Candide By Voltaire Essays (598 words) - Picaresque Novels

Candide By Voltaire Candide on the surface is a witty, gelastic story. However when inspected deeper it is a philippic writing against people of an uneducated status. Candid is an archetype of these idiocracies, for he lacks reason and has optimism that is truely irking, believing that this is the best of all possible worlds. Thus Voltaire uses a witty, bantering tale on the surface, but in depth a cruel bombast against the ignoramuses of his times. Candide has reason only in the form of a companion upon which he relies for advice. His companion is of course Dr. Pangloss. He consistently dribbles to Dr. Pangloss about what should be done. At last to the happiness of readers Pangloss is killed by being hanged. But this means that Candide's reason is also dead! No problem he just goes finds a new companion, "Lacking him [Pangloss], let's consult the old woman" (37). He soon loses her, gains another, looses him, and then gains another. Thus we see that Candide can only think if he has a companion. Voltaire is thus saying that all the nobles are really idiots and says they are only smart because they have philosophers. This is typically Enlightenment, because nobles, are stupid and must have philosophers to make them Enlightened. For example L'Hospital's a French Noble had in his "possession" mathematicians that developed new ways of taking limits (a Calculus idea). Yet in today's society we call this way "L'Hospital's Rule," not Bernoulli's rule who is the one who "invented" it (Stewart 310). Candide is consistently being brainwashed by reason (Pangloss) saying that we live in"the best of Yet it quite obviously that he does not. For how can there be, in the best of all worlds, war, slavery and many more abominations. Half-way through the book it would appear that Candide has given up his optimism when he looked at the Negro slave. "Oh Pangloss... I'll have to give up your optimism at last" (73). But to the distress of the readers he has not given up his chafing optimism. "Since I found you [an Eldoradian sheep laden with stones], I'm sure I can find Cunegnde again" (79). Thus we see that he has quickly recovered his optimism. Voltaire is using Candide's blatant optimism to relate to the people of his time that also have the same type of optimism. He also bombasts the philosophy that states all actions are a part of an illustrious, benevolent cosmic plan. It is Pangloss who says "it is impossible to for things to be where they are. For all is well" (30). What Pangloss is saying that a thing greater then man (God) has everything laid out, and everything "is for the best" (30). It is here that Voltaire's attack on Christianity begins. He bombasts them for believing that all the world is a stage, and that God has written the script. This idea of predestination is the antithesis of the Enlightenment period, and thus it is only natural that Voltaire, a typical Enlightenment writer, harangue these notions by means of a person who believes in this until his death- Candide. Finally we can see that Voltaire is writing a typical Enlightenment work because Candide is a jeremiad against those people that are lacking Enlightenment knowledge, by this of course, lacking the epitomes of the period: reason, senses and self-interest. Thus Voltaire is using a charming story to attack the people of his time who are against or are not Enlightened. Many other writers also attacked the ignoramuses of their time. For example Montesquie, a French philosopher use The Persian Letters to bombast French culture. Hence one reason that Candide is typically Enlightenment is because it makes fun of the reader who thinks that it is merely a comical story of a man and a quest for his lover.

Helping Students Move Beyond General Goals

Helping Students Move Beyond General Goals Once you have determined a general goal and you think you know why it appeals to you, you are ready to write it in a way that will help you make it happen. Goals Studies of successful people have shown that they write goals that contain similar elements. To write a goal like winners do, be sure that: It is stated in a positive way. (eg. I will... not, I might or I hope...It is obtainable. (Be realistic, but dont sell yourself short.)It involves your behavior and not someone elses.It is written.It includes a way to measure successful completion.It includes the specific date when you will begin working on the goal.It includes a projected date when you will reach the goal.If it is a big goal, it is divided into manageable steps or sub-goals.The projected dates for working on and completion of sub-goals are specified. Despite the length of the list, great goals are easy to write. The following are examples of goals containing the necessary components. General Goal: I will be a better basketball player during this year.Specific Goal: I will get 18 baskets in 20 tries by June 1, 2009.I will begin working on this goal January 15, 2009.General Goal: I will become an electrical engineer some day.Specific Goal: I will have a job as an electrical engineer by January 1, 2015.I will begin working on this goal February 1, 2009.General Goal: I will go on a diet.Specific Goal: I will lose 10 pounds by April 1, 2009.I will begin dieting and exercising February 27, 2009. Now, write your general goal. (Be sure to start with I will.) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now make it more specific by adding the manner of measurement and projected completion date. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I will begin working on this goal on (date) _______________________________ Considering how completing this goal will benefit you is quite important because this benefit will be the source of motivation for the work and sacrifice needed to complete your goal. To remind yourself why this goal is important to you, complete the sentence below. Use as much detail as you can by imagining the goal completed. Begin with, I will benefit by meeting this goal because... _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Because some goals are so big that thinking about them makes us feel overwhelmed, it is necessary to break them into sub goals or the steps you need to take in order to meet your major goal. These steps should be listed below along with a projected date for completion. Creating Sub-Goals Since this list will be used to schedule your work on these steps, you will save time if you set up a table on another piece of paper with a wide column for listing the steps, and a number of columns to the side which will eventually be used to indicate time periods. On a separate sheet of paper, make a table with two columns. To the right of these columns, attach gridded or graph paper. See the image at the top of the page for an example. After you have listed the steps you will need to complete in order to attain your goal, estimate the date by which you can complete all of them. Use this as your projected ending date. Next, turn this table into a Gantt chart by labeling columns to the right of completion date with appropriate time periods (weeks, months, or years) and color in the cells for the times you will work on a particular step. Project management software usually contains features for making Gantt charts and make the job more fun by automatically changing related charts when you make a change in any one of them. Now that you have learned to write a great specific goal and to schedule sub-goals on a Gantt chart, you are ready to learn how to maintain your motivation and momentum. Back to Goals and Resolutions: Writing Great Goals