Saturday, January 31, 2009
Candide's Education
I didn't have time to copy down our remarks from the board at the end of our latest meeting: as I recall, I'd put up about six of your ideas in response to "What has Candide learned and how?" and added maybe three dichotomies, setting out the issues that were in conflict in the story (I should have added "What, if anything, has Candide learned?" in case anyone thinks that, now that he's found a bearable way to live, he's forgotten about all the suffering he experienced and observed). Remind me please of what they were, and add other ideas if you wish?
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Some of the things that people said about what Candide might have learned:
ReplyDelete-being careful what you wish you for. sometimes getting what you want isn't as fulfilling as desiring it.
-you cant rely on human institutions. you have to rely on your own experiences, and not just what people tell you to believe as truth.
-you have to make the best out of life.
-take the good with the bad... generally things happen in life that can't be explained or reasoned.
-"cultivating the garden"... the things you chased may not always be what you want in the end... but you change, you grow, and you keep going.
abstract systems vs. personal experience
authority vs. observation
tutelage vs. thinking for oneself
Anna pretty much hit all the key points we discussed in class. Some other themes and key points that Candide learned and I wanted to discuss are:
ReplyDelete-The Power of Money: How money corrupts individuals and leads them to betray one another for the shake of bettering themselves. In a sense, selfishness.
-Oppression: How many central authorities (religion, government, business) get what they want through the abuse of individuals and stay in power through the added use of terror.
-Endurance: Obtaining things in life are difficult, even more so if others are competing against you. If Candide wishes to seek something in future adventures, he will be prepared to face even more hardships and times of struggles that many of his friends may not see the end to.