Reading Candide was both funny and sad at the same time.
“I waxed old in misery and disgrace, having only one – half of my posteriors, upon the point of killing myself, but still I loved life.”
I’m going to be very honest. I laughed. Then, of course, I read the rest of the sentence and I’m pretty sure my face made a very somber looking frown. Still though, she had half a butt! Once you realize, the circumstances surrounding her “posterior” are very upsetting and really pretty horrifying. It does make you think, this woman has been to Satan’s home and back and still loves life. How? You hear of people today who lost a girlfriend, or go bankrupt, and you hear them say, “I hate life, I just want to die.”
People today act like the horrors of the world are nothing, yet when something that others deal with every day, we just can’t go on. The tone Candide is set in makes me unsettled. I've watched commercials about starving children in Africa, animals beaten and left to die, people not having homes, and because I’ve seen them so much, I’m unmoved. Bored, to tell the truth. I don’t care; I just want the commercial to end because I want to watch the rest of the TV episode. Reading about something this terrible in such a tone actually makes you stop and go, wow, man, do you have any sympathy?
I liked Candide because of just that. He tells us about this old woman’s torture in life with the same tone someone would ask for coffee in.
“With all my heart….let us recommend ourselves to Providence.”
It amazes me how Candide has been through all this yet STILL believes they should rely on God, or divine providence. Wouldn’t we have given up on Providence by now? Wouldn’t we be mad at God for letting us down so much?
"Optimism – madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong."
Another thing, when Candide finally realized that Pangloss was wrong, he’s just like, whoa! Pangloss told him that the best of the world was right at his fingertips there at the castle, and that everything was done for a reason and that it all would turn out good, which obviously is not the case. How Pangloss could have taught that with a straight face I do not know, unless he truly believed it. And if he truly believed it then that means he obviously did not get out enough. The world is an ugly place and not everything is done for the greater good. Yet another thing Voltaire tells with a unmoved and stony tone.
K, There is a rather surprising kind of affirmation in Candide. The question is (regardless of Voltaire's intent), does it carry much weight after all the horrors and absurdities? I'll have you talk about this more on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I don't think I've laughed more, and then felt totally horrified and disturbed in one book, especially one so small. When it comes to infomercials I also get a little bored, but more so I just don't want to think about it. I don't want to see starving children or dying puppies on tv while I'm sitting on my comfy couch, eating cookies and watching NCIS. I think I just don't want my relaxing time to be interupted by guilt and shame for not doing something. Actually saying that mkaes me feel like a horrible person. However, I am comforted by the fact that most peole feel the same way as me. I wonder what that says about humanity? What does that say about christians wo feel the same as I do? Voltaire really knows how to make a person think . . .
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