Satire in Voltaire's Candide

Voltaire's Candide is satyrical in the sense that it has the four main satire characteristics. In page 19, It says "The baron was one of the most influential noblemen in Westphalia, for his house has a door and several windows and his hall was actually draped with tapestry. Every dog in the courtyard was pressed into service when he went hunting, and his grooms acted as whips."

It is hyperbolical that 'every dog in the courtyard was pressed into service', because it is an exaggeration. Irony is found in the part of teh door and windows, because obviously it is ironical that someone with a house with a door and windows is an important person, that is very common. This is in the literal sense, but analitical I think it is that the guy is mocking the people who think they can be important because they have an armored car with two motorbikes stoping traffic for them. The target, as said before, are those type of people who think that if they have expensive things then they have more power. As of absurdity, the whole parragraph seems absurd to me. There is a guy who think he's cool because his home has windows and a tapestry, and hunts with many dogs. *Newsflash*, your'e not cool! You are not cool if you live in a 5, 000 square meters house, unless you act cool with other people, be humble and respectful. This is a huge problem we have in our culture, the rich opressing the poor. It seems that this has been around for long, because Voltaire noticed it 200 years ago!

Dear Robert Frost:

I am a stoic philosopher, also known as Epictetus. I write this letter from the heaves, because searching the internet I found one of your poems, The Road Not Taken. I found it great, it follows many of the advises I give in my own book, Handbook. In my book I talk alot about choices, about things thatr are up to us and things that aren't. Your poem has to do alot with that, in many aspects. I took my time to close-read your masterpiece, and interpreted that when you were young you had to do a very tough choice, obviously you couldn't take both paths, so you tried peeking (or foreseeing) into one, which then turned to the underworld. You, fairly enough decided to go through the other one, all by yourself, and now, in the third age, you tell your story with a sigh. You know, there are some things that are up to us, and some aren't. Destiny is not, and you couldn't avoid taking a desition. It must have been a lot of pressure, but you took control. A very important thing I like to teach is to not let the appearances trick you. You saw a bad thing coming through one path, and immediately took the other. The one you chose was bright, with treeas and grass and pretty. This could have been a fatal error, because appearances could have tricked you, thank the gods beside me that nothing happened. Well, I was just writing to say thankyou for sharing with the world such a great masterpiece. See you (hopefully) up here when your time comes, and may the gods bless you. Sincerely,

Epictetus.

I Don't Need To Prove You

In section 25 of Handbook, I realized one very important thing. You don't need to prove anything to everyone. If someone payed 1 million dollars for a Ferrari, and comes to you saying he has a Ferrari that cost him 1 million dollars, well you still have the 1 million dollars he spend them in a car. It might be stupid for you to spend them on a car, but if that's what he likes, it's his money. This relates to Epictetus because He states that you don't need to prove yourself enough to anyone. If you know you are honest, responsible, and have the same than the other guy, it is his problem if he doesn't like you. I once heard two people fight for something stupid, and one of them said something like "Judge Me All You Want, It Wont Make A Difference, Because I Know Who I Am And I Am Not On This Planet To Proove To You Why I Do What I Do. I Have My Reasons..". This is similar to what Epictetus said because he states that we don't need to prove why we do things, why we don't. He uses a great example, that is if someone is invited to a party and I am not, it is because I didn't work to get invited, therefore I kind of don't deserve it, but I don't need to feel bad for that. If I do something for someone, he will reward me in return, if I'm not interested, then I don't need to prove to anyone my reasons.

Don't Let Appearances Carry You

One of the most important messages that Eptictetus's Handbook is that we can't "be carried away by the appearance" (Section 18, Handbook). This is a life-lesson, because many times, when we do let ourselves be carried, we end up losing something. It can be a girl we fell for, and she ends up going with someone else, because she was only in for the money. This line is repeated many times throughout chapters 1-20, and that is why I think he really wants us readers to have it clear. There are many other things he repeats, like when he says that somethings are up to us, and some aren't. He talks about death as an easy subject, and it isn't anything near to easy, but he does say something very important, which is "You are foolish if you want your children and your wife and your friends to live forever, since you are wanting things to be up to you that are not up to you, and things to be yours that are not yours.

As well, there are things that I disagree. He talks about death, or the loss os something as 'giving it back'(Section 11). I disagree especially the part that if someone dies you shall say he was just taken back. Death is just too harsh to create an excuse like that, because that is what it is: an excuse. There are some things that might pass that excuse, like things of less spiritual value e.g. a house, a cell phone, things like that, but not a life, it is far too valuable.

Handbook and 'Etica Para Amador'

Just by reading the first few chapter of Handbook, I noticed that, despite the name of the author (Epicteus) you can tell the book was written long ago. There are many clues to this, for example when he states "Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our publoc offices" (Section one, Handbook). It is long ago since public offices were assigned. These days you choose what to study, what to work on, what to do in life. There was another part that was quite obvious, when he says "and will blame both gods and men" (Section one, Handbook). It has been a while now since the last time we praised many gods. I guess there are still some people who do so, but they wouldn't write about it in a book. The most obvious one, though, is at the beggining of the book, in the introduction, when they say "Epicteus (A.D. 50-130)" (Introduction, Handbook).

This book reminded me of a book I am reading for ethics class, in spanish, called 'Etica para Amador', by Fernando Savater. It reminds me because in some way it says the opposite. When Epicteus says "When you are about to undertake some action, remind yourself of what sort of action it is. If you are going out for a bath, put before your mind what happens at baths" (Section 4, Handbook). The book for my ethics class said the opposite. It stated that life is simple and we should not worry about simple things, like those, but do them naturally, because whe are accustomed to it.

Comments on Slaughterhouse 5

You can tell that Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse 5 is not ment to be formal. I confirmed it when he says, "She had a Xerox of it" (Chapter 9, SH5).

Xerox: 'A trademark used for a photocopying process or machine employing xerography. This trademark often occurs in print in lowercase as a verb and noun' ( http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Xerox ).

The word xerox in its original meaning is the name of a company, which produce photocopying machines, but has turned into a neologism. It is now two different nouns, and a verb. A xerox can be either a copying machine, or the actual copy, used in Slaughterhouse 5. The verb xerox is to make a photocopy of something. As the word is not very formal, then the text becomes informal/ familiar.

I found an interesting part in the text. My classmates and I have wondered a lot about the 'time travel' that Billy claims to make, but in a part he kind of contradics himself. Billy's daughter says, 'Daddy,' she said tentatively. 'Daddy? ' But Billy was ten years away, back in 1958' (Chapter 9, SH5). This also confirmed my hypothesis, that Billy doesn't time travel, just day (or night) dreams as any other human, but has flashbacks in his dreams. His daughter is there calling him, but he is in the middle of a dream/ flashback. There might be a more metaphorical reason for the 'time travel', but for now i'm quite sure that they're just dreams.

Billy also has a very strange thing, the Tralfamadorians. He is the only one that believes in them, but strangely, one of the Kilgore Trout books is about a couple of humans, 'They were put on display in a zoo on a planet called Zircon-212' (Chapter 9, SH5)This is the same that happened to Billy, so either he is just imagining these things to go out of his world, his problems, or Vonnegut is trying to tell us something, using the Tralfamadorians as transmitters.

Got What He Wanted (Chapter 8)

In chapter nine of Slaughterhouse 5, there is a man called Kilgore Trout. He writes science-ficcion books, but he is not a very popular writer. Long-story short, Billy has the chance of reading a book of his, and becomes a real fan. He starts reading many and many of these Trout books, and one day sees that Trout lives in his hometown. Time passes, and destiny finally brings them together. Billy meets him while the guy needs to hand out newspapers, and as Billy recognizes him, and offers help doing so. Well they become friends, and Billy invites Trout to his 18th marriage anniversary. Trout is a writer, but no one really recognizes him, and in the party everyone finds out that they have a real writer between them. Vonnegut says: 'He was making a great hit. Everybody was ed to have a real author at the party, even though they had never

read his books.' (Chapter 8, SH5) As mentioned before, destiny is present in various scenes of Slaughterhouse 5, and here we see it again. It also relates to karma. He has never done evil (or the book just never specifies), and even though he never was really popular, he finally got what he deserved: to be recognized and 'admired' for what he does best in life.

Destiny in the Slaughterhouse (Chapter 7)

Destiny is pretty clear in Slaughterhouse, and there is a really strange part, when destiny appears. Has it never happened that you meet someone and kind of hate him but you don't know him enough like to do so, and then he appears to be related in some type? It has happened to me, and it has happened to Billy Pilgrim as well. It says 'They were, in fact, distant cousins, something they never found out.' (Chapter 7) What are the chances! Billy, a typical american studying optometry is related to the german kid who is guarding him at Dresde, being a war prisoner. Sad part is they never find out. It makes me doubt, though, that in the beggining of the book, the narrator sais most things are true. Is this the type of event that he means is not true? I find it very curious that Billy Pilgrim be related to a german kid, but I'm not the one writing the book. Perhaps it is true, and it is destiny and karma that Billy be guarded by his younger, german faraway cousin. Destiny is present in many other opportunities, maybe because Kurt Vonnegut has had his own experiences with it and reflects it in his writing.

Who's It Mocking? (Chapter 6)

There was a part of SlaughterHouse 5 that made laugh a little. It is ironic, stupid, exaggerated and doesn't make sense, also called satire. It is a part that an englishman, in the middle of a war, says: 'If you stop taking pride in your appearance, you will very soon die.' He said that he had seen several men die in the following way: They ceased to stand up straight, then ceased to shave or wash, then ceased to get out of bed, then ceased to talk, then died. There is this much to be said for it: it is evidently a very easy and painless way to go.' (Chapter 6, SH5.) I think it is the most stupid, exaggerated and senseless thing ever said! How could there be people so shameless and insolent. It is amazing how, when there are millions of people being killed, some by him, some beside him. Every day he sees dead people, hurt people, prisoners, and all he can think about is himself and how he looks! Apart from that, I thought the following: Why would a man, being surrounded by hundreds of other men in war, care for how he looks? There must be something wrong with this guy's sexual orientation or something!' I won't say anything else, because I don't want to make asumptions, but this guy really needs to check himself out.

Well, back to the satire, this statement has the four important elements to be considered satire. Irony: what more ironic that a man who cares about his looks in war. Exaggeration: 'If you stop taking pride in your appearance, you will very soon die.', obviously not bound to happen. Absurdity: the whole thing is absurd, doesn't make sense. Target: obviously the englishmen, being mocked for being dirty and smelly. I guess this answers my question, 'who's it mocking?'

Steal The Heart, Or Steal The Money (Chapter 5)

After (finally) finishing reading chapter five of Slaughterhouse Five, there was a specific part that was stuck on my head. It was the part when Billy Pilgrim was morphined and was dreaming. At the same time he was time-travelling. He was at the hospital, because he was 'crazy' and his fiancee was here to visit him. "Billy didn't want to marry ugly Valencia. She was one of the symptoms of his disease." He described her as "She was as big as a house because she couldn't stop eating." (Pg 38-39, Slaughterhouse 5. Kurt Vonnegut) But before that, he had described her as rich, and her dad was rich, and owned a great company, and gave Billy a great job. This was the part that I kept on thinking on, becuase this is mainly how the greedy human kind works. If they find a fat, ugly, but rich girl, they would spend the rest if their lives with her just because of her money, and because the family has given them a great job of at least 30,000 dollars a year. From my point of view, it is one of the two following options: weather the person really likes their partner in the inside, feels butterflies in the stomach when they are together and would really spend the rest of their lives with because this person treats them the way they like, or they are pure gold-diggers. We can find both cases, and most of the cases are easily distinguishable. If in the news it appears '24 year old man marries a billionaire 70 year old' and the guy says ''I really like her, it's not for the money'', and two days later the lady dies of food poisoning, then our answer is pretty obvious. Maybe Billy Pilgrim did like Valencia, and as he time travelled a lot he said that he had seen everything and it was OK, then it might be that he doesn't mind being with her. I guess I have to finish the book to see what ends up with those two and see if Billy Pilgrim is a gold-digger!

And I Quote...Dr. Tralfamadorian (Chapter 4)

Reading chapter four of Slaughterhouse 5, I found a very nice quote I wanted to focus on. Billy claims to have been obducted by these aliens called Tralfamadorians. As their name says so, they come from a planet called Tralfamadore. One night, Billy couldn't sleep. He wakes up, goes to the kitchen, tries to pop some champagne, but it was gasless. He had a strange feeling that he was going to be obducted. This was the night of his daughter's marriage. He went out to his back yard, and out of the sudden a round spaceship came and opened itself, coming out of it, a ladder. Billy knoew he had to grab himself, and he did. The ladder was electrified, to keep him tighly grabbed up to the top. The Tralfamadorians have the capacity to travel through space and time, and this is why they appeared so suddenly. These aliens talked through computer machines, and they talked a little, when one of the green little guys said to Billy: "'If I hadn't spent so much time studying Earthlings,' said the Tralfamadorian, 'I

wouldn't have any idea what was meant by "free will." I've visited thirty-one inhabited plants in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will.' " (Pg 31, SH5. Kurt Vonnegut)

I thought this was a very powerful thought. We just came from reading books about utopias/ distopias, and in most of them there is no free will. We don't know what we have untill we lose it, and even though in this case we haven't lost it (yet), well it made me think a lot about earth without free will. Nobody could say what they like, what they think, no relationships, no choosing careers, no books, no freedom. Could you imagine if earth, or your own country was liek this? I would not like to be a Tralfamadorian, as long as they don't have free will no.

Billy Is Crazy! (Chapter 3)

The other day I was browsing an article about the last veteran of WW1 or something like that, and that he just died. This started a long talk between my father and my oldest brother. In a part of the conversation my dad explains t us that there is this very terrible thing called the after-war syndrome. It is a syndrome that, after you have seen people die, have killed hundreds of people, ruined families, teared down cities, and all the horrible things that war causes, once it is over, you keep having flashbacks. You close your eyes and find yourself back at war, behind enemy lines, but this closing your eyes issue is also called sleeping. What I think Billy is experiencing is after-war syndrome. This quote basically gives him out: "The photographer wanted something more lively, though, a picture of an actual capture. So the guards staged one for him. They threw Billy into shrubbery. When Billy came out of the shrubbery, his face

wreathed in goofy good will, they menaced him with their machine pistols, as though

they were capturing him then. Billy's smile as he came out of the shrubbery was at least as peculiar as Mona Lisa's, for he was simultaneously on foot in Germany in 1944 and riding his Cadillac in 1967. Germany dropped away, and 1967 became bright and clear, free of interference

from any other time. Billy was on his way to a Lions Club luncheon meeting." (Chapter 3, page 21. Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut) This quote might seem a little long, but it is for everyone to understand the context. Billy is thrown to the ground by german soldiers and closes his eyes, and when he opens his eyes, he is driving a car going to a meeting. That is very peculiar. Also in a part, the narrator says Billy suddenly wept. I again think this is because of the stress levels he went through. Various times throughout the chapter and the novel he passes through the same thing, which makes me believe, he has after-war syndrome.

Poor ol' Billy! (Chapter 2)

All chapter two is devoted to the life of Billy Pilgrim. His life seems to be the toughest one I have heard of. He is one unlucky man, that Billy. His real name is William, but his father-in-law/teacher/ boss tells him to be called Billy because: it is an invitational name, a friendly one, it stays in people's minds (tell me about it) mainly because there are not many Billys. The point being, he has had a terrible life. He has seen his death and his birth-date various times, and all the events in between. He says he has no control over time, over where he goes next. He can close his eyes in his marriage day and open them being in the US ARMY lines fighting the WW2. He is a creepy guy. His whole life is surrounded by many unfortunate events. He enrolled in the Ilium School of Optometry and studied there for about six months. Then he payed his military service, well payed. He had to fight in WW2 against the Germans various times, was rescued, became a prisoner, etc. Once he was in a plane, and the plane crashed into a mountain leaving one survivor: Billy Pilgrim. While he was recuperating, his wife died accidentally of carbon-monoxide intoxication. His father, on the other hand, was shot dead by a friend while hunting deer, and his mother dies very old in an old people home. He claims to be kidnapped by Tralfamadorians, little green guys from the planet Tralfamadore. He claims to be able to be there for years and be the equal to less than a second of earth's time. With a life like that, no need for enemies! Also, I found this quote quite funny. "The soldiers' blue eyes were filled with bleary civilian curiosity as to why one

American would try to murder another one so far from home, and why the victim should laugh."(Page 18-19, Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut) Poor ol' Billy. He is given a real tough beat by a fat tough american soldier ( they are from the same side in the war) and right before being killed (literally, because Weary was about to kick his spine, which would probably kill him) the german officers save him just by staring at Weary. Saved by the enemies, how ironic!

P.S.: Mr. Tangen, the citation is on page 18 of my book, which is the PDF file you put online.

O'Hare's Stories (Chapter 1)

I am not too deep into the book (Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut), but I kind of have the feeling of what it's going to be like. It seems to me like the author was a soldier in World War 2, who obviously survived. He then goes to college, and then finds out he needs money. What better idea than to write a book about his adventures in the war, one of the many books there are. He thinks he is going to make a lot of money, because it is an interesting topic, so he starts to write the book. His memory starts to fail, and he has nothing more to write about. He starts to research for his veteran friends, and the operator comunicates him with an old friend, which he met and was prisoners with in war. He takes the trip to visit him, and they soon find out they don't remember much. He keeps searching, but nothing appears. He has nothing more to write his book about, and clearly it is not finished. He has some other ideas in mind for fiction books, and maybe some ither book,s but can't finish the book that was most important for him, the one about his past! His idea of the money making business of author starts to faint, when an idea strucks his brain: writing a book about the adventures he went through when he was trying to write the book about his past. Seems to him like a great idea, because he can tell about his past, and about his present, both in the same book. It's like having two stories in a book. So that's what he does. Write step by step his road writing the book, plus he gets to write about the flashbacks he has while he talks about his past. Great idea to make money. Clearly this is only a hypothesis, let's see what really happens!