Do Candide’s Punishments Fit the Crime?

So far in the book, Candide has endured a lot of punishment for his “crimes”. He is kicked out of the baron’s castle for kissing Cunegonde, forced to run the gauntlet for seemingly deserting the army, and flogged for listening to Pangloss’s beliefs with open ears. The reason why I put crimes in quotations is because none of these things Candide does are really crimes. He was never trying to desert the Bulgar, he was simply going for a walk, and he was not trying to cause any harm by kissing Cunegonde or listening to what everyone has to say about the meaning of life. The punishments here have not been deserved. They largely out weigh any of the actions Candide has done. 

However, looking at this question from another perspective, I think what is really being punished here is Candide’s innocence, and belief system. Candide is a firm believer in the Leibniz/Pangloss philosophy in which the world he lives in is the best of all worlds and that everything is done for the greater good. When he is kicked out of the castle, he continues to hold this belief for a while. For example, rather than saving the Anabaptist who saved him, he continues to believe that this must happen for the greater good. This belief system is something that Voltaire is trying to punish. He keeps throwing Candide into horrible situations in which he is hurt mentally and physically in order to test his beliefs and show him that his philosophy is flawed; not everything can be for the best. He even takes it a step further and brings Cunegonde into the mix. After hearing the hardships she has endured, can Candide really continue to stand by his beliefs?

Voltaire really aims to show Candide that the world is in fact a harsh place full of evil and misfortunes; the world is not the always geared for the greater good. As his innocence leads him to mindlessly follow Pangloss’s philosophy and find the good in every situation, Voltaire pushes him, through punishment, to look at his own beliefs and in the end, make a decision about what he really believes in.

Who is the Modern Gadfly?

               Socrates was a social gadfly. He was always questioning the ethics, ideas, and beliefs of people in order to make them think about their lives and eventually question their own ideals. He was stirring up the state (in Athens) and making people question not only themselves, but also the society they live in. Was this an annoyance to some? Yes, but his ideas and methods have been prevalent and used throughout history.

                Today, there is not one singular person who I think stands out as a modern day Socrates. With the technology, and global connection that exists today, there are gadflies all over the world. However, two groups that are often brought up and criticized are politicians and large Internet bloggers. Politicians always have opinions. Whether it is questioning the public or other politicians, they are always trying to incite deep thinking and change people’s views to their advantage. They are on every social media site available advocating their thoughts. In the same way, one can seldom turn the TV to a news channel and not catch a discussion between politicians and business professionals. They are a permanent part of a country’s life and they will always be around to state their own views and attempt to make a mockery of each other.  

                The Internet community also acts as a modern gadfly. For every issue you can find hundreds of blogs, chat rooms, and posts; people are always questioning and getting under each other’s skin. The lack of face-to-face contact and advantage of anonymous commenting lets people say almost anything they want to, and for the most part they do. This makes online conversations especially opinionated, and aggressive. People will say things they would never even think about saying in public. They can even talk about issues for days on end. This is almost more annoying that Socrates himself as there are arguments happening all over the world.   

Is the Unexamined Life Worth Living?

Life is full of complexity, varied beliefs, and different groups of thought. With so many opinions and ideas flying around how can one truly live without examining not only themselves, but also the world around them? Today, as we are all told different angles of every issue, society begs us to take a side and for the most part, we do. But are there more than two sides? Can we think outside of the box and solve issues in a way that shows objectivity and rationality? I think that we can, we just need to determine our morals, and determine what we perceive to be right and just; we need to examine ourselves. While this is hard in a world that strives for conformity and shows animosity for change, breaking free and finding what we really want to believe is valuable in life.  The best philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, have been figures of innovation; they were at the forefront of their time. We need more people to feel the desire to break the molds of human society and show that there is more than a right and wrong answer.

             Now I am not saying that we do not examine ourselves in our daily lives. Every day we make the conscious choice to agree, disagree, aid, or defend; we do take a stance based on what we believe. However, we need to make it a habit to think more deeply. Rather than focusing on our immediate world, we need to venture out and think about problems that are worlds away, affecting different people. With the amount of ideas that we find around us, why not experience them? Why not lend our own thoughts? Our job is to ask questions, test humanity, and explore the grey areas of situations for the benefit of not only ourselves, but society as a whole. 

Me

Hi, my name is Jessie Cronin and I’ll be a senior this year. I have one brother, a twin, named Nate. Despite minor arguments, having a twin is great! We get to have all the same friends, help each other with homework, and of course go through all major life events, such as driving, birthdays, and college touring, together; I never feel alone. Aside from my brother, I have a golden retriever named Lexie who, of course, is the favorite child in the eyes of our parents. When it comes to school, I am a science nerd; I love the human body, experiments, and dissections. Over the summer, I had the opportunity to participate in a medical research internship at the University of Illinois Hospital. Here I spent my time in an anatomy lab performing cadaver dissections, conducting experiments on the dissected body parts, and writing pieces for a medical study. While most people cringe when I tell them about these dissections, I found this job extremely interesting and enjoyable. When I am not in school, I can be found in my second home, the pool. Since freshman year I have been on the swimming and water polo teams here at Whitney. Although we are practicing all the time, it is fun to have a hard practice, work with a team, and get away from the stress of school and other obligations. After practice, I teach swim lessons to little kids who are 4-9 years old. I would like to say my kids are future Olympians.

One thing about senior year that intimidates me is college applications. The thought of having to choose my new home for the next four years is scary. I don’t really know where I want to go, but I hope with all the research and writing I will be doing in the next couple of months I can figure it out. Overall, I am excited to be a senior and see how this year plays out.