And at the End...

As I finished the book, the last sentence “´That´s true enough,´ said Candide; ´but we must go and work in the garden.´” (Pg. 144) stayed in my head for a long time. Why did Voltaire end the book like that? What connection does it have with the rest of the book? These were some of the questions that came to me. Then I started to analyze it and break it up into pieces, I came to the conclusion that it is the perfect ending for the book. It may be a very simple ending, but it is a very interesting one.

It is the end of an argument, but at the same time it ends the book and everything that has happened. What is the meaning of everything that has happened to Candide? To answer that question, we see different perspectives in the book. First there´s Pangloss the optimistic philosopher, and his belief that “everything is for the best.” In the other hand there´s Martin, that believes “that man was created by the forces of evil and not buy the forces of good.” (Pg. 92) In other words Martin thinks that the world and all the people in it are evil, unlike Pangloss. Also they have a very short conversation with a dervish and this is one of the few things that the man tells them “When His highness sends a ship to Egypt, do you suppose he worries whether the ship´s mice are confortable or not?” (Pg. 141) And when Pangloss asks him about the world, the origin of evils ext. he slams the door in their faces, an indirect way of saying he does not want to discuss the matter. This means that he does not believe in evil and good, he believes in God, and his plan.

It seems as though that simple-ending phrase could not answer my questions, but it does. Everything that happens to Candide and his acquaintance has no meaning. It does not matter whether he was almost killed by the inquisition of if he killed a priest and a baron. The fact that he has travel all around the world, getting mugged and being hurt, has no meaning. Every action has a reaction, every thing leads to another, but at the end, it does not matter at all. No matter what your past is, life goes on. There is a future ahead, and the past may influence it, but the world goes on. What ever happens in the past or present does not change the fact that there will always be a future. 

Introducing Candide Gump

After his visit to El Dorado, Candide left the place being the richest man in the world. He had a few sheep and precious stone worth a great deal of money. Still, he had to walk all the way to Suriname, where he was planning on departing from, to head to Venice. After some time, he started to negotiate with a captain called Mr. Vanderdendur. At first “the captain suggested ten thousand piatres, and Candide agreed without hesitation.” (Pg. 88) This made the man ask for more, since he thought that money meant nothing for Candide.  At last, Candide ended paying him thirty thousand piasters. On top of that, his sheep where loaded in another boat and “he set his sails, raised the anchor, and the wind favored him,” (Pg. 89) and Candide had to watch most of his richness get stolen away. 

This unfortunate event got me thinking about the cleverness of Candide. Even though he tries to stay loyal to Pangloss´ philosophy, the people around him sometimes influence him. He gives in to things very easily and rarely wins an argument. I have reasons to believe that Candide is either naïve or just stupid. All though that does not take away the fact that he is also a good man.

As I was reading I started thinking about the movie Forest Gump, and the main character. Gump and Candide are very similar in their intelligence level, and their situation is also comparable. Forest Gump goes to war, where he was absolutely no idea what he is doing. Candide also has a war-like experience, but his true “war” is with life. He travels all around the world, suffering misfortunes, following the girl he loves. Both have trouble with love: Forrest is never loved back and Candide has not been able to  be with the one he loves. The both of them get pushed around a lot and are always suffering misfortunes, and they don’t even understand the seriousness of them. Still, they have good intentions in every thing they do. Neither would be able to do any harm to anybody, and they always try to help every body. 

El Dorado in Pictures

1. New World: A name for the Americas, especially during the time of firstexploration and colonization of the Americas by Europeans. (dictionary.com)














2. Ninepins: A bowling game in which nine wooden pins are the target. (thefreedictionary.com)

















3. Urchins: A playful or mischievous youngster; a scamp. (thefreedictionary.com) 




























4. Yellow Mud (gold): a precious yellow metallic element, highly malleable andductile, and not subject to oxidation or corrosion. Symbol: Au; atomic weight:  196.967; atomic number:  79; specificgravity:  19.3 at 20°C. (dictionary.com) 




















5. Precipices: A very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one. (google.com) 

6. Colonnades: a series of trees planted in a long row, as on each side of adriveway or road. (dictionary.com)

7. Pure-Water: Purified water is water from any source that is physically processed to remove impurities. (google.com) 

Can Money Buy Happiness?

When Candide, the Old Lady and Lady Cunegonde reach Buenos Ayres, they meet the Governor, who instantly falls in love with Lady Cunegonde. He expresses his desire to marry her and even though Lady Cunegonde loves Candide, she hesitates and asks the Old Lady for advice.  She responds the following: “you have seventy-two quarterings to your coat of arms but not a farthing to your name; you have only yourself to blame if you do not become the wife of the greatest nobleman in South America…” (Pg. 59) By this I deduced that she was telling Lady Cunegonde to marry the governor and not Candide because he had all the money in the world while Candide had nothing. Basically she is saying that the most important thing in life is money and power, and this is not the first time she makes a comment like this one.

As I read that particular sentence, it reminded by of the song called “Price Tag” by Jessie J Ft. B.o.B. The message this song sends is the opposite of what the Old Lady is advising Lady Cunegonde to do. Using the word “price tag” to represent money, clothes, games (everything that can be bought) Jessie J urges the world to forget about all of that, and truly be happy. On the other hand, the Old Lady tells Lady Cunegonde that she would be foolish not to marry one of the richest man in the world.

During that time, and still now a days, the people that most worried about money were aristocracy or rich people. Even though they have so much, they still want more and more, and believe that money will buy them happiness. But truth be told, money can buy almost everything except happiness. This may be a stereotype, but a lot of poor people seem happier that some very rich people. They seem to truly give thanks and appreciate what they have, while rich people are constantly on the look out for more things, and don´t appreciate things like family or friendships.

Which one is Correct?

In her blog, “God vs Philosophy” Lina Merizalde states that “Never have religion and philosophy worked well together,” which is a very valid opinion. Religion can be seen as being “blind” while philosophy as having eyes wide open.

The most important figure in all of the religions is a God. The God may vary in name and form but almost all of the time, no one has ever seen him or her. An opinion about a God can even vary from people that believe in the same faith. I am sure that my catholic God is different than from my sister´s image of God. And the good thing is that no of us is wrong. Since no one has seen him/her, no one knows how he looks like or even if he exists. Also all of the stories in the bible never happened. They are an illogical explanation of something. Instead philosophy is the other way around. I looked up pholishsophy and the definition was “the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.” (google.com)Both religion and philosophy try to explain these concepts and every thing that relates to them but one of the explanations makes more sense. Philosophy uses background information to state their theories, while religions such as Chathlic religion use random stories and faith. 

Something Bad Leads to Something Good

In “How to Look at Life” Cristina Escallon talks about the importance of being positive. Her topic relates to one of my blogs, where I commented on the fact that after every negative situations Candide is some what rewarded with something good.  I agree with her that it is very important to look at life in a positive manner, basiccaly look at the glass half full. She gives some examples in the book of how that has helped Candide and also in her life, and how that has help her personally. I know that Cristina is always trying to apply this to her life, since she is a very content and hopfull person. As important as this could be, it is also very hard to accomplish. I try to llok at every situacion in a positive way and I bielive that everything happens for a reason, but its very difficult to think positively about everything. And maybe that is also good. Some times its better to accept things as they are, and Voltaire may incline himself more towards that view. Thorugh the optimistic philosophy on Dr. Pangloss and Candide, he is clearly mocking optimistic people,which I think he portrays as ignorant. 

The Mocking Characters

In his blog, Manuel Andres talks about the different characters in Candide and how they have suffered. He focuses on three main characters so far: Candide, Lady Cunegonde, and the Old Lady.  Both women share their tragic story and Candide´s misfortunes are the ones that the readers live through.  As Manuel mentions, all of them are sure that their calamities are the worst and that their lives has been the most miserable of all.

The characters are fictional, therefore so are their misfortunes, but they are based on real situations of that time period, such as the Spanish inquisition, the earthquake of Lisbon and the European aristocracies. Manuel also mentions that Voltaire uses a lot of hyperbole, and I agree with him. Voltaire exaggerates the situation and sometimes even makes it absurd, in order to mock these characters lives. It is clear that Voltaire is mocking the live style of that time period the society. Not only is he making fun of it but he is also criticizing the rulers of the time, such as the German nobility and the French aristocracy. 

"In God We Trust"

In the book, through Candide´s or other character´s actions, Voltaire mocks many aspects of society. He makes fun of the German and Spanish nobility by ironizing the beauty of their castles: “for his house had a door and several windows and his hall was actually draped with tapestry,” (Pg. 19) and making fun of their names: “Don Fernando d’Ibaraa y Figueroa y Mascarenes y Lampourdos y Souza.” Normally Spanish nobles and governors used to present themselves with many of their last names, just to show their “importance.” (Pg. 58)  Voltaire also constantly mentions philosophy and the greatness behind Pangloss, and how a bulgar had little intelligence “and little understanding of philosophy” (pg. 41) With a figure such as Pangloss and how characters often refer to the study, can suggest that Voltaire is mocking philosophers.

As I continued reading I was shocked when I read the following: “I am the daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina.”(Pg. 49) I was amazed at the fact that Voltaire was mocking religion. In the Catholic religion, abstinence is a choice that men and women make when they become priest or nuns. The Pope, being the most important figure of the religion on earth, with a daughter would be the most serious offense to God. I am a catholic and a believer in God so this may be why it shocked it but also because religion and God is what people have the most hope in. Even in the book there are examples of how even after everything goes wrong and unjust, people think it has to do with God´s will and his plan. In good or bad times most of the people relate to God. Some are true believers and others find in God a figure that gives them tranquility.

Five years ago my family and especially my mother lost a very important person to her. Even though she was crying she used to say, “It was for the better.” Today she told my sister and I to pray for her and also to ask God to take her brother as well. I knew my mother didn´t want him to die but instead rest. Rest from the cancer that was over taking his body.

So, after every bad thing that happens Candide thinks that is for the best, and until right now, so do all the characters of the book. This is exactly what happens when someone dies. As sad as someone can be, the most common comfort is that it happened for a reason and that God took him or her because something worst was going to happen. Five years ago, God took away a very important person because it was her time, but was it truly. People lay their faith in God without questioning his actions, and no matter the seriousness of the situation, God always has a reason for them.

The Optimism of Optimism

As the story goes on, Candide suffers more and more. He forcefully has to travel to Portugal where he experiences an earthquake and a near-to-death situation at the hands of an inquisitor.  He has to presence the death of his dearest philosopher, but still he does not loose his faith. Just like a good pupil, he remains loyal to Pangloss’ teachings and the whole idea of optimism. 

Every time that Candide suffers, a positive thing follows it. For example, when he escapes from the bulgars and is caught, he is going to be beheaded, but the king passes in perfect timing and forgives him. Also, after the earthquake, when he is going to be sacrificed, another earthquake saves him. Following that, a woman takes him in, feeds and cures him and reunites him with Lady Cunegonde. This got me thanking about the positive aspects of being an optimistic. In the book, it is planned like that, but it is very similar in real life.

Many people suffer disappointments, failures, bad luck, but most recover. It has to do a lot with how people face the situation. A perfect example is soccer.  A lot of things can happen in the sport but it is very important think positive. In a tournament last year we reached the finals, and it was against the team we had lost to the year before. This time we were more confident, we knew it was going to be a hard game but we were ready. As the first half ended the game was tied at nil. Entering the second half, we had a penalty ruled in favor and I was the one responsible for taking. The anxiety and nerves won the best of me and I failed, kicking to the right side of the pole. It was like the world had fallen on top of me, but the words of a team mate inspired me and in the next 10 minutes we were winning one nil. With only one minute left the other team scored. It was devastating! We suffered, we left everything on the field, and a late equalizer was ruining everything. This was the worst moment of the tournament, but we deserved it and I knew we were going to win, and 4 penalty kicks after we were champions.  Not even once did I think of giving up. For the whole duration of the tournament and final, I had faith in the team and myself, and even though we had to suffer, our positive energy and effort paid of.

Candide has that kind of thinking. He believes that everything happens for a reason, and in the end he was like a reward. He may not have a goal in mind, like we did in the tournament, but the was he faces life, makes the obstacles of it smoother. 

A Sinful Doctor Pangloss

“…when she [Lady Cunegonde]  saw Dr. Pangloss behind some bushes giving a lesson in experimental physics to her mother´s waiting-women.” (Pg. 20-21)  As I was reading Voltaire´s Candide, that sentence, especially the words “experimental physics,” stuck to me. In other words, what the narrator was describing was the act of coitus between Dr. Pangloss, the philosopher of the household, and one of the workers. The lady that watched attentively was the Baron´s daughter. Eager to learn and experience what she saw, Lady Cunegonde kissed Candide, a young lad and the main character of the book.  Due to their kiss, the Baron kicked Candide out of the house and he wondered of alone and broke. After some time and suffering, Candide reunited with his unrecognizable master, Dr. Pangloss. His body full of bruises and sores and when asked what was wrong with him, the answer was that he was infected by some sexual transmitted disease. Apparently, he got it when he was giving a lesson on “experimental physics.” With Dr. Pangloss´ philosophy in mind, one can argue that it happened for the best. But can it be a sin?

One of the ten commandments is “Thou shall not commit adultery” and even though adultery is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse,” (Google) it is similar with the situation on the book. Dr. Pangloss had sex with a woman that was not his wife, and was infected. This can be causality, but it can also be God´s way of punishing the people who have sex with people other than their husband/wife. Dr. Pangloss is portrayed as one of the greatest philosophers in all the world,  but still, he got carried away by temptation.