This issue has been discussed many times and there is no concrete answer to it. As Martin puts it,
I have scarcely seen a town which does not seek the ruin of a neighboring town, nor a family that does not wish to exterminate some other family. You will find that the weak always detest the strong and cringe before them, and that the strong treat them like so many a sheep to be sold for their meat and wool. (92)Through Martin, Voltaire expresses his views on the society of his time. They are a little pessimistic, but entirely true. This quote is perhaps the most important quote in Candide up to where I have read. It questions our whole existence as a human race and explains why our world is like it is right now.
Candide, in this case, is on the other side of the discussion. He still believes that people still have some good inside them. After all the evil he's been through, like the Dutch sailor scamming him or the hanging of Dr. Pangloss, and the horrible stories he's heard, like the old woman's story or the slaves' story in Surinam, he still thinks that humans are good creatures.
Personally, I believe that humans have both good and bad inside them. The issue is learning how to use them wisely. Bad acts are a lot easier to do than good ones, and that is one of the reasons why our world is so full of crap.
Manuel it´s funny that you wrote this as your last entry because i just wrote one discussing the intentions of the human race. I agree with you on the fact that humans are ill-intended or maybe just selfish. I really liked how you showed evidence on expressing your point over human personality. Great Blog
ResponderEliminarP.S. I like how you write effectively.
I totally agree with what you said about humans having both good and bad in them. It’s true that bad acts are a lot easier than good ones, but not necessarily because people have bad intentions. Sometimes when you are in a crossroad in which you have to decide what to do, usually the bad decision is the easy way out. I’m not implying that it’s always this way but most of the times it is. An example of this is when Candide kills the Jewish and the Inquisitor. He didn’t do it simply because he wanted them to die. He did it because he thought that would be the most efficient way to have Lady Cunegonde by his side. I agree with Antonio as well, sometime people just do bad to the world because they are selfish like Candide in that same example. Love your blog. <3
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