Reaction to Candide

Although I did not enjoy Candide as I did the other summer reading novels, I admired and appreciated Voltaire’s masterful utilization of irony to convey his views on life, science, and philosophy. I particularly agree with his view that the universe is random and uninvolved. His mockery of the idea of an omniscient, caring universe that is the “best of worlds,” that works to secure happiness for each individual residing within it utilizes the character of Candide (optimism!) effectively in my opinion. It is entertaining that, throughout all his violent misfortunes and those of others that he witnesses, he continues to brightly insist that “all is well.” In mocking Candide and his opinions (that were fed to him by Dr. Pangloss), Voltaire mocks this view of determined optimism.

The elements of the novel that I enjoy most are his snide, sneaky insults to rival philosophers whose views he sees as preposterous and as intending to take intellectual advantage of the uneducated. One of his more amusing insults is his use of Dr. Pangloss’ diction- nonsense words are used by the good doctor to explain his philosophy for Candide and his other disciples, to great comic effect. I feel like a modern connection to this that I can relate to is the vocabulary of Scientology, which includes words most people dismiss as nonsense, decreasing its credibility (unintentional by the creator), as Voltaire beats down the credibility of his rivals by exaggerating the ridiculous words they create.

The flow and style of Candide did not appeal to me, possibly because it was a form of writing that I have, on the whole, not been exposed to in my past reading of literature. In my opinion, Candide reads more like a play (though it is not in the play format) than a novel, with great amounts of dialogue and action description, but little to no internal voice - which I feel that I need to become fully engrossed in the novel and form a bond with the story’s narrator. The repetition (for example, the repeated violent miseries such as hangings, burnings, rapes, and floggings that were exacted upon characters throughout almost the entire novel) of similar actions and lack of a noticeable narrative presence that I can relate to left me wanting a rich fantasy novel like the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter series. It was interesting for me to note that I can lose patience with such a short fiction novel, but I feel that this was just a matter of personal taste, as I acknowledge and admire Voltaire’s talented and quick – witted utilization of irony.

The ultimate message of Candide, that “we must cultivate our garden,” is one with which I agree completely. The idea that comfortable and humble success, gained over a long period of time through hard work, sits well with me, compared to Candide’s initial idea that wealth would simply come to him because he is deserving of it. The message is an important one, especially for our era when economic success is far from secure.

Adam and Eve Allusions

The story of Adam and Eve is one that has pervaded the history and legends of mankind since its origins. The story is so universal, so widely known, that its utilization in literature enriches any story. In terms of imagery, elements of the Adam and Eve biblical story are in nearly every work of literature, if one looks closely enough. The nakedness of the man and woman in their innocence, the rich, wild beauty of the garden, the formation of the woman, the ominous presence of the evil, talking serpent, the holiness of the tree of knowledge (or the tree of life, from some perspectives) - every one of these images serves as a powerful metaphorical tool for whatever purpose the author may intend to use it. Allusions to the Adam and Eve story can illustrate man’s destructive and greedy nature (as Mr. Warren expresses masterfully in All The King’s Men), emphasize the innocence of a character, or fulfill nearly any other purpose that the author can think of.

All The King’s Men, as a rich novel set in the 1930s, is saturated with imagery, much of which can be tied back to biblical times- specifically, Adam and Eve. The character of Adam can be connected to the Adam of biblical myth, and indeed, his story can be said to parallel the tale of Adam. He begins the story (chronologically, at least) as an innocent teenager (paralleling the innocence of Adam, as he is born a naked man in the Garden of Eden) and maintains his pristine morality as a doctor (held in great public esteem as well as respected and resented deeply by Jack) - that is, until he “bites” from the “fruit of knowledge.” In this case, the apple bitten by Eve is the knowledge of Willie’s scandal and seedy morals that Adam obtains, and this drives him, as Adam of biblical lore is driven out of the garden, to shoot Willie (committing a moral sin, as Adam did to get kicked out of the garden). To me, it seems like one could easily dismiss this parallel and the other parallels that Warren includes in All The King’s Men as unnecessary and not useful to the story- extra padding. But as I’ve often felt, and as I read about in more depth in How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the phenomena of intertextuality in literature adds a layer of richness, like the scorched brown sugar glasslike coating on a small cup of crème brulee.

All biblical allusions in literature, from the character of Adam in All the King’s Men to the apple image in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer add a layer of richness and comprehension by tying these works back to a place in history that to us in the present seems timeless, unending. Adam and Eve allusions create a quality of timelessness in the works that they appear in. Now that I understand the connections between allusions and literature, the process of discovering them has become monumentally more enjoyable and rewarding.

Angel

The character of Angel in Tess of the D’Urbervilles interested me and later frustrated me with his complexity and hypocrisy. I enjoyed the way the figurative language used to characterize the man evolved over the course of the novel, along with Tess’ situation. One small example of this occurs during the almost-return to innocence of Tess during her time at the dairy farm- her love interest is named Angel and is viewed in a beautiful garden, playing a harp. This would seem to imply that he is to be something of a savior for Tess and raises expectations for his character that he winds up falling very short of fulfilling. Shortly after their marriage and his departure, Hardy refers to his character less and less by his first name and more by Clare, his last name. To me, this new formality and distance between Angel and the readers parallels the way that Angel has distanced himself from Tess and can no longer be seen as her “angel.” The night that Angel finds out about Tess’ past misfortune with Alec D’Urberville, the imagery used to describe him shifts from tenderness and awe to dark and disapproving- the two unhappy lovers on their marriage night are juxtaposed- she as a delicate, light grey figure and he beside her, dark, “sinister, and forbidding.” This imagery foreshadows that he will bring misery to her or at the very least will darken the light that shines inside of her.

During the darker stage of their relationship, the awe with which Hardy surrounds Angel’s character- emphasis of his intelligence, culture, sensitivity, his rejection of convention- is slowly stripped away, perhaps as a means of foreshadowing Tess’ disillusionment with her husband after months of abandonment. Words used to describe him become disapproving, like “vague,” “abruptly,” “shame,” “misery, and “stern.” Angel is even described shortly after the essential dissolution of their marriage as a ghostly figure descending the hill to his home- almost as if he were a fallen angel, having exhausted his light and his potential as a satisfactory partner for Tess. In regards to the literal characterization of Angel, he reveals himself (or Hardy reveals him) to be shallow, a poser pretending to be above the conventions of his family (his brothers in particular). The perfect exemplification of this change is his immature attempt at expressing his desires, “My position- is this,’ he said abruptly. ‘I thought – any man would have thought – that by giving up all ambition to win a wife with social standing, with fortune, with knowledge of the world, I should secure rustic innocence as surely as I should secure pink cheeks; but – However, I am no man to reproach you, and I will not.” Tess feels his contradiction with that last statement and his curt and confused ramblings decrease the reader’s trust in his character. He proves himself to be in love with the idea of a country girl (wanting ruddy cheeks, the whole package) and not the actuality of the individual to whom he has pledged his love. By the end, any angelic qualities Angel might have appeared to have are gone- he is a weak, confused young man, no better than anyone else.