The World keeps Spinning Around

Since I started reading the book, I predicted that Lady Cunégdone and Candide were going to end up together. They had been separated in all the ways you can imagine, but somehow fate brought them back to each other’s arms. What most surprised me of the book was when Candide, luckily, meats once again with the Baron and Pangloss. The first time I read that paragraph I believed I had misunderstood and had to re-read it again, I couldn’t believe that they were still alive! In my opinion, this was my favorite part of the book because I didn’t expect it. I kept expecting for bad things to happen to Candide, but never that he could reunite with his most loved ones. As I came to the end of the book and finished reading the last sentence “´That´s true enough,´ said Candide; ´but we must go and work in the garden.´” (Pg. 144), I ended up having more questions. What is the hidden message?

I spent a few minutes analyzing this sentence and discovered that it fitted perfectly the book, ending the different arguments of the ideologies and philosophies that we saw throughout the book. Candide had passed through a lot and was tired of all the arguing. Pangloss was still firm with his philosophy that “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds” while Martin was the only realistic that accepted the ugly truth and thought “that man was created by the forces of evil and not by the forces of good.” (Pg. 92) We can see they have complete opposite perceptions, meaning that they are never going to agree on the same decisions. When they started asking Candide about his point of view, he just ignores them and tells them that they should go work on the garden. In other words saying that he no longer cares and that he just wants to keep moving on with his life. He is pretty smart because he knows that this discussion could go on for years. What Candide has learned from his journey, it’s that life goes on. No matter what happens and how many doors are slammed at your face, there’s always a way out, which probably happened for the best. With this sentence we can also see how careless Candide has become, he wants to leave everything in the past and just wait patiencly for the future. Everything is meaningless for Candide, even the fact that he traveled all around the world, became rich, was robbed and even killed innocent people for the women he loves. Why would he want to forget all of his adventurous, that not everyone can accomplish? The only thing he is sure about is that no matter what your past was, you would always have a future because the world keeps spinning around. I would had expected for Candide to be more happy and excited to see Lady Cunégdone again, why wasn't he? From my point of view I believe that he lost some interested the moment that he realized that she wasn't as pretty as before. If this was the case then it wasn't true love and he probably fought for a women he didn't really like. Could this be why he became so careless and is willing to leave everything behind?

One Door Closes and a New One Opens

As I have been reading Candide I realized that a lot of misfortunes have happened to him. He has been expelled from his city, torture, seen his loved ones day, and killed four men for loving the wrong women. These events leave you speechless and are the ones that make you want to continue reading. It’s not only the irony and satire that captivates the readers attention, but the unexpected events.

One would have thought that by now Candide would have paid his consequences for his actions. Instead he always finds his way out of his troubles. A clear example of this is when he kills his brother-in-law and it is thanks to this act that the Oreillons grant him his freedom. He would had probably been killed and eaten by them if he wouldn’t have killed the Baron. Is it fair for him to kill innocent people and still benefit from it?

“…my master, he is so far from being a Jesuit that he has just killed one and carried off his spoils: that is how you came to be mistaken.” (Pg.71)

How come nothing bad ever happens to him? Isn’t it time for karma to do its job? Candide’s “luck” is a clear example of how good things also happens to bad people and how something bad always brings something good. In many occasions I have heard people say that as one door closes, a new one opens. Meaning that things happen for a reason and possible for the best. In a way I agree with Pangloss philosophy, but I believe that there’s always a way to change things and that one shouldn’t give up because “it happened for the best.”

Life is always full of ups and downs. Obstacles and challenges are meant for you to learn from your mistakes and for you to grow as a person, while the ups can be seen as rewards that are giving for being able to accomplish all obstacles in life. Apparently, Candide has successfully passed all tests in life because somehow he is still alive and always meets a new person that is willing to help him. Still neither Candide nor Cacambo are grateful with life and believe that God is showing no mercy on them.

“Perhaps God will have pity on us in the end.” (Pg.73)

How can they say that God has no pity on them when He has forgiven them for all their bad actions and is still giving them tons of second chances? For how much longer is he going to have so much luck?

The Price of Love

Throughout the book we have seen how Cunégonde and Candide always find a way to end up in each other’s arms. They have received a lot of signals of how their destiny is to be apart from each other. Still, Candide risks everything he has to kiss her one more time and have her by his side. I have noticed that Candide loves Cunégonde more than what she loves him. He has been torture, punished for loving the wrong person and he has taken away four lives just for one. While he has been giving up all he has, Cunégonde is just thinking about herself. A clear example of this is when they reach Buenos Ayres and the Governor declares his passion to her and asks her to marry him.

“He declared his passion to her and swore that he would marry her the following day with the Churchs blessing or without, just as a Lady of such charming appearance should prefer.” (Pg.59)

One would have thought that Cunégonde would had immediately said no, since you can’t marry the man that you don’t love. Instead she asked for a few minutes to think about it and she went running to the old women for advice. Without thinking it twice the old women said that the best decision that she could make, at this time, was to marry him. After everything she’s been through, losing her family and being raped, she deserves to have a happy ending.

“I confess that, if I were in your place, I should have no hesitation in marrying the Governor and making the captains’ fortune.” (Pg.60)

She is letting another man buy her “happiness”, but is she really going to be happy? How can she let Candide sacrifice everything for her, when is not willing to do the same in return? I believe Candide deserves to know the truth and this way try to do the things for him and not for her. If I was Cunégonde, I would feel very guilty because it’s not fair for someone to go so far in love, when one is willing to leave him and marry another man that will give her everything she have always wanted.

I realized that Candide wasn’t aware of this situation when he had to escape Buenos Ayres and leave her behind.
“…to have to leave you just when the Governor had promised to come to our wedding! What’s to become of you, Cunégonde, now I have brought you so far from home?” (Pg.61) We can see Voltaire’s irony here, because Candide is still positive that Cunégonde will give up anything to kiss him one more time, while she is secretly considering marrying the Governor.

Once again they have been forced apart, but will love find its way back?

Bright and Dark Days

In my sixteen years of life, I have learned that there are going to be good and bad days. We are always going to have obstacles and challenges, ups and downs. The important thing, in my opinion, is to never give up a

nd always have faith. In order for this to happen one has to be optimistic. For me it’s hard to be optimistic, because I rather accept the harsh truth than avoid it by telling my self that everything is going to be all right. Dr. Pangloss, the greatest philosopher in Westphalia, truly believes that men live in “the best of all possible worlds.” James, Candide, and Pangloss survive from a storm but right after that they are hit be an earthquake. “Thirty thousand men, women and children were crushed to death under the ruins.” (Pg. 33) After seeing so many people die in front of you, you start losing hope and only start thinking on the worse. At this moment Candide was desperate since they were ruins and had nothing to eat. Even at this momentof agony and desperation, Panglass stayed positive by seeing the cup half full. “…is a manifestation of the rightness of things, since if there is a volcano at Lisbon it could not be anywhere else. For it is impossible for things not to be where they are, because everything is for the best.” (Pg. 35) How could he be so optimistic, standing on a ruined city? How is he able to maintain hope, while the others are desperate and believe that there’s a better world than this?

In life there are always going to be rough paths, but one has to learn to accept them and try to make the best out of it. Once something happens you have to accept it, you can try to change it but you can’t make it disappear. I believe that every time one door is closed a new one is opened. Bad things come with good things as well. Isn’t there always a rainbow after a storm? I believe that Pangloss is a good role model, because no matter the circumstances, he is always making the best out of it. If we could learn to live life like him we will be less stressed out and maybe be able to solve the problems easier. At the same time I don’t believe that one should always be optimistic, because at one time or another you aregoingto have to accept the ugly truth and you are not going to be able to change even though you are trying the best to accomplish it. Because good things always come to an end, don’t they?

Does Love have a Limit?

“She quite innocently kissed hers with singular grace and ardour. Their lips met, their eyes flashed, their knees trembled, and their hands would not keep still.” (Pg. 21) From this description we can see that Candide and Lady Cunégonde were deeply in love and this was their way of showing it. It didn’t take long for someone to ruin this marvelous moment. The Baron kicked him out and so he wondered off alone. From that day on things only got worse. He was punished and torture by the Bulgars and if it weren’t for the King, that was luckily walking pass them, he would had been beheaded. We later learn that the King only saved him because he needed more men for the war. “The course had been set for the third heat, but Candide could endure no more and begged them to do him the kindness of beheading him instead.” (Pg. 24) All of these suffering are due to the women he loves. The moment he kissed her, he knew that he was risking a lot, but he still did. He is so deeply in love that he was willing to die for her.
At this point is when I start to disagree. I don’t believe that one should risk everything one has because you don’t know if the person you love is willing to do the same in return. What if Lady Cunégonde feelings toward him aren’t as strong? Would Candide die for nothing? Would he suffer for nothing? People’s feelings are always changing: in one minute they are telling you that they love you and in the next they disappear from your life without any explanation. One has to be completely sure that the person you love loves you back before you risk everything for them. If things goes as planned you would have lost many things but not the women/men that you love. But if the opposite occurs you will be left with nothing.

In different occasions I have seen how people are willing to risk everything for that one person they love. Is this really worth it? Does true love really exist? Even though one should be careful with each other’s feelings I do believe in love. It is hard to find, but not impossible. Imagine a world without love. After all, love is what connects us with everyone else and it brings a purpose in life. As Pangloss said “love, the comforter of humanity, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all living beings; tender love!” (Pg. 29)

Judging by the Cover

By just looking at the title and cover page of Candide, I immediately believed that I wasn’t going to like it. As I started reading the first chapters I realized that the love story of Candide and Lady Cunégonde was going to be interesting and like any other. Still, this wasn’t what caught my attention, but what it did was the different form of writing of Voltaire. We can see how he uses the four elements of satire: irony, hyperbole, absurdity, and target since the beginning of the book. This makes a greater impact on the reader since you are never sure if the author is being sarcastic or serious. Even though this hooks more the reader, it also creates more confusion.

“Since the King was a man of great insight, he recognized from what he was told about Candide that here was a young philosopher utterly ignorant of the way of the world, and granted him a pardon, an exercise of mercy which will be praised in every newspaper and in every age.” (Pg. 24)

The first thought that came to my mind after reading this sentence was that the King was a good man and was willing to forgive and give second chances. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Voltaire was being sarcastic, since after a few days Candide was sent into battle. So the King saved his life, but once again took it away the moment he enter war with King of the Abars. After all, it wasn’t an action of good deed because he knew that he needed men for the battle and that he will eventually die. This is a good example of how he uses irony to capture the audience, but once again he is playing with the odds because he doesn’t know if the readers are going to get the message he was sending or the complete opposite. I believe this is a risk an author has to take if he/she wants to write with satire.

“All things are necessarily connected and arranged for the best.” (Pg. 26) From my understanding from this sentence is that everything happens for a reason, and once something has happened it can’t be changed. In a way I agree because things happen for a reason, but if somehow you don’t like the result, I believe that you should try to change it. One shouldn’t give up on something just because “it was meant to be”, if you believe there’s a better way to arrange the things you should try to change it. Candide could fight and try to win Lady Cunégonde back, instead of being punished for something he believed was true love, but still he though that they were separated for the best and that there was nothing he could do to win her back. Is this true? Is he ever going to see the women he loves again? Is he going to give up on true love?