“A pair of star-cross'd lovers”

Candide and his master Pangloss, faced a harsh destiny, execution. Candide was lucky enough to have fortune on his side, and escape from death. These chapters are very descriptive and provide information that creates a series of understanding of prior events. Candide was set to be executed, when an old lady rescued him. She said “Pull yourself together, young man and follow me” (Chapter 6, page 37). Apparently it was easier to follow this woman and continue his new path, despite of the evil past he had once lived. This mysterious woman aids Candide without expecting any revenue. As we can recall “Ii is not my hand you should kiss. I will come back to-morrow. In the meanwhile, rub yourself with that ointment, take some food, and have a good night’s rest” (Chapter 6, page 38) Candide later encounters Lady Cunegonde, she tells her story and gives Candide an internal thought of relief. As they speak, full of excitement, grief and awkwardness she began, “...that Candide, who gazed at her the whole time in rapt, attention, did not miss a single word.”(Chapter 7, page 40) Candide standing beside her true love was curious about the fortune she had faced. We can recall “By all means” (Chapter 8, page41) as Candide stood quite waiting for Cunegonde’s tale.

Synthesis of Irrational Logic

As I read these chapters of Voltaire’s Candide I made various connections to background knowledge. Pangloss narrates to Candide how lady Cunegonde was murdered by Bulgars. He mentions she was disemboweled, which reminded me of an xbox game, “dead rising.” One of the techniques you could use to kill zombies was the “disembowel.” Pangloss says, “She was disembowled by Bulgar soldiers after being ravished as much as a poor woman could bear.”(chapter 4, page 31)This connection, made this excerpt of the novel very graphic to me.

Voltaire uses prose as a mean to criticize humanity, doctors and philosophers. He satirizes them by exaggerating their actions regarding an urgent situation. As we recall, “ ‘How can I be cured?’ said pangloss. ‘I haven’t a penny, my dear friend, and there is not a doctor in all this wide world who will bleed you or purge you without a fee’ ”(chapter 4, page 31) It is an evident critic to our society that relays on money. Medicine proves a perfect setting for satire. It is a service that should be granted to the ill but it is actually provided to people that can afford it. Necessity is underestimated for materialism, money a priority and “moral bankruptcy” (Scumbag Billionaire) become reality.

Philosophy and theology are criticized, with characters that contradict their beliefs. The orator, preaches while Candide asks for aid. Instead of providing help to the “needy” he prefers to persuade the audience of his sermon. This is a clear contradiction (irony), because most of the religions encourage kindness among humanity (parable of the Good Samaritan). Pangloss is the stereotypical character of wisdom that proves to fail teachings. Voltaire constantly satirizes his explanation of “universal law”, if we can name it this way. Pangloss repeats in various occasions that “…It is impossible for things not to be where they are, because everything is for the best.” (Chapter 5, page 35) These type of generalizations or statements are very delicate to establish. One can deduct that if Pangloss is able to say state such theory, he must be a wise and educated person. A person that is knowledgeable of various topics. As Voltaire writes, “‘Nothing is more likely,’ said Candide; ‘but oil and wine, for pity’s sake!’” While Pangloss talks about his theory, Candide faints, proving that Pangloss is a man of delayed action. Demonstrating his lack of logic and rational actions rather than the wisdom he presumes to posses.

5 steps to be Candide:

-Stick to “That things cannot be other than they are, for since everything was made for a purpose, it follows that everything is made for the best purpose.”(Chapter 1)
- Talk to strangers that seem to aid you. Humans grant favors because of their values. (Not really)
-Mention Lady Cunegonde’s beauty even if it is off topic.
-Pretend to explain life with “cause and effect.” It will bring positive consequences such as getting beaten up.
-Believe every Dutch believes in being a good samaritan. (they will give their money without knowing you as if you were part of their family)

Open Letter

Robert Frost,

I understand your view upon free will, but I do not agree with it. As you may know I will reach apotheosis if I follow Diocletes and Heraclitus’s example. We as humans have to adapt to our situation. I will explain this to you as I did in my Handbook, with a metaphor. It is like being on a banquet, we must stretch our hand to what occurs in our life, do not restrain our memory in something that does not happen and wait if it hasn’t arrived. Predestination rules the universe, and as rational beings we must judge correctly to live in harmony. Please forget appearances, they are not important, remember to be the actor of life’s play.

Sincerely,
Epictetus

Miranda rights, Epictetus

Most of us have heard: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you…”In this case I will like to tell Epictetus that his teachings can be used against him. If judgment is what determines things, can things determine judgment? If we recall the past section of Epictetus we can propose a contradictory version of his teachings. Epictetus affirms that “What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgment about the things” (5) If that is true it would be acceptable to say he contradicts himself. He states that “An uneducated person accuses others when he is doing badly; a partly educated person accuses himself, an educated person accuses neither someone else nor himself.”(5) If we consider that education is a privilege for few, an advantage for some and deprived for many, we can state an inverse adaptation of Epictetus Handbook. According to him, we should face adversity (it is our destiny), with fair judgment because “you are an actor in a play, which is as the playwright wants it to be…” (17) In this case destiny for the uneducated was already set, which means that their situation affects their judgment. His extended metaphor of the banquet explains that one must fit the situation properly and logically. If things haven’t happened do no try to hurry them, if they already happened let them go away, and if they didn’t happen do not think of them. If we attach to this philosophy we can assume that we have to be ready to face destiny, in order to live correctly. This means that situations are factors that will affect our judgment, because one can not evaluate “things” without their existence. Consequently showing that the quality of events affect our opinion in contrast to Epictetus’s idea.

"Carpe diem" and fair judgment

Prevention, I can only think of that word when it comes to Epictetus and his teachings. Yes, Epictetus is very cautious regarding life, I mean the “negative” side of it. Usually we consider “death” as a pessimistic event. He analyzes the reason behind those situations that aggravate one’s mind. So he decides to create a series of possible answers that will show predestination can response our doubts. He explains that “What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgment about the things” (5) In this manner he tries to express that opinion is key to determine the quality of incidents. The verdict one sentences of an occurrence is what establishes: good or bad. The idea of acceptance of misfortune relays on his view of choice. We can recall, “You are nothing in relation to me” (1) in order to prevent negative feelings upon a situation. Epictetus proposes that humans can deal with adversity: not escaping from it but, preventing a negative judgment. If we are able to evaluate with a “positive objectivity” our life, we will not lament upon tragedies. He believes that wanting to change our present is not necessary. As “rational” beings we must act with reason and fair consideration of life.