Vonnegut Teaches and Delights

Great works of literature and great teachers have a similar purpose in the lives of their readers and students. This purpose, according to Philip Sidney, is to “teach and delight.” I would argue further that their purpose is to teach and delight in a peaceful manner, in a way that fosters discussion instead of controlling the conversation for the furthering of their own agendas. As Ms. O’Reilley states in her article, “The Peaceable Classroom,” she wanted her students to be able to “talk to each other freely” without losing any insight due to the commandeering force of “the least astute and perceptive voices” that can sometimes take over the classroom conversation before the quieter students get a chance to speak up—much like Billy’s daughter in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five (105, 111). Great literature does this as well, in its own way. If the work is meant to last, it will do so based on its ability to let the ideas inspired by it grow freely in the minds and discussions of others. Just as the classroom is a “meeting place for silent meditation and verbal witness,” so too will a great work of literature be (110).

The idea of the classroom being a place for contemplation and growth proves itself to be increasingly important as so much of the “school” experience leaves students thinking back on bad experiences they have had involving teachers who made them feel like they could not succeed. This is the type of schooling, O’Reilley says, that encourages the growth of the seeds of war within its students. How then, we must ask, can we teach the next generation in a way that encourages the seeds of empathy and a general understanding of the world we live in to grow?

I think the best way to foster empathy in schools is through teaching the difficult books. The books that makes us ask hard questions. The ones that transport us into another person’s life and ask us to examine our world through their eyes. Only then can we begin to grasp what it is like to be the veteran, to be the person of another race, another gender, etc. One of these books is Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five.

The Tralfamadorians offer readers a vastly different perspective from the average American view on life. A lot of what they end up saying is “gibberish” to Billy, but they also have trouble understanding things like Billy’s conception of time (114). Billy expected them to be baffled by all of the wars that took place on Earth over the course of its history, but they treated the issue with their usual “so it goes” mentality. While we have these snippets with the Tralfamadorians, we also have the stark contrasting elements of Billy’s time in the war and his time at home in Ilium. The time with the aliens is obviously supposed to raise questions about the scenes that break theirs up, but what questions is it supposed to raise? We see times of peace, times of war, times of an aging man being bossed around by his children, times of a young man recovering from trauma—and all of this is broken up in a nonlinear fashion by his time spent in space.

It is in this way that Vonnegut’s book serves as a work that both teaches and delights. We have a kooky narrative on the surface level about an old man who time travels in his head thanks to being abducted by aliens, but on a deeper level we have a passionate antiwar novel written by a man who fought in the very war our protagonist finds himself to be a part of. Maybe the Tralfamadorians are meant to serve as the classroom period O’Reilley speaks of. Billy’s time with them seems to be a time for “silent meditation” since he is mostly alone and the aliens only communicate telepathically. He is able to break away from the terror of the war and from the oppressive mediocrity of his old age in order to spend time with them and think about what is happening back on Earth depending on where he has just come from. Maybe that is what the time in a classroom should be for us: a time to break away and discuss the world around us in a safe and accepting space.

Enlightening Satire

           It the witty and insightful satire Candide written by eighteenth-century Enlightenment author Voltaire, a portrait of European society is painted as simultaneously colorful and dark. Voltaire, true to form, uses his skillful writing to criticize nearly every aspect of his society, including some aspects of Enlightenment thinking. His satire Candide criticizes a wide range of social and political issues of his time period such as religion, corruption, imperialism, and foolishness of blind philosophizing by juxtaposing his society with the mythical and utopian land of El Dorado. Through the buffer of Candide, Voltaire is able to openly address these controversial topics of eighteenth-century European society.

            One of the most popular areas of society that Voltaire criticizes in his satire is the powerful entity of the Church. Voltaire was openly a deist and, therefore, was not terribly conflicted when it came to identifying the negative aspects of the Church’s power in society. In his thesis on religious criticism in Voltaire’s Candide, Lecavialier says “Voltaire openly condemns the hypocrisy of the religious way of life by exposing its adherent’s associations with politics, self-interest, dishonesty, greed, carnality and fanaticism (68).” For example, the auto-da-fé sacrificed many people guilty of “crime” not worthy of death such as the two men who refused bacon and were burned for being “Jews”, the Grand Inquisitor was a violent man who bought Cunegonde as a sex slave and attempted to murder Candide, and even the Friar is consorting with a prostitute. The Friar even goes on to say that “jealousy, discord, and fury, dwell in the convent (Voltaire, 69).” The satire on the Church is so severe that Voltaire even portrays a Pope as having an illegitimate daughter—The Old Woman. All of these corrupt individuals represent the hypocrisy of the Church. They are supposed to represent the ideals of their religion, like kindness, celibacy, and charity and yet they choose to embrace the sinful aspects of life instead.

            Candide also comments largely on the questionable social norms that have seemed to develop in European culture. Some of these norms include violence, corruption, and, briefly, imperialism. Violence is omnipresent in this satire and can be found in almost every chapter. While a lot of the violence is carried out by the representatives of the Church—see above for examples—much of the violence is also brought down upon innocent women. We have three central female characters in the novel, Cunegonde, The Old Woman, and Paquette, and all three of those women have been violated by both men and by society. It is a dual violation because, while the men commit the atrocities, the society exists in a structure that allows them to do so. Cunegonde is raped and almost killed by a Bulgarian, The Old Woman was the beautiful daughter of a Pope reduced to a broken, ugly old spirit by the cruelty of men and merciless society, and Paquette, too, had been bought and sold as a sex slave. These women represent both Voltaire’s criticisms of society but it is in a speech of Paquette’s where she describes the incessant trials of her life that we also view what M. Sarcey describes as “horror against the society which throws some of its members into such an abyss (Voltaire, 94).” We also catch a glimpse of the corruption of that society when Paquette explains that, though she was innocent, the only reason the judge set her free was “on condition that he succeeded the surgeon,” the surgeon being the man who forced her to be his mistress (67). 

            Voltaire’s portray of imperialism in this novel is like a flash of lighting, quick but illuminating. Voltaire and Cacambo come across a “negro” who works on a sugar cane plantation. The description of his appearance is shocking and saddening to Candide, who, despite all his experience, remains an optimist up until that point. Though simply stated, the negro’s words seem to have a tone that resembles innocent admonishment when he says that “this is the price at which you eat sugar in Europe,” while talking about his missing hand and leg that had been cut off due to the difficulty of the job and as a punishment for trying to escape his slavery. Enlightenment ideals and reasoning are manifested in the character of the negro, as well. He comments on the fact that “the Dutch fetiches, who have converted me, declare every Sunday that we are all of us children of Adam—blacks as well as whites…Now, you must agree, that it is impossible to treat one’s relations in a more barbarous manner (49).” This is logical reasoning done on the part of the negro and it embraces the Enlightenment ideal of an emphasis on individualism. This is the idea that the individual is just as important as the collective. This way of thinking is characteristic of the Enlightenment, which “emphasized human reason, the scientific method, and human dignity (Halla, 2-3).”

            Though this exchange is an excellent instance of demonstrating ideals, there is only one place in the entire satire that Voltaire truly considers to be the epitome of perfection: El Dorado. El Dorado—the mythical city of gold—is where Candide and Cacambo accidently find themselves in chapter XVII. Voltaire paints this city as the picture of utopia. There is wealth beyond want and, yet, the people do not show the obsession or corruption that occurs in the “real world,” if you will, as a result of that wealth. There is no quarrel over religion, no hierarchy of church, it is secluded from the world of imperialism and greed, and the people are kind and welcoming. The king himself declares that “all men are free (Voltaire, 46).” This is the world that Voltaire considers to be ideal. After Cadide leaves the utopia of El Dorado, he seems to be much more effected by the corruption, violence, and inequality of the world. He even begins to doubt the doctrine of his infalliable Pangloss when he says, “certainly, if all things are good, it is in El Dorado and not in the rest of the world.” And this jaded tone persists until the end of the Candide’s story.

Voltaire's crafty use of symbolism in names

Being an English major, it’s almost impossible not to seek symbolism or deeper meaning in literature. Taking into account that Candide is a satirical text, I became interested in what “candide” signifies or alludes to. Sometimes, names are representative of particular characteristics or symbols. Other times, they are references to historical figures. I sought the significance of “candide,” expanding upon Voltaire’s comment that the character combined “true judgment with simplicity of spirit” (1). I found that “candide” comes from the Latin “candidus,” which translates to “white,” suggesting purity (a lack of corruption) and fair-mindedness (wikispaces.com).The meaning of his name gives additional insight (particularly to the observer) into what kind of character Candide is.

I also found that Pangloss translates to “all-tongue,” another fitting title for, supposedly, the wisest philosopher in the world. And of course the young and beautiful “Cunegonde” is suspected to arise from Latin and French terms for genitalia. Others have speculated that it derives from the Persian translation for “big butt” (“cun” meaning anus and “gonde” meaning big or huge), which would make sense since Voltaire describes her as “plump and desirable” on page 1 (reddit.com). Other than the Count Pococurante, meaning, “caring little” in Italian, the other names of the text do not seem to bear much significance (Merriam-webster.com).

For the characters whose names do bear significance though, it is worthwhile to note their origins. Furthermore, by playing on the names, it is easy to see as readers what Voltaire seems to be commenting on or criticizing in terms of philosophy, philanthropy, religion, innocence, romance and the human condition. I have noticed that this text is largely about loss – either of things that once existed or were never acknowledged (i.e. Candide’s innocence, Cunegonde’s looks, or Pococurante’s lack of empathy). And while the cultivation of own Candide’s garden may be trite or perhaps a copout to end the novel, it does bring a bit of light into an incredibly dark group of individuals, many of whom have entirely lost faith in their sense of humanity.

Let Us Cultivate Our Garden: The Nature of the Human Soul in Candide

At the center of Voltaire’s humorous novella, Candide, is the philosophical, some may ague, the theological, exploration of humanity and the natural state of human beings. Are we naturally good, honest, and charitable, or are we naturally wicked, dishonest, and greedy? Voltaire doesn’t really give any explicit answers concerning whether we are naturally good or bad, he does imply a certain kind of natural tendencies and inalienable rights all human beings have, some of which are well imbedded into our American constitution, through the innocent philosophical beliefs of Candide in the beginning of the novella, as told by him through Pangloss.

On a deeper level, the story is really about Candide’s loss of innocence and faith in Pangloss’ teachings that all things are good and will “end in the best of ways”. But to lose something, one must have possessed it in the first place. Candide’s description establishes a kind of innocence and trust in his character: he has “gentle manners” and possesses “true judgement with simplicity of spirit” (1), hence why he is named Candide. In the first half of the novella, he held onto these two beliefs: 1) that all men fare free and 2) “all is for the best (2). No matter what trials came his way, no matter how many thing happened that seemingly contradicted these two notions, he still asserted and believed in them. However, as his tribulations continue further, he slowly begins losing faith in them, saying them less and less, until at the end, even Pangloss doesn’t believe his own teachings. This development, from the innocent and assumably naive notions in the beginning to their total abandonment, demonstrates a natural innocence in human beings, until the misfortunes of the world begin to test out one’s innocence and most inevitably fail to keep it. 

Voltaire, through the character of Martin at the end, describes human beings as restless creatures meant to continuously work toward something when he says, “Martin especially concluded that man was born to live either in a state of distracting inquietude or of lethargic disgust” (85). This implies that, if man has nothing to do, he is not happy and would perhaps turn to wicked employment to fill in that boredom. On the natural innocence and goodness of humanity, I would agree with Voltaire, but I would disagree with him on the causes of evil. Talking to reformed reentry citizens and incarcerated persons over my spring bread service trip, many of those men did not commit their crimes because they were bored; most were in desperation because of an addiction problem or they were impoverished. One man said that every crime begins with the best intentions, like stealing diapers for your child because you can’t afford to pay for them. Voltaire’s solution to humanity’s tendency to lose sight of their innocence and nature is to set to useful employment and “cultivate our garden” (87).

The (Voltaire) Right Way to Look at the World

            Candide is a tale of the tragedies and misfortunes that befall a naive young man who initially sees only the good in the world. Voltaire was born in France in a time where extreme poverty was perpetuated by the dominant aristocracy and was writing in the time of the Enlightenment ideas of equality and freedom of thought. To an eye not attuned to Voltaire's sharp wit and sarcasm, although it would be extremely hard not to pick up on, this story could be seen as innocent, but it is one of the most critical and caustic works of satire in history. Voltaire attacks the nobility and the church for their corruption and also condemns Enlightenment philosophers' optimism about rational thought as a catalyst for real social change. Candide and Pangloss believe that "everything is for the best", or that everything that happens in the world is for the greater good and serves a purpose. Throughout their journey, the two naive "scholars" witness horrible, senseless deeds. Pangloss' reactions to these deeds contribute to much of the sarcasm and humor in the tale as his justification make absolutely no sense. This is Voltaire's way of pointing out the flaws in Enlightenment "optimism" as it allows for horrible deeds to be perpetuated and lets social injustice slip through the cracks. Pangloss is eventually forced to admit that he was wrong in his beliefs. In addition, he critiques that lack of actual action on the part of philosophers as they speculate about what is right and wrong all day, but don't actually do anything about it. This is reflected in Candide's eventual rejection of Pangloss's philosophies for actual, tangible work.
             The attack on religion and aristocrats in Candide is much easier to spot. It is embodied in the corrupt and hypocritical leaders who Candide encounters, including a thieving friar and a pope with a daughter. These ridiculous example of the wrongdoings of church officials are contrasted with a more positive portrayal of the everyday religious man, someone like Jacques. In addition, the correlation between wealth and happiness is attacked as Candide is shown to be more miserable when he does have money after El Dorado than before. In this tale Voltaire shows us the development of a naive boy into a less naive man. Candide's optimistic and innocent outlook on the world is ripped to shreds by Voltaire's harsh words and attempts to show people of the Enlightenment and revolutionary France that Voltaire's way of viewing the world is the best way.

Ending Apathy?

One of the most notable aspects of the novel Candide lies in its somewhat anticlimactic ending. Obviously Voltaire fully intended to subvert the general trend of heroic novels and stories while writing in the style of one. This evidenced by the various cliches associated with such a story, which are often twisted on their head, such as the case with character deaths being seemingly used for motivation or suspense, only for that character to effectively come back to life, with little or no ramifications for their absence.

In particular the ending seems to speak to the practicality of the philosophy discussed and described within the novel itself. Candide is often cited for its depiction of various philosophies, as well as often hyperbolic, but essentially accurate, description of life and interactions of people throughout the world, such as in an Inquisitorial Spain, or semi-cannibalistic South America.

Throughout the novel, Candide and his companions discuss and react to the events they witness and the ideas they interpret. From the Inquisition, to the colonies, to the Vatican leadership, the novel is rich with perspective on the issues of the time period, interpretations of which many believe still hold some relevance in today's world.

But at the end of the novel, Pangloss remarks on all of the many coincidences and fortunate events that led them to their final quaint existence, and how easily they could have met a very different fate. Candide merely responds that their primary priority is to tend to the garden. While this may simply be a subversion of what one may expect out of the ending of a heroic characters quest, or a fitting conclusion to a beaten down optimist, who finally got what he wanted after enduring great misfortune, it would seem that Voltaire may be speaking to a much larger idea. Prior to this point it is mentioned that Candide and Pangloss continue to discuss philosophy and politics on occasion, but the remark is thrown out as if it were an afterthought.

Considering the novel is often revered for its interpretations of philosophy, it would seem odd that the final chapter takes an almost apathetic approach to the concept that has been so prevalent throughout the entire story. But Voltaire may be reminding the humble reader that while philosophy may play a great role in politics and in the lives of many a citizen, its immediate practical impact is often negligible. As the previous chapters have proven, philosophy influences many decisions, and may shape a person's life, but Voltaire seeks to put it in perspective. Arguing or debating philosophy will not make taming the ground or harvesting the crops any easier, at least from a physical perspective. It is entirely possible that the ending speaks to how Candide's preoccupation with philosophy was prevalent for most of the adventure, but did not ultimately help him from a practical perspective. Voltaire may simply make the point that readers of the novel should not get too ahead of themselves in trying to apply its 'wisdom'; that for some, the impact of the novel should not be too overstated. Considering that determining how novels relate to the real world has been a persistent theme within the class, it does seem as if Voltaire offers a counterpoint, potentially arguing that one should not overthink or overestimate the importance of the knowledge contained within a book, even a controversial one. Knowledge may be power, but that does not mean it is applicable power.

Candide

Voltaire’s satirical voice shines through in his work, Candide. Voltaire does not attempt to hide or sugar

 coat his feelings, but rather explicitly criticizes and mocks. Because of Voltaire’s harsh but realistic

 style, it makes for an enjoyable read. Voltaire uses the character of Candide, a young impressionable 

boy to mock things he does not agree with during the time of the Enlightenment, specifically 

philosophy and religion. Voltaire portrays Candide to be naïve by having him travel and believe 

everything he is told by Dr. Pangloss and his belief that the world is a wonderful place, despite the 

things he sees and experiences throughout his journey. Voltaire comments on philosophy and religion 

through examples that show how “useless” (In Voltaire’s eyes) that they are. Voltaire demonstrates that 

philosophy is pointless. What good is thought without action? Voltaire mocks the issues within religion 

by simply casting characters that go against every norm and belief we have. Voltaire’s authentic and 

unshielded views about the world are made clear through his naïve protagonist, Candide, who 

ultimately is forced to face “the realities” of the world and learn and come to terms with that the world 

might not be as perfect and good-intentioned as he had thought.