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.
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.
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