes and sexuality among others. He mentions absurdities such as a priest which they considered compassionate for persuading soldiers not to eat them whole, but only one of their buttocks. Voltaire places the characters in situations of complete devastation and relates them to ridiculous character to emphasize the hypocrisy of society.