She Who Has Earned the Rose Must Cultivate Her Garden In times of great pain or crisis, it can often be healing to seek one’s own emotional journey on the pages of a story. Disassociating one’s self from the vivid reality of the present and experiencing the trials and revelations of a fictional counterpart can aid in the personal coping process. Given the present circumstances, I have been finding new and deeper meaning in and empathy for Voltaire’s Candide. I feel that many members of the Sweet Briar community is in the process of evaluating the events of the past month and those that may occur in the months to follow. I see similarities between this mental and philosophical journey and that of Candide and his comrades. In examining
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I do, however, commend this protagonist’s focus: despite the inconveniences, troubles, and horrors Candide experiences and sees, he continues to slough onward toward his goal, his love, the lady Cunégonde. This goal of reuniting with his love motivates him to endure the injustices and difficulties dealt to him, in addition to his moronic confidence in Doctor Pangloss’s belief that theirs is the “best of all possible worlds.” Although he does begin to question his mentor’s logic, Candide still clings to this idiotic notion from his youthful education for an excessive period of time within the novel. Even Pangloss himself does not alter his worldview, despite the cruelties fate has dealt him numerous times over. In my current sitution, I can understand Candide’s desire to cling to what is familiar, particularly during periods of uncertainty and crisis. It is a logical response, during times of chaos, to harbor a desire to seek out those thought to be more qualified to act than oneself. However, if such individuals remain staunchly devoted to their views, despite new experiences or data that may contradict them, new mentors become rather necessary, especially to the youth. It is during these trying times, in particular, that it is both helpful and rather necessary to have a …show more content…
In order to banish “those three great evils, boredom, vice, and poverty,” each member of Candide’s party must take on a task well-suited to him or her, and all “must go and workin the garden” (Voltaire 143). This take on the philosophical “meaning of life” falls more in line with my personal beliefs than the impractical and ridiculous thoughts of Doctor Pangloss (who refuses to recant his thoughts, even after all he has experienced). In my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that one must endeavor to succeed through one’s own merits and efforts. Of course, one can always fail, but one’s successes are inherently more valuable when one is able to credit one’s own self, rather than some mythical Being or the power of a “grand plan” of the universe. In summation, Voltaire’s philosophical tale has reenforced for me the importance of seeking strong leaders and mentors, as well as the value of genuine and personal effort towards success. As I look ahead to my uncertain future, I will carry these lessons alongside me in my philosophical and physical journey into the
I do, however, commend this protagonist’s focus: despite the inconveniences, troubles, and horrors Candide experiences and sees, he continues to slough onward toward his goal, his love, the lady Cunégonde. This goal of reuniting with his love motivates him to endure the injustices and difficulties dealt to him, in addition to his moronic confidence in Doctor Pangloss’s belief that theirs is the “best of all possible worlds.” Although he does begin to question his mentor’s logic, Candide still clings to this idiotic notion from his youthful education for an excessive period of time within the novel. Even Pangloss himself does not alter his worldview, despite the cruelties fate has dealt him numerous times over. In my current sitution, I can understand Candide’s desire to cling to what is familiar, particularly during periods of uncertainty and crisis. It is a logical response, during times of chaos, to harbor a desire to seek out those thought to be more qualified to act than oneself. However, if such individuals remain staunchly devoted to their views, despite new experiences or data that may contradict them, new mentors become rather necessary, especially to the youth. It is during these trying times, in particular, that it is both helpful and rather necessary to have a …show more content…
In order to banish “those three great evils, boredom, vice, and poverty,” each member of Candide’s party must take on a task well-suited to him or her, and all “must go and workin the garden” (Voltaire 143). This take on the philosophical “meaning of life” falls more in line with my personal beliefs than the impractical and ridiculous thoughts of Doctor Pangloss (who refuses to recant his thoughts, even after all he has experienced). In my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that one must endeavor to succeed through one’s own merits and efforts. Of course, one can always fail, but one’s successes are inherently more valuable when one is able to credit one’s own self, rather than some mythical Being or the power of a “grand plan” of the universe. In summation, Voltaire’s philosophical tale has reenforced for me the importance of seeking strong leaders and mentors, as well as the value of genuine and personal effort towards success. As I look ahead to my uncertain future, I will carry these lessons alongside me in my philosophical and physical journey into the