No Doubt All is for the Best...

If we follow Pangloss' theory of blind optimism we could deduce that he was acctually right when Candide and Cacambo reach the utopic city of El Dorado. If Pangloss would have been alive to shed some of his briliance on the matter he would say that all the raping, trembling, murdering and misfortunes happened to lead them to this godly place. However the point I think Voltaire is trying to make is that even though life is mostly unfair it is also extremely randow and canstantly indiferent because if life was only unfair then thiefs and murderers would have the best luck ever and thet would not end up in prision. So Voltaire underlines the randomness of life with a stop in a wonderful place so not everything would have to be unfair. Good deads only pay off when that good dead has a direct relation with someone that can repay you or recognize your actions, but the universe isn't going to reward you since its indiferent to who you are or what you have done. Even though this might be a point for Pangloss, i don't think its going to last, you see, I trust Voltaire's troling attitude with enough confidence to predict that soon after their joyous stay at the golden city something so ironicly delicious and absurdity-stuffed misfortune will fall down on Candide, Cacambo and their newly renewed optimism. I look forward to laugh at poor Candide and dear Cacambo.

In an additional note I could not help notice the amazing resemblance of Cacambo to Sancho Panza, Don Quijote's dear squire. Cacambo is as lost, as wise and as crucial to Candide's well being and misfortunes as Sancho is to Don Quijote's. I would like to see how their relationship develops through out different situations to have enough elaboration and material to make a whole blog entry about it.

Calm the F**#@ck Down! (Sorry)

All of Candide's friends have died violent deaths, his loved one has been raped, and he has survived an earthquake and a hurricane and still he manges to kill some of the only people that could get him out of his mess. SERIOUSLY CANDIDE!? After killing a grand inquisitor and a land-owning Jew (no big deal), he plunges his sword into his brother-in-law and soon-to-be savior. Oh and not to blow up the situation but he is a fugitive of the Spanish Army that runs half of the continnent! He can finnaly rely on something he can count on to protect him from his troubles but nooo because he get sword whiped he has to kill  familiar and the lord of the whole country. Way to go Candide.


In response to my previous blog's point know Candide brings of the part of you taking charge of the situation the world has thrown at you. Voltaire's recuring criticism to life's randomness and injustice is now complemented by how you play your part and how stupid you can be about it if you swim upstreem against destinies current. As the whole book has proven, Candide has never been in the best of shapes, and to be fair he hasnt been responsible for some of his misfortunes but he certainly hasn't aid his situation and he clearly doesnt understand some of the meassages that have been trown at him by his sourrandings. Even though Voltaire is clear that it almost does not matter what you do the world can hit you with massive misfortunes or great goods, however if you try yoour best to stay out of the world's way, this might not happen to you. If you keep calm and focus on building your life without much risk and without stepping on anybodie's toes the world might leave you be. On the other hand Candide is just a stupid, naive, hasty, impulsive, and bimbo kid that does not think before he acts. This makes him the best spy goat for all Voltire's points and targets.

The Illusion of Free Will

Whether fair or not the world that sorrounds Candide keeps pushing him around in the most peculiar and unpredictable directions. Candide and his fellow companions seem to be swindeled around by these situations like if this world was a sea and they were a log. The involved in the story never made a punctual decision to get involved in this whole random mess, the characters never set out on this journey with a purpose, goal or plan, they were just dragged and pushed by misfortunes and cruel happenings. However the characters when presented with the situation, they make descisions, even though they might be cancelled out by a swift an unexpected turn of events, like an earthquake or a drunk mistake. Candide made the descision to love, love Cunegonde, marry her and kiss her however she instead got raped and brutalized. So is free will really there or do we just dance the song the universe is playing? Yes, yes free will is there acctually, because we can do whatever we want however the question at hand is if this really matters, if this is relevant to the grand scheme?
  
   We can do whatever we want based on the situations life throws at us however these do not shape us or the situation itself. Our descisions dont really matter in the sense that the things we think are so important like go to a party or staying at home getting fat dont really matter, well maybe to us but not in our or anyones major scheme and even their day to day life, basically no one gives a crap. However this doesnt mean that we should just not do anything, we have to take the situations and handle them as best as we can even though we get raped, almost killed by an earthquake or captured by Somali pirates. We have to move on with our insignificance and let the universe throw its best at us.

Beating the Unjust World's Sysytem

Misforune strikes all, a princess, a wealthy jew, an inquisitor, a philosopher and a poor naive fellow name Candide. Little do these people have in common, however the little they share is their view on how to beat the system, by system I mean the indifferent and unjust world that sorrounds them and at the end does strike them down. The jew and the inquisitor try to beat or escape the injustice by religion, a false sense of hope and salvation that reasures but dissapoints when the system faces them indifferently of their actions. Pangloss has an optimistic view of a somewhat explanatory and self-assuring philosophy that asures only good if good is done, however Candide so greatly mocks and ridicules this feeling with cruel, swift blows of the seemingly random universe. The princess uses money, political and social status to feel safe from any unjustices and disconnected from the kind of people that face this cruel world daily however this is just an illusion because this cant and will not protect you from earthquakes or the true evil of humans and well Bulgars in this case. So if there is no way to totally safe yourself from horrible tragedy then why not do whatever you want and steal and rape nad murder? Well because society molds justice and tries to replicate it in its most pure ways however it doesnt get into the gray areas like total equality or full meritocracy, so all of these illusions wont work with the mayor scheme however they might save you to a certain extent of society caused misfortunes and societys justice.

"Sufficient Reason"

So far Candide has encountered many misfortunes including Pangloss and effects of the era's society, which is Voltaire's target consequentely. Pangloss's state, ideology and last few days are a matter of infinite mockery and dark, ironic humor that Voltaire could not have found a better character to complement his points and his satire. The "sufficient reason" and the "unrefutable destiny" are both Pangloss's, these ideologys are made a complete laughing stock after Voltaire is done with them. The "sufficient reason" is just the most pure, simple, easy and satisfiyng answer that doesnt require any processing and is not worth debating, it is just barely enough however convincing enough. This was the most popular kind of reason back then since the debate that the enlightnment brought to light was based on the most complete answers just like the socratic debates that proceded them. Ironicly enough when something serious that requires reflection and attention comes up this is not even useful to them, not even to Pangloss since the "sufficient reasons" that he preached and gave behind bushes are no longer sufficient, satisfying or even worth it since they have led him to poverty, death and some nasty STDs. Just Panglosses story can be used as a erfect example of satire since his misfortune is an exageration, his preaching compared to his future is ironic, his state and reasoning are both absurd and his whole ideology is a target since it defies critical thinking and the whole intelectual base of the enlightnment.