Hypocritical

"I am the best-tempered man there ever was, yet I have already killed three men..."

Sure Candide, you really are one of the best-tempered men I've ever heard of. 

Not only did the irony of this whole chapter make my stomach ache with laughter, it also made me realize how many false expectations we have of ourselves every day. We would all like to believe the best things about us, as Candide obviously does. Sadly, sometimes we fail to see how wrong we are about ourselves. 

I am strong.

I am not prejudiced.

I am always in a good mood. 

I most certainly do not have my mother's temper.

Oh, how naive I have been sometimes.

How sad that we never really know ourselves, let alone each other. Why is it that Voltaire seems to point out so many bitter truths? Why is it that everything he says in the book, contains a double meaning which I believe we can all relate to?

Throughout the years I have found that most of the statements I use to describe myself are merely an image of what I want to be, not what I really am. Voltaire strongly agrees with what I am saying because he clearly ridicules that aspect of humans with Candide's claims to be "the best-tempered man there ever was." As I read I realized how pathetic humans (yes, I include myself in the generalization) really are. 

The author points out the hypocrisy that lives in all of us, as we claim to be better people than we are, yet hate the ones who do exactly the same thing. We live by our views on people, and the images we have in our head. Images about the way life should be, images which portray how everything should work, images which make us believe to be something we have never been.

Whatever happened to no hypocrites?

Please, the day there is no hypocrisy on this planet is the day humans become extinct.

We are a species which is completely hypocritical in every aspect for our lives: we pray for common good yet expect to have the very best for ourselves,  we say that prejudices are wrong but deep inside we know that we have prejudiced at least once, we claim to be the smartest animals on the planet… But I don’t see the other animals slowly killing it all, do you?

This hypocrisy is obviously what Voltaire is targeting with Candide’s words, and as a part of the hypocritical human population I want it to stop. But is there a way to stop it anymore?

Try, for just an hour to act with everything you’ve ever said. Try to stand by all your comments without being a complete hypocrite about one of them.

Hard isn’t it???   

Hakuna Matata

Why do we all choose to live? Why is it that the people with the worst lives keep fighting for an existence so awful, that they wouldn't miss anything if they were dead? "... is there anything more stupid that to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away...?"(pg. 57)

Voltaire questions all these ideas in Candide and I found myself analyzing everything he said. Sometimes, things happen to us and there is nothing we can do to change it or make it better, yet we still hang on to the last strings of hope, even though we know it is no use. This is clearly pathetic in Voltaire's point of view, and thus he writes the whole passage of the old woman's tales with a strongly ironic voice, obviously claiming that she should just go ahead and kill herself. 

Past relationships, fights, losses, disagreements...

We hang on to them all as if they were needed in our lives, we hang on to every little miserable detail in the world and that is what Voltaire is protesting. It is also what I find makes life beautiful.

What would we be without our past to make us who we are? What would we have if those grudges, crushed dreams, doomed relationships, and losses weren't by our side?

We would have nothing, we would be no one. 

This part of the book, not only got me thinking about the way we hold on to life, but the way we hold on to the past. It reminded me (as weird as this may sound) of The Lion King and two of my all-time favorite characters: Timon and Pumba. 

"Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase!

Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze!

It means no worries, for the rest of our days...

It's our problem free, philosophy..." (Timon and Pumba- The Lion King)

I have to admit it, that song still makes me happy every time I have a problem with my family or friends. I find this "philosophy" very interesting, but I also find that it should not be taken literally. As I mentioned before, we would be nothing without our past and therefore we should never forget it completely, we should however, stop living in it. 

Somehow we all have to move on, and that's why I disagree with Voltaire's view on the miseries of life. That’s why I so strongly disagree with suicide. I find it a cowardly act, an act in which a person just can’t own up to his past and thus decides to run away from it all. The past can make us smile, or cry, or even shake our fists in anger at the unfairness of it all. The past can be sad and it can be happy. The past can be many things but if there is something I truly believe in: it’s that we should never bail on life because of it.

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it: you can either run from it... or learn from it..." (Rafiki- The Lion King)

All is Fair in Love, War and Ignorance

In Ancient Rome, the Emperor and the Patricians watched as gladiators fought for their lives in the ring, not only against each other, animals were sometimes involved for the mere entertainment of the people in the higher classes. After the Roman Empire collapsed, this injustice could still be seen in the inquisition, which killed thousands of people over suspicions and religious prejudices.

As is usual in every aspect of the human society, the people who were not suffering were indifferent to the suffering of the people being burned at the stake. As a species, we tend to want equality but still hope the best is given to us, we enjoy as other people suffer as long as this doesn’t affect the way we live. In Candide, this aspect of humanity is clearly illustrated when Lady Cunégonde is telling her story and she says: “I had an excellent seat, and delicious refreshments were served to the ladies between Mass and the execution.” (pg. 42)

As the man she loves is being whipped, this lady is offered various drinks and nourishment that keep her happy, and all this because she holds the affection of two of the most important man in town, which she ironically despises.

Furthermore, in these chapters of the book, Voltaire also targets the ignorance of humanity, and the length to which people will go to solve problems that have no solution.

“…the sight of a few people ceremoniously burned alive before a slow fire was an infallible prescription for preventing earthquakes; so when the earthquake had subsided after destroying three-quarters of Lisbon, the authorities of that country could find no surer means of avoiding total ruin than by giving the people a magnificent auto-da-fé.” (pg. 36)

This quote attacks human kind as much as it attacks the inquisition. Not only does it ridicule the idea that burning people solves any problems, it also ridicules any human who has ever done something irrational to solve a problem. Any type of ritual sacrifice is ironically murdered in this phrase, as is the thought of Inquisition, irrational beliefs and in a way, religion. 

The Bitter Truth

Lady Cunégonde wanted to learn “a lesson in experimental physics” (pg.20) with the very noble and extremely willing Candide when the Baron just happened to walk by the expensive tapestry that hid them, and by pure coincidence noticed the lesson taking place, which caused him to drive Candide away from the mansion with “…powerful kicks on the backside.” (pg. 21)

“Thus consternation reigned in the most beautiful and delightful of all possible mansions.” (pg.21)

The first chapters of Candide pretty much drip with irony. Not only are many of the situations absurd, but the voice used to write the book is so bitterly sarcastic that it makes the normal situations sound insane, even if they are entirely plausible.

 The first chapter illustrates what everyone would imagine to be a perfect house with perfect people, but one slowly begins to notice that this mansion is anything but perfect. In fact, it is probably one of the worst places I’ve ever heard of.

At first, the amount of irony used to describe this house makes it seem, as I said before, a bit insane, and even though it is targeting a society that is long gone, I found that it can be applied to our very lives. People today have come to accept as an absolute reality that money is the path to happiness. This thought is a form of epistemological violence: it has been guaranteed by the media so long, that it is no longer seen as the lie it is. However, as shown in Candide, the people with the most money are not always the happiest or the most fortunate, as a matter of fact, they normally aren’t the best of people either.

Money has come to rule our society, and that, is exactly what Voltaire protests in the first chapter of his book.

 

Money doesn’t imply education or morals. Money doesn’t mean knowledge. Above all, money doesn’t give you happily ever after. 

Who is Billy Pilgrim?

In the end of chapter five I truly began to question exactly who Billy Pilgrim is.

The only idea I’ve had so far is that Billy Pilgrim is a human representation for Vonnegut’s trauma of the war. This theory is supported the following statement in the book: “It would make a good epitaph for Billy Pilgrim- and for me too.”

This statement is made in the book whilst Billy is in one of his voyages through time. If the author were not, in some way Billy, then he would have no way to know what he was thinking.

When I read that statement I felt my theory was correct, this however, was proved wrong just a couple of pages afterwards.

“”An American near Billy wailed that he had excreted everything but his brains. Moments later he said, “There they go, there they go.” He meant his brains.
That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book”

Here my whole theory was proved wrong because the author explicitly separates himself from Billy. There is no way Billy can be a representation of Vonnegut’s trauma because he is completely different, on the other hand there is still the previous moment in which Vonnegut knows exactly what Billy thinks.

Putting it all together, I would have to admit that I still haven’t got a clue who Billy Pilgrim is. I find him an intriguing character nonetheless, and I really can’t wait to find out where he comes form, and if he’s real. 

WAR

“Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn’t well connected.”

Sadly, this reminds me of our current reality.

It reminds me of the way we treat others and it reminds me of the superficial culture we have become. It is simple for us all to say that we are not superficial, that we care for others and we give away all that we have.

That is a lie.

We may feel like giving to others every once in a while, and I would love to be selfless and help everyone. But humans (yes, me included) are naturally selfish. There is no way to deny that. When it comes to a very big and important choice, you will always put yourself first. I have tried to deny it, but truthfully, it’s something we can’t help.

War is unnatural. War is just “… the incredible artificial weather that Earthlings sometimes create for other Earthlings when they don’t want those other Earthlings to inhabit Earth anymore.” We have come to a point where we invent excuses to start a war. As a race we have stopped caring about each other and thus have completely unbalanced the world.

In Slaughterhouse Five I have noticed that most of the characters seem to think of the war as a waste of time. Billy really doesn’t care for it, Derby describes it as unnatural, and even Vonnegut is clearly disturbed by it.

From this it is not hard to draw the conclusion that on the whole, war is a pretty pathetic thing. 

We Win

The books in Tralfamadore are like a picture. They are messages mixed together perfectly to evoke a beautiful and deep image of life. Most importantly, these books are (like all else in Tralfamadore), not written lineally. “There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects.” In other words, there is no room for surprise.

 I can’t picture myself living in such a measured world for more than a few minutes. I would probably explode.

 In a way the world of the Tralfamadorians can be seen as a huge chaos. With time being just a bunch or parallel moments, there is no way that the world can be organized. To me, Tralfamadore is a world of supreme order. They never ask themselves why the world is as it is, they never question living or wars. They have nothing worth living for. This makes life just a thing they have to go through every day because it is written that way. There is no room for a bit of chaos. There is no room for risk taking or for fighting for what you believe in. Tralfamadore just is, and that is what makes the whole thing dull.

“Vy you? Vy anybody?” 

This quote is actually quite touching to me and I find that it may describe many soldiers who actually lived during World War II. Most of the soldiers were just kids when they went to war, and although the posters said that they were doing it for their country I can’t help but think that they always asked themselves: why? Why were they killing the Jews? Why were they killing anyone who was different? Why were they killing at all? I can’t imagine that the soldiers were happy. I believe that any soldier has the right to be bitter and distressed. They should not have to see what they see in war. No one should have to see that. And when I think about it I always end up with the same question: If no one likes war… Why do we do it in the first place?

The world of the Tralfamadorians is very different from ours, and (call me biased) I believe our world is better. Not only a bit better, better all the way. The idea of the Tralfamadorians that life just is and that there is no way to change it makes the everything seem dull. The main difference between the Tralfamadorians and us stands in one small word: why. We ask ourselves why we live the way we do while they just say “it just is.” To me this is just a lie. It can’t be possible. There is no way that we can live without wanting to change anything, just letting people die and excusing ourselves with a simple “it just is.” If life is already written down then what is the point in living it?