Candide
February 13, 2007
Candide
I never thought that eighteenth century literature would be so entertaining. I came into this class thinking it would be interesting, but that some of the literature would be dry and boring. However, while reading Candide, I found myself laughing aloud at the melodrama of each of the characters. I didn’t find myself in deep thought about how this piece of work pertained to the many characteristics of the Enlightenment, but instead thought about how people’s thoughts, beliefs, and lifestyles have not changed too dramatically from Candide’s time to the present.
One aspect of Candide that I found to be particularly humorous was the ongoing misery that the characters encounter. Each character tells his/her pitiful story, attempting to outdo the other with his/her story of suffering and sorrow. As much as I wanted to sympathize with those characters, I couldn’t. I wanted each character to get over his/her misery and put himself/herself in a position to achieve the happiness each one claimed they desired. For example, Candide finds himself in El Dorado, the “perfect” city. Candide is in the “perfect” city and no longer subjected to beatings and violence, yet he is still dissatisfied. Candide’s dissatisfaction continues throughout the entire novel. Candide finally gets his “true love” only to find that her beauty has disappeared and she is a crotchety and nagging old woman. I believe that Candide finally accepts his fate when he is working his land. Candide realizes that he will never obtain true happiness because he will always search for more.
I totally agree with you about the novel being so funny. I think the novels so far have been very interesting (except in our other class where that lady keeps talking to herself or to the Devil dressed in black about the back room…..a little too weird for me). I agree that it is natural for us as humans to want more. We achieve something and then immediately want more…….we are never fulfilled. Many religions will assure you that you can be fulfilled by accepting their belief system and that may be true to an extent but materialistically, we always seem to want more…even when we are in the El Dorado of our life….just think 20 years ago and remember how everyone said we were in a decade of materialism..man, just think how they would compare that to now!!
J.D. makes a good point about materialism today. To that I would add that there is indeed much irony in the fact that Candide, who suffered so much before arriving in El Dorado, ultimately rejected it as a place of permanent residence. I think you make a valid point in inferring that we are never entirely happy, even when it appears that all of our needs are taken care of, and we have nothing to fear. Perhaps it is just an inevitable part of the human psyche to feel the need, as you say, to “search for more,” the need to be challenged in order to feel the satisfaction of having overcome those challenges by our own wits. Enjoyed your thoughts on this.