Dear Reader,
Though Voltaire's Candide, we see the main character's, Candide, ideas put to the test. In short he is put through a set of punishments. If you have ever read the book, you know that these circumstances are rather extreme. And as they are there to make a point in the real world, how just does it seem to the character. In truth, Candide's only crime is that of being ignorant, which is not a justification for his extreme punishments. I do not think he should be punished in such an extreme way, actually I do not think he should be punished at all for his ignorance. He should be taught to see a better way. After all, it is not his fault, but rather Pangloss' for imposing such ignorance. But then the question becomes about if the punishments are just for Pangloss. The answer is still no. I do not think that people should be punished for their beliefs. We are free to believe in what we want, and there should be no punishments for that.
That's what I think at least,
Nathan
Nathan, I like how you bring up the fact that Candide's only crime is his ignorance and that this is all on Pangloss.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I like that you're very optimistic, like Pangloss' belief. You see the good in everybody. I see your point though, why is it so bad to have and practice your own beliefs that you have to get punished? I wasn't too sure on whether the punishments were justifiable, but you make a great point about why they aren't.
ReplyDeleteI like how you approached the question by looking at the character himself and not why the author chose to write the way he did.
ReplyDeleteNate you made a point that I had never really considered when you mentioned how the punishments should be more directly pointed toward pangloss, the source of the poor teachings, yet they still are too extreme because fact of the matter is they're all just ignorant.
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