Thesis: Martin's pessimism, or realism, is preferred over Pangloss's optimism because Martin's thoughts allow more room for interpretation, and exhibit more of an enlightened mind.
I. Martin's realism provides more room for interpretation, and does not have to fall back on the same old reasonings.
A. Pangloss always says that everything is for the best, but this is not true, especially for Candide. Candide begins to think the same ways that Pangloss does, but soon finds that this is not for the best.
1. At the end of Chapter III, Candide praised Pangloss for his views that everything works out for the best. He had been blessed with good fortune after escaping from the Bulgarians. Candide then saw a beggar who was diseased and dying. This is Voltaire's argument against Pangloss's ideas.
2. In Chapter VI Pangloss is hanged for "speaking his mind." Even as he is walking to the gallows, Pangloss is still optimistic. This is when Candide first began to doubt his master, "If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?"
B. Martin is not always pessimistic in his views, rather he sees aspects of life as not always the best that could have happened.
1. When the ship of the thief sank, Pangloss rejoiced, exclaiming that, "Crime is sometimes punished."
2. Martin saw the situation as a poor one. He questioned why "should the passengers be doomed also to destruction?" It is this reasoning that makes Martin's point of view more enlightened.
II. With Martin's outlook of life, one can find happiness faster than with Pangloss's method.
A. Martin showed that even though things do not always happen in the best possible way they could, everything works itself out in the end.
1. One of the few instances in which having misfortune turn into fortune occurred in Chapter XXVI. There was a poor king who needed money. Candide and the kings helped out their friend. By being in a bad position, this man was helped.
2. Right after that event, Candide saw " four Serene Highnesses, who had also been stripped of their territories by the fortune of war" but does not help them. This gives reason for Martin's pessimism.
B. By Pangloss's views, God wants to watch Candide suffer so that in the end he can be a little bit happier than he had been in the first place.
1. In the final chapter of the book, Pangloss tells Candide all he did and what it all amounted to: "preserved citrons and pistachio-nuts." Pangloss seemed optimistic about this, but it was a disheartening truth that made Candid'es journey seem like a horrible joke.
2. While Martin's judgments may be harsh, they tell it like it is. In Chapter XXI, he said that the world was created "To plague us to death." Even though that is not a nice statement, it can be applied to Candide's life.
III. Voltaire used Pangloss to represent Leibniz and his ideas, and presented Martin as a static opposite for Pangloss. Martin is Voltaire's opinions of what the best outlook on life is.
A. At the dawn of the Enlightenment, many new ways of thinking about the world were created. Leibniz thought of the "everything is for the best" mindset, which Voltaire did not agree with.
1. Voltaire uses satire to show how wrong he though Leibniz was. The slave in Chapter XIX is Voltaire showing people a horrible situation and seeing if they will still say that the world is the best.
B. Martin was Voltaire's presentation of what is the "right" way of thinking, or at least more right than what Leibniz had been proposing.
1. In the chapter where Martin is introduced, XX, he provides several counterarguments that prove that the world is not the bets of all possible worlds. "Even in those cities which seem to enjoy peace, and
where the arts flourish, the inhabitants are devoured by more envy, care, and uneasiness than are experienced by a besieged town." Unhappiness exists everywhere.
This is not a formal outline. You need specifics. Please re-do for full credit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the input. I posted a more formal version.
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