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 was Voltaire's specific target: the subtitle of Candide is "Optimism." Voltaire was actually taking aim at the theodicy of the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz -- a theodicy is a formal attempt to "justify the ways of God to men" (as John Milton put it) and to vindicate divine justice within the actual happenings of the world. It is the Leibnizian philosophical system that Voltaire mocks in the intellectual musings of Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss. Pangloss' name means "all tongue" in ancient Greek, and it is clear that Voltaire intends him to be all talk and no praxis from his introduction in the first chapter:
Pangloss was professor of metaphysico-theologico-cosmolo-nigology. He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause, and that, in this best of all possible worlds, the Baron's castle was the most magnificent of castles, and his lady the best of all possible Baronesses.
"It is demonstrable," said he, "that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for all being created for an end, all is necessarily for the best end. Observe, that the nose has been formed to bear spectacles -- thus we have spectacles. Legs are visibly designed for stockings -- and we have stockings. Stones were made to be hewn, and to construct castles -- therefore my lord has a magnificent castle; for the greatest baron in the province ought to be the best lodged. Pigs were made to be eaten -- therefore we eat pork all the year round. Consequently they who assert that all is well have said a foolish thing, they should have said all is for the best."
Of course Voltaire is offering the sly hint that such logic is purely self-serving, intended to flatter his patrons at the same time as it hints at bacon for breakfast. It is also, of course, a wholly self-contained philosophical system, which is incapable of looking seriously at the real world. As Candide and Pangloss later manage to survive the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755, Pangloss finds a way of spinning that to their rhetorical advantage:
Candide fainted away, and Pangloss fetched him some water from a neighbouring fountain. The following day they rummaged among the ruins and found provisions, with which they repaired their exhausted strength. After this they joined with others in relieving those inhabitants who had escaped death. Some, whom they had succoured, gave them as good a dinner as they could in such disastrous circumstances; true, the repast was mournful, and the company moistened their bread with tears; but Pangloss consoled them, assuring...
Flaubert / Dostoevsky Examples of Naturalism and Symbolism in Madame Bovary In Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary, the narratorial voice carefully avoids direct comment upon the story. Flaubert maintains a tension between Naturalism and Symbolism by leaving it up to the reader to determine if certain episodes are intended to be read symbolically. Flaubert's contemporary readers, however, found the book scandalous -- in some sense, Flaubert's determination to present certain aspects of reality
The feminist nature of the novel is established earlier in the novel, wherein the novel begins with the following passage: Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others, they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is
Anarchy in the 19th Century An Analysis of Merriman's Dynamite Club and Anarchy in the 19th Century John Merriman makes the point early in the Dynamite Club that there exists "a gossamer thread connecting…Islamist fundamentalists and Emile Henry's circle." Merriman goes on to define that connection as being one of "social inequalities." But more to the heart of the matter, however, is the difference in ideologies -- ideologies that transcended the economic, political,
Dada and Degenerate Art in Germany At the end of WW1, Germany found itself in a period of transition. Held responsible for the war and forced to pay reparations, the Weimar Republic was in a disastrous state. The Kaiser Willelm II had abdicated, hyperinflation decimated the value of the mark, and Berlin was fast becoming vice capital of the world with "New Frau" poster-girl Anita Berber taking pride in her position
Nora's life has been made economically easy by her husband, but that subordination is what takes the ease out of her life of comfort. Torvald is the dominant partner in their marriage. Without his consent, she cannot make major decisions, like make a loan, without her husband's permission. "Frankenstein" is also about parental and filial obligation and relationship. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the creator and father of the monster,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now