For one, I think it's important to look at the specific reasons cited by Candide for wanting to leave: Cunégonde and the prospect of wealth in the wider world. So basically, for Candide the decision came down to desire for money and sex, which I think is pretty noteworthy. This is especially interesting considering all of the benefits of wealth would be present for Candide if he stayed and El Dorado, and while I don't think Voltaire specifically mentions it, there's not much reason to believe that there aren't relationships and love to be found in El Dorado. Another dimension to this conundrum is added when upon leaving El Dorado, one of the first people encountered by Candide is a slave, in the particularly poignant scene condemning both the institution slavery and the colonial consumerism that fuels it. To me, this is particularly important as the luxury and wealth that Candide desires to gain with his precious metals when he leaves El Dorado is the sort of opulent lifestyle that necessitates the institution of slavery or the broader subjugation of people who support the lavish lives of the super rich. Many of the horrors of the world encountered by Candide are not mere side effects of his and others' pursuit for wealth and power, rather they are the direct result of the subjugation of other people that such displays of wealth and power demand.
These complications that are presented by the decision to leave El Dorado really fascinated me especially as they relate to our discussion if we ourselves would want to stay there for life. Some people said they felt like life in El Dorado would be missing some of the fundamental parts of humanity that give life some of its meaning and importance. While I see this argument and my initial, unchecked reaction was similar, I'm not convinced that the desire for wealth and power are a necessary condition for a society where we can find meaningful lives. The fundamental and obvious condition of El Dorado is that wealth is so abundant that such competition would be ultimately futile. From Voltaire's point of view, such a desire for power and wealth seems to be an inescapable part of human nature. The fact that most of us felt like life in El Dorado would be missing something is testament to the fact that such desire for wealth and power has become so ingrained that it seems like a necessary part of the human condition. The discussion really intrigued me in light of the fact that Candide desires to leave basically, again, for wealth and sex. While it is in some ways problematic to apply the same current cultural context to Voltaire who wrote centuries ago and before some institutions of modern society were made, I think in many ways the desire for these two desires are central to many aspects of the current Western culture that is steeped in capitalism and patriarchy. (Note that it does seem ambiguously presented to me whether Candide's love for Cunégonde is a more lustful sexual desire or a deep emotional relationship of human connection, but I think there is less evidence of the latter). Perhaps the response that life would be incomplete in an essential way in El Dorado is based in our skepticism that meaning could be found in a society so fundamentally differently organized than our own. But perhaps in El Dorado, either because of or despite the lack of wealth, consumerism, and subjugation, there would still be sufficient meaning to be found. After all, on several occasions Candide expresses his regret for leaving El Dorado, so maybe we would too.
6 comments:
I'm glad you posted this, because I was also intrigued by our class discussion on the matter, and I think it merits some more conversation.
Like you said, Candide's decision to leave El Dorado, seemingly in the interest of money and sex, is significant if not surprising. Though he claims to be "best of all men," in my opinion, he's really rather stupid and self-centered. It seems as though every time he does some "good," he just thinks about how it can benefit himself. For example, when he "helped" the two girls by killing their monkey lovers, his immediate thought was not, "I hope they're okay, let me go check on them!" but, "Hey, maybe they're rich nobles or something and this will be advantageous for me!" Even when he buys Pangloss, the Baron, the old woman, and Cunégonde from slavery, he makes no move to help the others in the galley. In fact, he even sends the Baron back! I'm not saying the Baron is a good person, but no one deserves slavery. Candide hardly seems to give a second thought to the evils of the institution, actually, even when he comes across the mutilated slave (in horrifying contrast to El Dorado). I think a lot of people would choose a similar path to Candide's; that is, they might want to leave El Dorado because they're dissatisfied with the lack of "meaningful" wealth and power.
That being said, I don't think a person's reasons for wanting to leave El Dorado would necessarily be wealth or power. In many ways, El Dorado seems perfect because people aren't greedy or cruel. There's no lack of resources and comfort; the people are well taken care of; there's not much crime if at all; and there's not really a sense of social stratification like there is in the "real world." Seems pretty good to me. And yet I think that it could conceivably be in spite of these conditions that someone might want to leave. To me, life seems almost stagnant in El Dorado; there's not much to change or improve upon or invent. No argument and discourse. The scientists only build that aircraft for Candide and Martin rather than because it would be exciting to create something new. There's no challenge, and I think that's maybe what a lot of people find so uncomfortable. There doesn't seem to be any challenge, drive, or passion. The idea of being so comfortable is, well, uncomfortable.
I think Voltaire's critique here is not necessarily that Candide leaves El Dorado, but perhaps that he leaves for the wrong reasons. He leaves because he's self-absorbed and wants more; he wants to be wealthy compared to other people, and he wants Cunégonde maybe because he's never really been able to have her. But think about all the good he could have done after leaving. If I ever went to El Dorado, I'd want to leave too. It'd be weird to just sit there in a perfect society knowing that you could leave and effect actual change somewhere else; that you're just going to be comfortable for the rest of your life while people are suffering elsewhere. With the sheep and gold of El Dorado, Candide could have freed so many slaves, funded so many orphanages and schools, given money to hospitals and other medical research institutions...
Too bad he only thought about himself.
Maybe, like you said, part of the reason why we almost all said we'd want to leave El Dorado is because the lifestyle is unfamiliar. In our world, we're kind of used to using argument and discourse as tools of progress, in a way, and in El Dorado there's not much arguing (partly because there aren't really differing opinions; seems a bit homogenous, and definitely boring, to me). It's eerily perfect there. But I think it's also because a lot of us would be at least mildly horrified at the idea of just staying in a place where we'd be surrounded by all these resources that El Dorado citizens take for granted but that we know could bring about so much change in our world, if put to good use. Yes, it's not ideal that the world operates on money and money as a gateway to power, but—practically speaking—sometimes to bring about change you have to play the system for a little while.
I think you both bring up good points. It’s definitely worthwhile to consider the merits of both leaving and staying in El Dorado, and what either action says about human nature.
Bryce, so true that Candide is motivated by two self-serving desires! It’s not even wealth itself that necessarily entrances him; it’s status. Otherwise, he’d stay in El Dorado where all the money is. Instead, Candide chooses to leave because he doesn’t want to be “like everyone else.” He wants to be better. He wants the social benefits and prestige that wealth in the “real world” brings. Interesting that he’s so motivated by competition, because in other respects he’s quite passive (for most of the novel, he doesn’t challenge Pangloss’ teachings). Candide wails to himself about leaving El Dorado, about how horrible the rest of the world is, but what does he do about it? Nothing! He doesn’t do anything to help the slave, he actually perpetuates this slave trade by selling off the Baron, and he doesn’t challenge any social institutions. It seems to me almost as though Candide doesn’t care about other people suffering as much as his having to see it. Also, Bryce, I agree that Candide wants to see Cunegonde out of sexual desire, not love; because when he sees her again and she’s “ugly,” he suddenly finds that he doesn’t want to be with her so much after all. Another example of Voltaire’s satire of the popular romance literature, since Candide doesn’t actually love Cunegonde at all (at least, from what I can gather).
On one hand, I agree with Ally; I don’t think the missing desire for wealth and power is what makes El Dorado somehow lacking to us. Actually, isn’t that what makes El Dorado so great? Really, how can it be the riches when wealth doesn’t mean anything there? What makes the outside world so corrupt IS this desire for wealth and power, so probably what makes El Dorado good is the exact opposite (since the society still has the other benefit of being overall rich - that is, comfort).
But on the other hand, I also don’t completely agree that El Dorado is completely stagnant. Sure, it’s technologically advanced and people seem happy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still improvements to be made. After all, there’s an entire palace dedicated to science. They’ve got to be doing SOMETHING in there. And how do we know there’s no argument or discourse? On certain topics, at least, I think there would be (maybe they debate the merits of certain novels or something similar). I don’t think these are the reasons most of us decided we’d want to leave El Dorado; although I do agree with your main idea that we don't like stagnancy, I think the majority of people would be intellectually satisfied there. After all, since El Dorado doesn’t seem to have a lot of issues, I’m sure the inhabitants would have ample time to ponder the great mysteries of life…well, kind of.
Because I think what we really take issue with in El Dorado is its isolation and all the implications of that. All the people know is what’s…well, in El Dorado. There might be internal exchange of ideas, but they can’t communicate with the outside world. They just mindlessly believe what they’re told, and seemingly with no chance or will to challenge what they’re told. So really, what’s freaky is that everyone there is portrayed like a robot. The people don’t even have the chance to leave. They’re stuck. THEY’RE LOCKED IN. That’s not freedom! And I think that’s what we take issue with: the lack of actual freedom. Our human nature is to challenge. As people who value our freedom of thought (as Voltaire did), we’re scared of the idea that we could be stuck in a place not where the government just TRIES to clamp down on the spread of controversial ideas, but where the people themselves don’t even have the chance to think of controversial ideas. Or experience anything new. I think that’s what we meant by saying El Dorado is boring. Why does freedom of speech matter when they don’t talk about anything important? We’re scared of becoming like the citizens of El Dorado in that they’re kind of mind-controlled in that they have no idea what’s going on in the outside world or that anything outside of their own institutions even exist; and that’s what makes Candide the character so repugnant, that he just mindlessly follows whatever he’s told. I’d be willing to give up the technological superiority of El Dorado, with all its scientific advancements, for a world where I can have exposure to a much more vast array of ideas and thoughts and meaningful discussion and where I can see progress in people, not just science. And where I can have actual freedom and not be constrained to staying in one place.
El Dorado is, despite what the king says, tyrannical. The king: “All men are free.” Except they really aren’t.
I see your point. I agree with those reasons as a main part of why El Dorado would be "boring," at least to me. There really isn't an exchange of new or controversial ideas it seems like, not because it's forbidden but because the people don't seem to have "controversial" opinions (which is weird and robot-y as you said). One illustration of that point is when the old man Candide encounters seems completely befuddled as to why anyone would think there are multiple gods and what use there is for monks. At first I thought maybe it seemed so bewildering to think of a society like that because in our world, religious can be a huge source of controversy and debate. But it's not just that; it's also because of WHY there's so much debate over religion—people are different, and they have different opinions and beliefs. The conversation with the man really illustrates to me why I think El Dorado would be boring to live in. Diversity may be a source of contention, but it's also something that should be celebrated. Not just diversity in little surface things, like what color someone's hair is, but diversity in things that are ways of life for some people (ex: religion)—a belief obviously upheld by our school's Diversity Club.
I think you guys both made a lot of good points and there's a lot to address, but one thing I'd especially like to comment on is Ally's point that there is a large difference between living in El Dorado as it is presented as opposed to the hypothetical El Dorado that we talked about living in during our class discussion. When the question was posed during class, I sort of thought more of if I would want to live in a hypothetical Utopia that is like El Dorado. Obviously, there's a sense of moral imperative to living in El Dorado or any other Utopia if it's just insulated from the rest of a world that continues to have its many problems. While I'm not sure that automatically would mean that one would have a moral obligation to leave considering there's a limited impact one can have on the world no matter what ideas or red sheep you bring, it certainly complicates the choice to stay. Overall though, I'm still not sure about the idea that a society like El Dorado absolutely necessitates a lack of intellectual freedom or diversity that would render life there ultimately unfulfilling. It's certainly interesting to discuss what life in such a Utopia is like, and not altogether academic considering it can reflect and affect how we try to shape our own society.
Post a Comment