Candide: Chapters XIV & XV

I read chapter XIII incredibly wrong. I had the idea that Governor Don Fernando d’Ibaraa y Figueora y Mascarenes y Lampourdos y Souza and Cunégonde were going to get married, but it turns out that Candide was the one who said she was going to be his wife. Except now, Candide had to leave Cunégonde with the Governor of Buenos Ayres so something might happen…

Anyways, as I continued reading, Candide meets Cunégonde’s brother who has become a colonel and a priest. As Candide mentions to the Baron that he intends to marry his sister when they rescue her, he replies, “’You insolent fellow!’ exclaimed the Baron. ‘You have the impudence to think of marrying my sister, who has seventy-two quartering’s in her coat…’” (66). The mood change in just a few seconds is crazy. One minute they are crying together because they missed each other, and then next the Baron is shouting at Candide and hits him across the face. Then Candide kills him and says on page 67, “ ‘…I am the best-tempered man there ever was…” Please! He even says that he killed three men, how can he also say that he is the best-tempered person there ever was.

On page 67 when Cacambo sees that Candide has killed the Baron. He tells Candide to put on the Barons gown and the square hat, and tells him to get on the horse and leave. This way people will think he is a Jesuit and they can cross the border before they attack them. It is a very smart plan. I think Cacambo is an intelligent man. He is said to have done a lot of things such as a sailor, monk, soldier and commercial traveler. He knows how to get out of a bad situation. I think that Cacambo also is going to be telling his story just like the old woman had done.

Candide: Chapter XIII

So far we have seen Candide do many horrible things, one of them being that he had killed two men. Now, the funny thing is, when the Governor asks if Cunégonde was the captain’s wife, he was debating whether he should say yes or say she was his sister. Except he decided not to because, “his soul was too pure to commit such treason against truth”. I thought it was a little strange that lying is the limit, while killing two men is still somehow acceptable to him. There was a lot of absurdity there and a little ironic that he is willing to kill than lie. 

As I kept reading, there was an interesting thing that the old woman said, “…misfortunes bring some privileges…” when Cunégonde asked her if she should marry the Governor. This sentence has a lot of meaning to it. Even if you have been through a lot of trouble and problems, there is something good that can come out of it. You can learn something or become a stronger person.

Lastly, a quote that I found very exaggerated but also absurd was when the old women said, “…the governor loves you so violently”. Did the Governor and Cunégonde not just meet a couple hours ago? He met her when she got off the boat, and immediately decided they should get married the next day, no matter what the church said. I do not think that it was love that the old woman was talking about. It was more the fact that he liked her because of her appearances and he wanted her for himself. Also, the use of the word violently was a little odd. How do you love somebody violently? 

Candide: Chapter VII

The reunion of Candide and Cunégonde was not very surprising mainly because I was told it was going to happen. As I read the text where they saw each other, it said that they were speechless. Then on page 39 it said, "The old woman took some rose-water and sprinkled it over them," she had done that to 'recover' their senses. Since this novel is a satire, the sprinkled rose-water was a little bit of absurdity.

Just like Candide thought, it could have been a dream because he was going from a horrible nightmare by going to jail and losing a close friends to only greatness in his life by reuniting with the love of his life. Maybe it is too good to be true.

In this chapter you also get a little sneak peek of what Cunégonde had to go through after Candide left. Her entire family was killed and she was raped, which confuses Candide because he assumes that she would have been killed, but then she says, "' I was indeed,' said the lovely Cunégonde, 'but people don't always die of those mishaps.'"

The next chapter is when you realize what Cunégonde really had to go through.

Candide: Chapter VI

In this chapter there is a lof of irony, for example on page 37, "... my dear Anabaptist ( the best of men!)

To me it seemed as if he meant it in a sarcastic way with the parenthesis because why could Voltaire not have written it without the parenthesis just like the next sentence. "And Lady Cunégonde, the pearl amongst all women!"Why wasn't 'the pearl amongst all women!' in parenthesis? I believe it is because he actually believes she is a pearl.

Throughout this short chapter, a lot of things happen. One main this is that Candide and Pangloss are sent to jail. The reason they were arrested was because one of them was speaking and the other was nodding in agreement to what the other said. Further down in that paragraph you can somehow put the pieces together to who did what. As the two men were released to be hanged, they both had to put on a sacrificial cassock. The reason why you could tell who did what was because Candides cassock had inverted flames and devils without tails or claws. Except Pangloss's cassock had devils on it that did have tails and claws. Meaning that Pangloss was the more dangerous one and what he said had gotten them both in jail.

In the end of this chapter, Pangloss is hanged. Candide then wonders if this is as bad as it gets. If he is living the best of all possible worlds, then he can't imagine what the rest of the worlds are like. Luckily, an old woman comes rescue him and tells him to follow her.

Candide: Chapter V

On page 34, when Voltaire writes "...relieve those inhabitants who had escaped death".

The part I liked most was when he writes "escaped death". The way Voltaire uses his words is unique and interesting a to read. Instead of just saying surviving he uses escaped and instead of saying the storm (for what they survived) he says death. One reason I believe he does not say escaped the storm is because they were on a boat and there was no way to avoid it. Using 'escaped death' is a creative way of saying that they had survived.

Another interesting bit is when you think that there is no answer for the question given, Voltaire always seems to give an answer. An example is on page 35,"'Then you don't believe in Free Will, Sir?' said the officer. 'Your Excellency must excuse me,' said Pangloss; 'Free Will is consistent with Absolute Necessity, for it was ordained that we should be free. For the Will that is Determined...'"

If someone were to ask you this question, would you be able to answer it in a matter of seconds, or would you need time to think about it. I guess it partly has to do with the fact that Pangloss is a philosopher, but the answer to the question makes sense.

On page 35, there is an interesting part you get to learn about Pangloss, it states, "Pangloss consoled them with the assurance that things could not be otherwise".

With this information you see that Pangloss believes that things happen for a reason. The storm, earthquake and the death of family members all happend for a reason and that they should not be sad about it. The quote gives a brief explanation of the way Pangloss saw things in life and what he believed (until later in the story when he gets killed).