Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau and the Voices of the Oppressed There have been many writers who dedicated much of their work towards representing the voices of the oppressed. Among them are Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry David Thoreau. Although these authors were dedicated to the same cause they approached the subject from their own perspective, reflecting on an issue that was relevant to their position in life. Their literature was used to address, or in some cases attack, problems within society such as race, equality, and gender. The voices of Stowe, and Thoreau were used as an instrument in representing the injustices of those who had no one else to protect them. Oddly enough, this protection was from the very government which declared "equal rights" for all men. Harriet Beecher Stowe is perhaps best known for her work entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a heart-wrenching story about the treatment and oppression of slaves. Uncle Tom’s Cabin brings to life the evils of slavery and questions the moral and religious values of those who condoned or participated in such a lifestyle. While the factual accuracy of this work has been criticized by advocators of both slavery and abolition it is widely believed that the information contained was drawn from Stowe’s own life experiences (Adams 62). She was the seventh child and youngest daughter in her family. She was only four years old when her mother died, which left the young Harriet Beecher little protection from her "Fatherâs rugged character and doctrinal strictness" (Adams 19). To further complicate matters she was aware that her father preferred she had been a boy. According to Adams, although Stoweâs childhood was not entirely unhappy she would never forget... ... middle of paper ... ...n Wilderness is Thoreau." Henry David Thoreau: Studies and Commentaries. Ed. Walter Harding et al. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickenson UP, 1972. 19. Slavery Source: "Biographical ketch of the Authoress." Stowe, Harriet Beecher: Uncle Tomâs emancipation, earthly care and heavenly discipline; and other tales and sketches. 1853. fiche E441.S645 no.354, card 1. xx. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. "Declaration of Sentiments." The Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ,1998. 2035. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Uncle Tomâs Cabin." 1852. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2325, 2326. Thoreau, Henry David/ "Resistance to Civil Disobedience." 1849. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2090, 2094.
In the beginning of the novel Candide is described as extremely optimistic person who always sees the best in everything. Not only is Candide very optimistic, but he does not really understand how the world works. He seems to be simple minded and immature toward any and all of the harsh realities of the real world. His philosophy towards life is that he is living in “the best of all possible worlds”. Candide gets this philosophy from his teacher Pangloss, who is also an extreme optimist. Both Pangloss and Candide are faced with horrible suffering and misfortune, almost in spite of their optimistic outlook on
Autobiographer, essayist, playwright, poet, satirist, Enlightenment writer and philosopher – these are just a few of the hats worn by French born François-Marie Arouet, more famously known by the adopted pen name Voltaire. Beyond his written work Voltaire was an outspoken advocate for the freedom of religion, expression, and the separation of church and state. He used his versatile literary work as a tool to criticize the Catholic Church and overall intolerant French society. Voltaire’s cynical writing reached its highest potential in his rapid-fire satire Candide, or Optimism. In the novella, Voltaire told the story of Candide – a young man on a quest for happiness and spiritual fulfillment who encountered tragic setbacks that eventually led to bitter disillusionment. The purpose of Candide was to mock philosophers of the
...reflected critically on the events of his life—even just the two examples used in this essay--, he would probably find that this is not the best of all possible worlds as it is rife with evil and suffering. With this novella, Voltaire made the point that some spend a lifetime justifying—not rationalizing—the events of the world because those same people are too busy attempting to prove one theory rather than develop others that may fit reality more. When Candide dismisses Pangloss at the end of the novella by saying, “Let us cultivate our garden,” he is rejecting Pangloss’ philosophy, turning over a new leaf, and taking charge of his own life and giving it its own meaning free of Pangloss’ influence.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.
The author of the Candide, Voltaire was considered to be in the middle class and went through many hardships in his life. While writing the Candide many terrible horrors were going on that influenced his writing. The disastrous earthquake in Lisbon in, the Seven Year’s War in the German States, and the unjust execution of the English Admiral John Byung
Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire lived from 1694-1778. He was an author and a philosopher whose philosophy stressed rationality, democracy and scientific inquiry. These interests can all be seen in Candide, for example, which has a philosopher for a main character and which satirizes the philosophy of Leibnitz throughout the text. The novel Candide was written in response to the earthquake of 1759 which hit Lisbon and resulted in the instantaneous and indiscriminate deaths of thousands. Appalled by the horrible deaths of so many innocent people, Voltaire was at this time also incensed by Leibnitz who wrote that given the worlds God might have created, by choosing to endow mankind with free will, "the world we live in is the best of all possible worlds." To Voltaire, this response to the earthquake amounted to an abominable moral complacency and indifference by philosophers such as Leibnitz, who Voltaire felt seemed to accept all the other normal suffering and injustice in the world. Hence in Candide, Voltaire relentlessly satirizes Leibnitz's formulation by shifting the stress to "this is the best of all possible worlds" and bringing up the line every time a character encounters a horrible calamity or atrocity. However, it should be added that Voltaire's hatred of injustices perpetrated by the aristocracy, the church and the state--all of which he satirizes in Candide--also grew out of his personal experiences.
...elves and reject our curious nature, that’s when the world will know eternal bliss. Voltaire’s views surface through Candide’s views in the final chapters of the book. The resurrection of Pangloss and other characters that were thought to be dead symbolized the recurrence of evil and the dominance of evil over good.
Voltaire’s Candide can be understood in several ways by its audience. At a first glance it would appear to be simply a story blessed with outrageous creativity, but if you look deeper in to the novel, a more complicated and meaningful message is buried within. Voltaire uses the adventures of Candide as a representation of what he personally feels is wrong within in society. Written in the 18th century (1759), known commonly as the age of enlightenment, Voltaire forces his audience to consider the shift from tradition to freedom within society. He achieves this by exploring the reality of human suffering due to traditions which he mocks throughout Candide. In particular he focused on exploiting the corruption he felt was strongly and wrongfully present within three main aspects of society these being religion, politics and morals. Each chapter represents different ways in which Voltaire believes corruption exists providing the audience with the reality of society’s problems due to its fixation on tradition. As a philosopher of the Enlightenment, Voltaire advocated for freedom of religion, freedom of expression and the separation between church and state. Voltaire successfully presents these ideas within Candide by highlighting why they are a significant problem in 18th century Europe.
The philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, which Voltaire called “optimism,” is one of the main themes of Candide. The two main points of Leibnitzian philosophy are that God is beneficent, and that in creating the world, He created the best possible one. Leibnitz did not argue that the world was perfect or that evil was non-existent, but thanks to God’s goodness and His constant concern with his creation, right finally emerges. It is all a matter of being able to see the Divine plan in its totality and not to judge by solitary parts. This theory was attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question that mankind had be struggling with since the beginning of faith: if God is all-powerful and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out of this.
Voltaire invents each character in a way so that they each have their own purpose, representing the feudal system and its flaws. These characters are not historical figures, nor do they exist. They are purely functional; each serving a different function in the book to expose the irrationality of nature and corruption of those in power. Voltaire portrays Candide, the main character, as a naïve young man who embarks on a journey to maturity. Candide’s main role is to survive and do whatever it takes to do so. At the beginning of the book, Candide is a follower, but by the end of his route to maturity, he becomes a leader when he learns and understands his true potential, developing a new philosophy for life. He is faced with reality when he when sees that everything does not happen for for the best, like Pangloss told him. For example, while at sea, Candide sees a man in the waters and is ready to jump into the waters to help him. But is stopped by Pangloss who claims that the “Bay of Lisbon has been made [only] for the Anabaptist to be drowned” (Voltaire ###). He questions why, if this is the “best of all possible worlds”, a kind and generous man get thrown into the waters to his death (Voltaire 29). He learns that in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of society where there is collective effort and work. Candide spends a great deal of time traveling the world and learning of many different idealogies in "metaphysics." Finally, he decides to settle down and live by farming his own garden-this
Candide begins in the German town of Westphalia, where Candide, a young man, lives in the castle of Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh. A noted philosopher, Doctor Pangloss, tutors the baron on philosophical optimism, the idea that "all is for the best . . . in this best of all worlds." Candide, a simple man, first accepts this philosophy, but as he experiences the horrors of war, poverty, the maliciousness of man, and the hypocrisy of the church, he begins to doubt the voracity of Pangloss's theory. Thus, philosophical optimism is the focus of Voltaire’s satire; anti-war and anti-church refrains also run throughout the novel.
Voltaire filled his novel, Candide, with attacks and mockery and criticisms on religion. He also made it as easy as possible for men to read for that generation. His satire is shown in many different examples throughout the novel. He mocked religious prejudices by showing an example in which they wrongly judged people, he mocked the corruption of the clergy by writing about the daughter of a wealthy pope, and he mocked the complexity of religion by showing the benefits of a simpler religion in Eldorado which was any religion anyone wanted to practice. In all reality his satire isn’t necessarily only about the flaws in religious belief, but also on the corrupt body of religion and the aristocracy that corrupts it.
In Candide, organized religion is used in order to show the folly of optimism. Throughout the text, the many religions that Candide encounters believe that God is benevolent and that events happen for a reason. However, Candide witnesses only the worst throughout his journey. It is religious persecution that leads Candide to his epiphany and questioning of the truth regarding Pangloss’s philosophy of optimism, “If this is the best of all possible worlds, what can the rest be like?” (37). He continues by recalling all the terrible misfortunes that have already occurred: such as him being flogged, his dear Pangloss being hanged, humorously described as “the greatest of philosopher”, the Anabaptist, “the best of men” being ironically drowned in sight of land and lastly Lady Cunegonde, “disemboweled” (37).
The novel Candide was written by Francois-Marie Arouet De Voltaire during The French Revolution. During the same time of The French Revolution, The Age of Enlightenment seem to be a big thing in that time period. Voltaire culture background was Deism, which means the belief that a rational deity created the world and left the running of it to natural laws, much as a watchmaker makes a watch to run on its own. Voltaire made it clear that during this time period that religion was also a big role in everyone’s life. Also Voltaire mention about a Catholic Church and Deism Religion.
A child is a pleasure of a house because he or she creates untold joy to his or her parents. Unfortunately, Child-rearing is very pricey in these days. According to the U.S. survey, middle-income parent spend $234,900 for a child until he or she turns to 17, and that does not include for college tuition cost. That huge amount of money is a very big dilemma for the couples whether they should become parents or not. The parents not only have that financial responsibility, but also require sacrificing their time and freedom for the offspring with love, care and attention. Since a lot of couples do not want to take these risks of responsibilities, they rather like to be childfree couples or only one child parents if they desperately want to own family lives.