Candide Essays (Examples)

Aside from Candide and Pangloss, the character who suffers the most in this novel and demonstrates that the world is far from the best of all possible places is Cudgeon's servant, the old woman. ith the characterization of the old woman, Voltaire makes it quite clear that he is satirizing human suffering and the value of philosophy that seeks to endorse or even defend one's existence in such a cruel world. The old woman went from having the brightest of futures -- that of being a beautiful woman of noble and wealthy lineage preparing to marry a prince -- to the worst of all possible fates. She lived to see everyone that she cared for, including the prince she was to marry as well as her family members, killed and oftentimes raped. She herself is raped on numerous occasions, beaten savagely, taken advantage of, sold and resold into slavery, and…

On the one hand his gesture can be interpreted as the desire to reconstruct the original garden of paradise. This hypothesis could be supported by the name of the character and the reader could understand that he maintains his innocence despite having seen and experienced the evil which characterizes the real world.

The fact that he dedicates himself to gardening also suggest that his awareness regarding the fact that if you want something, the best thing that you can do about it is try to achieve it on your own. Judging this situation from the perspective of the opposition between science and religion, the gesture becomes a symbol for the individual's freedom and force of will. In creating his own personal paradise, Candide demonstrates that he does not need anyone, not even god. His name receives other connotations under these circumstances and we come to understand his purity no longer…

Candide

LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

Voltaire earned much fame and criticism at the same time for his powerful crusade against injustice and bigotry, expressed in brilliant literature. He went up against the government and the Catholic hierarchy, particularly because of the Grand Inquisition. His character, Candide, was very much patterned after his own personality and experience, but his character begins by believing in goodness as prevailing in the world and ends the same way, despite his (Voltaire's) deadly cynicism. His famous phrase, "the best of possible worlds," has been his landmark, and the question that follows is, "what then are the others?"

He was the satirist par excellence of his time and considered the embodiment of the Enlightenment Period in the 18th century. A mix of success and suffering characterized his whole life, from poor health, to the disapproval of authorities, imprisonments and exiles, but more significantly, his achieving much…

The group does not end up at a house or on the road or at a castle but in a garden, at work where new seeds can grow, yield produce and perhaps enhance the quality of life.

As members of a small group of individuals away from the world's corruption, they can each have a personal task as well as set and reach goals together. This, after all, is what society is: A group of individuals with similar values and beliefs that are working for the common good. The object is to try and destroy the weeds that will do their best to choke and eat away at the seedlings, so the plants can grow and provide food, shelter, clothing and other necessities.

Despite the horrors that all of them have seen and individually faced, they know that boredom, doing nothing, is a worst fate of all. The woman asks…

" (Voltaire, Chapter 30) as much as the reader might have suspected Pangloss' increasing embitterment, irrational emotional ties to creed, in the world of the novel, still hold true, although rather than believe him or attempt to show disrespect towards the former tutor who has proved so useless to him, Candide stresses that the mans remarks are "excellently observed...but let us cultivate our garden." (Voltaire, Chapter 30)

Let us, in other words, suggests both Candide and Voltaire -- the first time the author and the protagonist are really united in their sentiments and voice -- return to nature and the inner cultivation of the self and one's personal life and soul in an independent fashion, rather than debate outer, political philosophy that adheres to the ideology of others. This is an ideal that is the soon to be stomping ground of Romanticism, as depicted in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a work…

He has refused to see the world clearly for so long, that once he has no choice other than to apprehend reality with its full force, it hurts him to see Cunegund grown ugly and shrill, and himself in mean and reduced circumstances.

He resolves to find some inner strength and bear down upon his ill temperament, to make his garden grow and to take pleasure in the simple tasks of life -- but he has already seen and sacrificed El Dorado, the legendary city of paradise he resolved to leave. The residents of El Dorado were so wise they played with jewels because of their commonness. But the lack of concern for the real trappings wealth displayed by these citizens was unfortunately parallel to the lack of concern Candide showed for reality, because he was so determined to see the world only in the way he was taught --…

Candide written Voltaire. You Candide-Literture.org find story. It long. Here a web site

Characters

Candide

Young Baron

Cunegonde

The Old Woman

Cacambo

Pangloss

Paquette

Brother Giroflee

Dervish

Scene I: Candide's farm, a fairly lonesome plot of land with doting greenery lining the unkempt fields. In the back there are a few dilapidated farmhouses, anemic looking cows, and other visible signs that the place is in a state of decline. Candide stands before the Young Baron, an incredulous look smeared across his face. The Young Baron returns his glance with a look of defiance more befitting his father than a man of the Young Baron's stature; Cunegonde, virtually cock-eyed and drained from an overdose of sun and lack of luxury, anxiously taps her foot on the ground, looking between the two men nervously, yet remains silent.

Candide (struggling to restrain the smile that keeps tugging at his lips): "Again, good Baron,…

If there is a volcano at Lisbon it cannot be elsewhere. It is impossible that things should be other than they are; for everything is right'" (Voltaire 21). Candide seems incapable of coming up with many ideas on his own, but he is quite good a parroting the ideas of others, and Pangloss is his mentor and idol, so he follows his thoughts blindly, never questioning them or developing true reasoning and deduction skills throughout his adventures.

Throughout his experiences, the reader would expect Candide to become bitter and disillusioned with the real world. He is beaten, taken advantage of, conscribed into an army, nearly killed several times, accused of numerous crimes, and generally mistreated and abused wherever he goes. He also meets many unfortunate people who have suffered as much as he has, or even more. Yet he never questions the sanity of all this depravity, or what kind…

He realizes that a sense of fulfillment and a life well-lived comes from hard work and the simple things in life. The Turk explains the mystery behind hard work keeps the mind occupied. Through cultivating his estate with his children, he is keeping away "three great evils: boredom, vice, and need" (100). Through his interaction with the Turk, Candide realizes that every human being is responsible for making the world a better place to live. In order for this to happen, people must connect with one another and work to make the world a safe and pleasant place to live. People working on their lives is the symbolism found in the notion of people cultivating their own gardens. Candide's travels lead him all over the world where he realizes that good and evil exist everywhere. In fact, they must coexist in order for us to appreciate the good in life.…

Voltaire's Title Character Candide: Fool, Hero, or Both?

The comic novel Candide, by 18th century French author Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire (better known as "Voltaire") satirically attacks the pseudo-rationalist idea that human optimism alone (the actual title of the book is Candide, or Optimism) can counteract extremes of evil and cruelty, such as those continually endured by the novel's title character and his various friends: Cunegonde; Pangloss; Cunegonde's brother; the old woman; Cacambo; Martin, and others. Throughout most of the novel, Candide seems a hapless fool, for continuing to cling, in the face of much contrary evidence, to his tutor Pangloss's original world view, that "everything is for the best" (p. 521). However, Candide also later grows into a hero of sorts: brave; tenacious, and resilient. Ultimately he saves friends from cruel fates. Still, most of the time before that, we simultaneously pity him and laugh at him. Only at…

Candide

In his signature work Candide, French author Voltaire offers an extensive criticism of seventeenth and eighteenth-century social, cultural, and political realities. Aiming the brunt of his satirical attack on the elite strata of society, Voltaire simultaneously criticizes some liberal Enlightenment philosophies. Voltaire mocks the authority of both Church and State, showing the corruption inherent in each. Similarly, the novel points out the insipid arrogance of the aristocracy, especially via his relationship with the Baron and his family, all of whom except for his beloved Cunegonde remain farcically nameless throughout the novel. Although Voltaire sympathizes with the core values of Enlightenment thought such as social justice, reason, and egalitarianism, his novel demonstrates disappointment with the distortion of those values. Excess optimism, represented clearly by Pangloss, and excess pessimism, represented by Martin, are portrayed as the two impractical extremes of Enlightenment values in Candide. Furthermore, while Voltaire appreciates the burgeoning rationalism…

Candide Journey

The Importance of Journey in Candide

In Voltaire's Candide, the titular protagonist and his companions go on many journeys to many different lands, some intentional and some less so. These journeys are highly important to the structure and nature of the novel, in more ways than one. First of all, they are standard and stereotypical devices that Voltaire purposefully satirizes and also brilliantly makes use of. They also relate directly to the philosophies that Voltaire has his characters discuss during the course of the novel, and are essential for illustrating and demonstrating many of his points. They also play a symbolic importance in the development of each of the characters. These journeys are essential to the story of Candide for reasons of narrative, philosophy, and symbolism.

There are several reasons that the journeys are essential for the narrative. Candide's first journey, following his banishment from the castle, is…

Voltaire's "Candide" is several novels rolled into one. (Homer and Hull, 1978), he returns to the life of a commoner. His life has gone full circle. From flights of fancy, he derives pleasure from one of the most basic occupations -- farming. Voltaire's epic works at several levels. His disdain for philosophies at the cost of realism is evident. Pangloss, the "metaphysico-theologo-cosmonolonigolo" ic tutor is not particularly equipped when confronted with life's harsh realities. In the long run, there is a reversal of roles: from Candide's starry eyed wonderment of Pangloss' learning, to Pangloss' life at the pleasure of Candide.

The essay will argue that in keeping with the alternative title for Candide -- Optimism -- throughout the narrative, Candide always looks ahead to the future. His travails would have put paid to most people. ut his optimism and will to survive enables him to use all his abilities to…

he has lived through violence, rape, slavery, and betrayal and seen the ravages of war and greed. The old woman's story also functions as a criticism of religious hypocrisy. he is the daughter of the Pope, the most prominent member of the Catholic Church. The Pope has not only violated his vow of celibacy, but has also proven unable and unwilling to protect his daughter from the misfortunes that befell her.

Candide also displays this sense of hope in light of his many hardships. He honors his commitment to marry Cunegonde at the end of the story despite the physical abnormalities that have plagued her. Cunegonde is a young and beautiful woman at the beginning of Candide. Mirroring Candide's naive optimism, their love plays out in unrealistic romantic cliches: a blush, a dropped handkerchief, a surreptitious kiss behind a screen. However, this romance in the shelter of the Baron's estate…

arfare was obviously distasteful for Voltaire as he showed with 'Te deum' or the Christian hymn of thanksgiving. The soldiers of both the parties sing the song even though neither side was in a position to have won the battle. Voltaire showed that the atrocities of war would never be prevented even with international laws. As Voltaire depicted two armies present as a glorious spectacle, he was showing the terrible atmosphere that was created in the music and gunfire. Candide saw that on the battlefield that guns and bayonets would lead to more thirty thousand rogues death and Candide trembled in terror. So when the both kings and their armies sing 'Te Deum' only Candide seems to understand that both sides of the village are ruined. In summary, Voltaire is quite clear when he describes all that Candide saw from the shocking massacre of the community was the soldiers' lust…

Voltaire wrote Candide, he wrote a masterpiece of satiric literature in which he explored many philosophical questions of the day. Many of those issues intersected with each other, so putting them together in one treatise was a useful way to look at them as they interacted in a fictional story. This paper will look at five of those issues: fate, evil, personal choice, religion, and optimism.

To tell this tale, Voltaire used two main characters: Candide and Pangloss. Neither name seems to be an accident. Candide wants to discover the true nature of the philosophical issues he is grappling with. Pangloss is optimistic to a level of caricature, which suggests his name, glossing over everything, no matter how unpleasant or even evil it seems.

FATE

In Chapter 20 (third paragraph from the end), this conversation takes place about fate:

You see," said Candide to Martin, "that vice is sometimes punished.…

This section of the novel opens our eyes to the real monster of the story and, as a result, we feel sympathy for the creature. His desire to learn about life and the world around him is amazing and his encounter with the De Lacey family demonstrates just how much he wants to makes friends and be a part of his "community." He teaches himself to read and attempts to make friends with this family because he is aware of the importance of connecting with others. atching them, he is filled with "sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature" (Shelley 93) and wants to be a part of their world. He is a good creature at first and Shelley does an excellent job of portraying him in this light. He only becomes evil after he suffers rejection and abuse from those that he is trying to connect with on a…

Even in this moment of supreme individual stupidity and rigidity, which Voltaire plays up with brilliant sarcastic comedy, Pangloss attributes his continued optimism to the intellectual worship of Leibniz. This instance shows that men are generally not stupid individually, in Voltaire's view, but rather that they are dependent on others for this quality.

Other examples of stupidity and other negative human qualities being obtained through association abound. In Paraguay, Candide has an unlikely encounter with the brother of Cungeund, whom he plans to marry. Immediately after embracing him as a brother himself, Candide reveals his intentions to marry Cunegund, and explains his careful reasoning over the brother's angry protestations. After Candide again insist that he will marry Cunegund, her brother responds thusly: "e shall see to that, villain!' said the Jesuit, Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, and struck him across the face with the flat side of his sword" (Voltaire, 36). IThough…

entourage minor characters accompanies Candide assists / hampers journey. Voltaire characters express personal ideas criticisms contemporary French society politics. Discuss minor characters acts a spokesman Voltaire's complaints French politics, society, culture early 18th century.

Martin in Voltaire's Candide

'All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.' So Voltaire's Dr. Pangloss proclaims in the satire Candide. Candide skewers the philosophy of life of the idealistic philosopher Leibnitz, with whom Voltaire disagreed vehemently. Leibnitz believed that the world existed in a state of perfect harmony. The unbridled optimism embodied by Pangloss is constantly undermined by the horrible events in the world around him, including inquisitions, rapes, and murders.

To take issue with the Panglossian philosophy of optimism, Voltaire introduces a man named Martin who functions as Pangloss' antithesis. Martin, like all of the characters of the work, has survived countless horrors, but he seems to see the world…

Orgon and Candide

The Enlightenment philosophers believed that God created the world, and as God is the most benevolent, capable mind possible, then the world must be the best possible world. Humans are incapable of understanding the role of evil in the world because they do not understand how the force that God set in place to govern the world. Therefore, when humans see bad things happening, they are unable to comprehend that every bad thing occurs for a greater good. This philosophy is grounded in a strong sense of cause and effect, the pursuit of which leads humans to misperceptions and, ultimately, to misplaced faith.

Orgon's misperceptions are so acute, that it leaves one wondering if his gullibility was native. Orgon's search for salvation brings him to set aside the cautions and warnings of his friends and fall completely for Tartuffe's flattery and trickery. Orgon's blind faith is driven…

That the story is real and that we can learn from it becomes an extremely important aspect. Improvement begins with realization.

The old woman reveals one of the most horrific tales in the story. Chapter 11 reveals some of the most heinous treatment of women. The old woman recounts a tale of being taken to Morocco and sold as slaves. On the ship to Morocco, she tells of how she was raped by Prince of Masa Carrara, a "abominable Nergo who yet thought he was doing me much honor" (37). She wraps up her rape story by saying "these things are so common that they are not worth speaking of" (37). Things were not better in Morocco as the Europeans "fought with the fury of the lions, tigers and snakes of the country to see who should have us" (37). All the women were cut and massacred and many were…

Voltaire's "Candide" (lake and Kazin, 1976) contain aspects of anti-religious sentiments. oth epics are quasi-historical -- they provide a commentary on the prevailing times; both works also provide a view into lake and Voltaire's personal opinions and leanings. Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits -- priests belonging to the society of Jesuits. Voltaire railed against the prevailing cultural and religious mores that sought to forget socio-economic conditions to satisfy some pre-ordained, religious (mis)interpretations of divine mandates. lake, similarly, was mortified by the dualism practiced by the religious of the time. He did not like or appreciate the way in which every thing was seen from the point of black or white. If the Church deemed something unfit, the practitioner of that aspect of life came under severe remonstrations and even met the ultimate penalty of death. oth authors struggle against the fact that these rules were beneficial to those in…

" The differences in these two lines seem to be only a matter of syntax but in actuality, it also differs in the meaning. The King James Bible version makes it seem like the Lord is making the individual do something, as if by force or obligation, while the Puritan version states that the Lord causes the individual to do something, as if out of their own will. This alone relays the message that faith itself is driving the action, not a perceived obligation.

Another distinction between the two translations can be found with the lines "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: / and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (King James Bible) and "Goodness and mercy surely shall / all my days follow me. / and in the Lord's house I shall / dwell so long as days…

Do you disagree with any of Pope's opinions or pronouncements in the Heroic Couplets or "An Essay on Man"?

Pope is critical of individuals who "cry, if man's unhappy, God's unjust," suggesting that the unhappiest people are people who blame God, rather than themselves for all of their troubles, or who curse God because their lives are imperfect. The need to accept life's imperfections while still working to enact positive changes within the limitations of humanity is a positive message still relevant for people today.

Based on what you have read of "The Rape of the Lock," what do you think the poem's theme or central message is? What or who are the objects of his satire? Does the epic, "The Rape of the Lock" apply in any way to society today? Identify two passages that could serve as satiric commentaries on people's behavior today. Your answer should discuss both…

Voltaire and Dostoyevsky

Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground and Voltaire's Candide are precisely similar works: in attempting to construct a narrative critique of a philosophical system, they slip from harsh satire into a form of sentimentality. I would suggest that comparing the two works' differing approaches to the philosophical problems of optimism, adversity, and violence are indicative of a different attitude altogether toward the philosophical problems presented. Dostoyevsky is passionate but ultimately sees no alternative between traditional religious morality and nihilism; Voltaire, by contrast, sees traditional religious morality as banal and proposes his own alternative. But in my conclusion, I will compare and contrast the role played by comedy in both works -- although each takes a broadly satirical approach toward the philosophical fashions of the present-day, only Candide is the genuinely comic work.

In comparing the role played by optimism in both works, it is important to recall that this…

The Lord will lead one to safety always. One can simply believe in something higher to get the meaning of this; it doesn't have to be Jesus. Psalm 127, contrarily is confusing because it states that unless the Lord builds the house, it is built in vain. This seems to be more literal, but I do get the idea. Unless the people building the house are doing it with the love of the Lord in their hearts, or building it for him, then what is the point?

Didactic poetry can be quite comforting as seen in Psalm 23 or it can be much too literal and seen as both confusing and condescending. Psalm 127 isn't very instructive spiritually speaking, unlike Psalm 23.

Updated Proverb: A broken toe can hurt, but a broken heart can kill.

Metaphors: Obscure or Illuminate? Didactic literature with its use of metaphors can sometimes obscure the…

Enlightenment-era, Neo-Classical works with Romantic overtones 'Tartuffe," Candide, and Frankenstein all use unnatural forms of character representation to question the common conceptions of what is natural and of human and environmental 'nature.' Moliere uses highly artificial ways of representing characters in dramatic forms to show the unnatural nature of an older man becoming attracted to a younger woman. Voltaire uses unnatural and absurd situations to question the unnatural belief of Professor Pangloss that this is the best of all possible worlds. Mary Shelley creates a fantastic or unnatural scenario to show the unnatural nature of a human scientist's attempt to turn himself into a kind of God-like creator through the use of reason and science alone.

"Tartuffe" is the most obviously unnatural of the three works in terms of its style. It is a play, and the characters do not really develop as human beings because of the compressed nature…

Plato and the Platypus

Philosophers in the Enlightenment era would come up with various new means to popularize ideas. Denis Diderot conceived the first encyclopedia in this period, which was an attempt to systematize all world knowledge in an accessible way. But also, in another innovation, Voltaire would offer as a refutation of the optimistic philosophy of Leibniz -- which held that "this is the best of all possible worlds" -- a new form of philosophical argument: the extended comedy (Cathcart and Klein, 17). Voltaire's short book Candide is essentially an extended refutation of Leibniz's view of God (or perhaps any view of God), but it makes its points through satirical humor. In some sense, Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein are following in the footsteps of Voltaire by attempting to shed light on philosophical ideas through the medium of humor in their work Plato and a Platypus alk Into A…

In the period between the evolution and the drafting of the Constitution, Jefferson noted that the eventual existence of a dictator in place of a king in Ancient ome clearly indicated the existence of real failings within the oman system:

dictator is entirely antithetical to republicanism's "fundamental principle...that the state shall be governed as a commonwealth," that there be majority rule, and no prerogative, no "exercise of [any] powers undefined by the laws." "Powers of governing...in a plurality of hands." (Zuckert, 1996, p. 214)

As a result, Jefferson, like the philosophes before him (and the Iroquois) would turn to ideas that would balance the necessary evils of government power with the rights of the people. James Madison agreed wholeheartedly, and urged in "Government of the United States" that a constitutional government based on separation of powers was the only sure way of preventing the country from taking the "high road…

World War I: Dada

The literary and artistic movement known as Dada originated in the Swiss city of Zurich, at the time of the First World War, as a response to the War as well as the nationalism considered by many to have sparked the war. Inspired by Futurism, Cubism, Expressionism, Constructivism, and other innovative movements, Dadaism's output ranged from poetry, collage, and painting, to performance arts and sculptures (Jones, 2002; Hulsenbeck, 1988). The movement's aesthetic, characterized by contempt for nationalistic and materialistic attitudes, strongly influenced artists in major cities across the globe, such as Berlin, Paris, Cologne, Hanover, and New York, and all ended up creating their own separate groups. Surrealism led to Dadaism's degeneration.

Beginnings

Sickened by the nationalism that triggered WWI, Dadaists were constantly against the idea of authoritarianism, and all kinds of guiding ideologies or group leadership. Their main concern was revolting against the apparent middleclass…

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Although Carey's journal reportedly ends prematurely, he continued to write letters for the next thirty years.

Carey understood the value in/of education, medicine, and other works. He continually encouraged missionaries to travel to the hinterland "and build an indigenous Christianity with vernacular Bibles and other writings and native-led churches."

For his mission to succeed, hile it simultaneously retained its core, Carey purported, it had to not only fill the eternal needs of people missionaries shared the gospel with, but also their day-to-day needs.

During his day-to-day life, Carey was also a husband and father. The following relates details regarding his three marriages.

Dorothy Plackett Carey (1755?-1807): Married illiam Carey in 1781. She was 25 and he was 19. Their marriage was a contrast in ability and interests. She was reluctant to leave England and go to India. Only after much perusasion and on the condition that her sister, Kitty,…

Nonexistent Knight is a character driven narrative and, therefore, should be summarized within the framework of those characters and their exploits throughout the novella. The titular character, the nonexistent knight, Agilulf, who exists not in the flesh but in a suit of armor, seeks to restore his honor by confirming that his good deed that earned him his knighthood, saving the virginity of a young royal woman from the lecherous ways of two brutes, did indeed happen per his recollection. The youth, Raimbaut, is a young knight in the making who falls in love with a dastardly lady knight. The lady knight, Bradamante, falls in love with the chivalric and impeccably noble ways of the nonexistent knight and sets up a love triangle of sorts. Then there's Torrismund, another knight, who ends up falling in love with a woman that was at one point thought to be his mother. Lastly,…

Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, written by ohn Cleland in 1749 while in debtor's prison, has been called the first pornographic novel. Cleland demonstrated an artful ability to use the writing style of the day, use of irony, and a superficial story of virtue that triumphs over sin to make pornography acceptable enough to be read widely.

The story is written in an autobiographical tone and consists of letters Fanny Hill writes to a friend. Her story begins at age 15 when she is orphaned. She moves to London, and has to find a way to support herself. The path she takes, of moving into a brothel, may have been a common solution for young women without means or relatives during that time. While she is in the brothel she meets a man called Charles and falls in love with him, but after they have lived…

BETTING THE PLANET

Understanding the Issues Raised in "Betting the Planet"

Charles C. Mann introduces his work by going back to thirty years when the first Astronauts, who went to space, managed to take a picture of the Earth. hat the astronauts saw while out there was a healthy shock to them, and the photograph gave them a reminder of the world's natural limits that cannot be escaped. As such, the photograph became part of contemporary life because it beaconed to environmental advocates and a marketing logo for upscale advertisers. However, human beings are missing in the photograph yet they are a vital component in the completion of the equation. This is true because the Homo sapiens are the single species shaping the global landscape who have exercised dominion over the Earth. The argument raised in the statement above is true because it contributed to Charles Mann's article concerning entering…

Your answer should be at least five sentences long.

The Legend of Arthur

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty

1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality.

2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 10 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7B: Combining Sentences

Complete the Practice Activity on page 202 of your text. After completing this activity, read over your Essay Assessment or another journal activity you've completed.

* Identify three passages that could be improved by combining two or more sentences with coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. Below the practice activity in your journal, write the original passages and the revised sentences you've created.

* Be sure to…

Racine's Phaedra -- Compared to Blake's "Lamb" and Melville's Billy Budd

As Bernard Grebanier states, Racine's Phaedra speaks "with the violence of life itself" (xiv). If one were to compare the French playwright's most famous female lead to the English-speaking world's most famous male lead (as Grebanier does), it would have to be to Hamlet, whose passionate assessment of life is likewise problematic. Indeed, Phaedra raises many themes, including the importance of origin, innocence, and sin -- themes that may be found in as seemingly disparate works as illiam Blake's "The Lamb" and Herman Melville's Billy Budd. hile Racine's Phaedra is the tale of a woman, torn by a passion that possesses her so cruelly that it destroys not only her life but the lives of others around her -- including the innocent man who is her obsession, Hyppolytus; Blake's poem deals with the triple theme of origin, innocence, and…

When the readings are complete you will be able to visualize the world many years ago and the things that happened at that time. The changes in mankind and attitude are also evidenced by reading the literature of the old world.

Cultural differences are also clearly laid out through this course. They are detailed in several of the assigned works and show you how different people lived and how they thought at the time. Whether you want to learn about foods, dance, mindsets, religious faiths or other aspects of other cultures it can all be done through the assigned readings in this course.

The final reason you should take this course is the way it can be applied to today's life. Learning about the Native American understanding of botanical life can provide insight to the use of herbs today. Taking information from the readings and applying them to current life…

Saikaku, Pushkin and El Saadawi: Is Justice Possible?

The concept of justice, in literature and in life, is a universally cherished yet complex and inherently ambiguous one. All societies have respective, sometimes opposing, ideas about justice. Islamic Sharia law (once enforced in Afghanistan by the Taliban) states that cutting off a hand is apt justice for theft. Western society would consider that act not only unjust but barbaric. Webster's New American Dictionary defines "justice" as (1) "the administration of what is just (as by assigning merited rewards or punishments)"; (2) "the administration of the law; and (3) FAIRNESS; also RIGHTEOUSNESS" (p. 285). By any of those (admittedly Western) definitions, particularly the last one, neither Ihara Saikaku in "The Barrelmaker, Brimful of Love"; Alexander Pushkin in "The Queen of Spades"; nor Nawar El Saadawi in "In Camera" depict justice as feasible within the socially-constructed institutions (e.g., insane asylums; courtrooms; marriage) or…

Descartes' Discourse Method (Part IV). Descartes begins problem prove existence ends argument proving existence God. Read Discourse Method located http://www.earlymoderntexts.

Swift's "A Modest Proposal"

Jonathan Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal" is meant to stand as criticism regarding how upper class individuals in Ireland had a tendency to harshly discriminate people belonging to lower classes. The fact that the writer provides a very complex description about how the upper classes need to behave is likely to influence most readers in believing that he was actually interested in putting across truthful opinions and that he was really determined to assist wealthy individuals. Moreover, Swift provides a number of calculations with the purpose of having people acknowledge the financial benefits associated with his plans. It is not until the last passages of the essay that readers are probable to understand that it is actually meant to be satirical and that the writer's…

SWIFT'S A MODEST PPOSAL

Surprise Ending - Swift

The Surprise Ending in Swift's a Modest Proposal

In his essay A Modest Proposal (1729) Jonathon Swift ironically puts forth the proposition that for the betterment of Irish society, children of the poor, particularly Catholic children, because there was an over abundance, should be slaughtered and eaten. Swift maintains that this practice would solve a number of societal problems. It would decrease the number of Papists who are the principle breeders of the nation, as well as the most dangerous enemies, it would turn a liability of the poor, another mouth to feed, into an asset or a valuable commodity, it would increase the overall wealth of the nation, it would be a boon to business, and it would encourage marriage by rewarding parents with monetary gain. The surprise ending is that swift recommends this practice only for Ireland.

At the time…

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is quite an unusual work of literature, and one which certainly has a surprise ending. The only allusions to the wild solution that the author will offer to the very real problem plaguing the streets of Ireland -- that of the unfortunate beggar children and their mothers of Irish distinction -- is the fact that it is quite obvious that this essay is a satire. All satires create humor around human folly; that which is made laughable time and again throughout this narrative is the lack of concern on the part of the English for the plight of the Irish. It is due to this lack of concern that Swift quite facetiously, and more than a little bit sarcastically, advocates eating the misfortunate children, which is the surprise ending of this essay -- as well as the fact that the author, after advocating this stance,…