Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Candide 1-10
This reading was more enjoyable for me than the story of Rasselass. While this to portrayed the dark side of human nature, Voltaire's satirical tone provides comic relief. While Rasselass went out into the world to find happiness, Candide's venture proves against his teacher's belief that we live in the "best of all possible worlds." His teacher is one of the most interesting characters, telling dying victims that the earth quake was for the best. His arguments in defense of his optimism are so far fetched, trying to explain that syphillis is good because it can be traced back to the people who discovered the Americas which brought things like chocolate. These connections are very humorous, I enjoy Voltaire's "tounge-in-cheek" attitude. I wonder what Voltaire's view on religion is. He seems to have an anti-semmetic attitude, as Cunejonde's owner embodies the stereotypes of the jews.
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I like Candide so far because it is so easy to read. I like Voltaire's style of telling such generally scarring and dramatic events in just a few sentences. It was pretty funny on page 21 when Candide and Cunegonde fell in love, kissed, and then were separated in just one paragraph. It's the simplicity of the style that makes it engaging to read and the understatement of the events makes it that much more interesting. I felt bad for James the Anabaptist when he was killed so suddenly on page 32 and the "villain" survived. However, I really liked how events turned so suddenly and you never really knew what to expect.
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