Dialectical Journal #5: Candide

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
‘“Who’, asked Candide, ‘was the fat pig who was telling me so many bad things about the play I cried such a lot at, and about those actors I liked so much?’            ‘He is evil incarnate,’ replied the abbe. ‘He earns his living by decrying all new plays and books. He hates the up-and-coming writer, just as eunuchs hate the up-and-coming lover. He’s one of those vipers of literature that feeds off filth and venom. He’s a hack.’            ‘What do you mean by hack?’            ‘I mean’, said the abbe, ‘someone who churns out articles by the dozen, a Freron.’”	65	(R) Voltaire wrote this satire because he disagreed with the view of German philosopher, Leibnitz, that this world is the “best of all possible worlds.” He thought that statement was ludicrous, so he decided to write a book that shows just how crazy Voltaire finds that point of view to be. What I find interesting is, while writing this book that is supposed to make fun of Leibnitz’s theory, he also uses it as an opportunity to make jabs at other people. According to the back of my book, a Freron is not some kind of archaic insult. It’s actually a person. “Elie Freron (1718-76), an implacable and not always unjustified critic of Voltaire.” I think it’s funny how he took this book as an opportunity to mock all the people who annoy him. Killing two birds with one stone, I guess.

Dialectical Journal #4: Candide

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         ‘“We have the wherewithal to pay the Governor of Buenos Aires now, ‘ [Candide] said,’ if a price can be put on Miss Cunegonde, that is. Let’s head for Cayenne and take ship there and then we’ll see what kingdom we’re going to buy.”’	·         52	·         (R) Candide and his servant are leaving Eldorado. Voluntarily! The one place they weren’t kicked out of or had to flee for their lives, they choose to leave so that they can brag about the riches they got and get back Candide’s lover. I don’t understand Candide at all. He’s always talking about the “best all worlds’ but when he finally finds it, he leaves it behind.

Dialectical Journal #3: Candide

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
“‘What is this place,' said one to the other, ‘which is unknown to the rest of the world and where nature of things is so different from ours? It’s probably the place where all goes well, for there absolutely must be such a place. And whatever Maitre Pangloss might have said, I often observed that everything went rather badly in Westphalia.”’	47	(R) I’m not sure, but I think Candide may be growing as a character. At the very beginning of this book he believed his country-Westphalia-to be the best of all places and whatnot but here he admits that it is not that great. I also think that Voltaire might be trying to tell the audience something with this scene. Candide is currently in Eldorado, a fictional place, and is essentially saying that this might be the “best of all possible worlds”. Perhaps Voltaire is saying believing that this world is the best of them all as delusional as the belief that Eldorado exists? Even if there is a best of all worlds, why would this one be it? What other worlds are we comparing ours’ to? I can kind of understand why Voltaire would feel so moved to write a satire about that sentiment. This book has gotten a little better. It’s still pretty weird and creepy though. (This woman got one of her butt cheeks eaten!)

Dialectical Journal #2: Candide (ugh)

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
“’Well, here’s a fine mess’ said Cunegonde. ‘There’s no going back now. That’s us excommunicated. Our last hour has come. How is it that someone as soft-hearted as you can have ended up killing a Jew and a prelate in a matter of minutes?’           ‘My dear girl,’ replied Candide, ‘when a man’s in love, jealous, and flogged by the Inquisition, there’s no knowing what he may do’’’	22	(R) Yesterday, I was actually looking forward to reading this book. That was before I realized something very important and that, my dear English teacher, is that this book is extremely stupid. As Merrick has told me about 5 times, this book is a ”refutation of optimism”. Hence the second name, “Optimism”. I just have no idea how anyone in this book is optimistic. They all seem crazy about this world being the “best of all possible worlds”   (which i can understand why Voltaire found annoying.  Honestly, this world is pretty horrible. In fact, it would be pretty depressing to think this is the best of all possible worlds) and junk, but they don't really seem to hope for the best  Maybe it's because they believe that everything that happens IS for the best. Even though everything that you wouldn't want to happen to you has happened to the couple speaking in the passage. By this part, though, they don't seem to believe in that "everything's for the best" opinion as much by this point ("I wonder why?" this blogger sarcastically thinks). Voltaire must really hate that kind of thinking. otherwise, why waste so much time writing a really dumb (forgive me literary police!) book?

Dialectical Journal #1

I am reading Candide by Voltaire.

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
He then spoke to a man who, all on his own, had just been addressing a large gathering for a whole hour on the subject of charity. This orator scowled at him and said "What are you doing here? Do you not support a good cause?..."My friend," said the orator, "do you believe that the Pope is the Antichrist?      "I've never heard that before," replied Candide. "But whether he is or isn't, I need bread."      "You don't deserve to eat!" said the other	7	So far, this Satire has me feeling kind of confused. Candide lives in some horrible land and has already endured some horrible things and yet believes that this world is the best of all possible worlds. I think that Voltaire is using this "orator" to maybe show that all people are hypocrites? That nobody is truly wishing to practice what they preach?Or maybe this is just another unfortunate thing that happens to Candide after he leaves "the most beautiful and most agreeable of all possible castles." (pg # 3) He left only 4 pages ago and since then he has gone to hell and back- twice!!! I'm almost scared to go on.