Of Love and Other Demons

     In modern life we rarely deal with events that are not able to be explained by science or reason.  Miracles are all but eliminated from our lives and instead have been drafted into an obscure part of our vocabulary only brought out directly after a bad motorcycle accident or perhaps a particularly conservative church message.  In "Of Love and Other Demons" Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses Magical realism to contrast two very different characters.  The Bishop de Caceres y Virtudes, a Bishop of the Catholic church and Abrenuncio de Sa Pereira Cao, a strange Jew with a less-than-savory reputation.  The author uses creativity to paint an unexpected contradiction in both of these characters.  While not directly at odds, their characters represent contrary ideas to the reader - which is a fun way play magical realism in the story.

     The Bishop is first introduced to us as a rich and distant individual; " The Marquis had seen him on very few occasions, always at a distance and in public, but the memory he had...was at mass...and [he] was carried in a sedan chair by government dignitaries."  Upon hearing of the bishop, the reader initially thinks of a pious man - God fearing, Bible believing, and perhaps even loving.  His speech and mannerisms show a different idea of who he is.  He is a complaining, arrogant, and selfish soul.  He seems to care more for his own standing than he does for the wellbeing of a small girl.  He is, strangely enough, not a character who believes in miracles.  He does not seem to care for what God wants in a situation.  The bishop is described as, "not a man given to celestial visions, or miracles, or flagellations.  His Kingdom was of this world."  This last sentence is in opposition to biblical teachings, which leads me to believe he perhaps does not believe in God at all.

     Abbrenuncio, in contrast, is a jocular man.  We first meet him sitting by his dead horse, a horse he believed to have lived for over 100 years.  Abbrenuncio believes in miracles, alleviating the suffering of the less fortunate, and all manner of unbelievable things.  We see that his is regarded as unclean - not only a jew, but with the last name meaning dog, and generally dabbling in things that church deems bad.  Despite this, his character seems more inclined to believe in God than does the Bishop.  He advices the Marquis on several occasions in matters of faith, saying "you mean you have recovered you faith," among others.  He frequently speaks of God, perhaps indicating he has an intimate relationship (though, clearly he has been burned by faith in the past).  

     Abbrenuncio's character plays with the imagination in a way that the Catholic Bishop does not.  He joking talks about having sex with a horse, and on the same page challenges the readers understanding of mercy.  The Bishop is purposefully written without an once of magic - where the strange doctor is nothing but magic.  It is obvious to the reader that Marquez believes in magic and miracles, and the unexplained.  These things, in the authors mind, are not necessarily in line with what the church believes or feels - but could ever be found in the lowest of places.  

Into the Wild

     Into the Wild is a book that easily divides people who would otherwise be perfectly content to agree on most points.  My mother and I, for instance, agree on most everything.  We both love hunting, fishing, camping and hiking.  Where my mother agrees with Gallien that McCandless was one of the "crackpots from the lower forty-eight who [would] come north to live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies," I am more of the opinion that McCandles makes a major change in his life that leads him to adventure, challenge, and happiness.
     While McCandless does die as a result of his actions, the same can be said for each and every person.  Perhaps many die late in life, with family all around - but many die having never having realized many of the dreams we wish we would have.  The same cannot be said for McCandless.  He clearly saw something that he wanted - and he went after it.  In many ways, his testimony sticks up for itself.  He writes "make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation."  
     For McCandless, you have to look and see how the last years of his life were so much more enjoyable than the first.  He lived life, learned new things, and learned about himself.  He did this in a way that he could not have done had he gotten a job, married, and lived a 'normal' life.  Living this life would have left him in regret.  Where others tend to knock McCandless for his decisions, I tend to support him, understand him, and sometimes even wish I had as much courage as he.  

Tartouffe

     In class it was discussed that perhaps Dorine or Cleante is the wisest or smartest of the characters in Tartouffe.  I have a tendency to believe that the most intelligent of characters in Tartouffe is none other that Tartuffe himself.
     While Dorine is clearly wise, and sees through all pretenses of Tartouffe's.  Clearly, she has all her wits about her, and regularly seems smarter than those around her.  "You see him as a saint.  I'm far less awed; In fact, I see right through him.  He's a Fraud."

Cleante spends most of his time telling Orgon how wrong he is.  He is right about so many things - it would be near impossible to list them all.  Even Orgon recognizes his wisdom "I see dear brother, that you're profoundly wise..."

Tartuffe however, even in opposition to these intelligent folk, is somehow able to best the entire family, in what I would deem a battle of wits.  His superiority is in his ability to see the weaknesses of each individual and then exploit these weaknesses for his gain.  He isn't a hypocrite in the way I think of one - someone who knows the truth and speaks it but has a hard time following through.  He is a person who deliberately does the wrong thing for self gain.  In the end, if it wasn't for the Kings interference, Tartuffe would have pulled off yet another beautiful heist.

Candide Chapter 1-10

My first impressions of Canidide are of surprise, humor (a rare emotion for me in classic comedies), and horror.

My feelings of surprise mainly come from the extremely unlikely events that occur around our main character, but also of his involvement in so many unfortunate events.  Not only is it unlikely that he would be around so many events, it is also unlikely that he would survive so many events.  I suppose at some level the reader is expected to suspend their disbelief - at another level the writer of the play does not expect that you will.  Voltaire knows how unlikely these events are, and knows that the reader knows too.  It still surprises me though, that entertainment has changed as little as it has.  This kind of egregious misrepresentation of reality still occurs, mainly in modern comedy.  It reminds me of a cartoon, in fact, I propose that Candide be rewritten as a cartoon, perhaps starring bugs bunny.

My feelings of humor come from the sheer contradiction that is create within the ideas of optimism and tragedy.  I know that this is one aspect of the satirical work, but I normally recognize these elements of satire without genuinely thinking they are funny.  I actually laughed out loud when reading the end of chapter 6.  "My son, be of good cheer and follow me."  The juxtaposition of horrendous feelings of sorrow and tragedy clashing against enthusiastic optimism and joy is literally laughable.  

My horror comes from the events themselves.  In the first ten chapters of this story, Voltaire introduces, war, rape, false accusations, drowning, hanging, multiple earth quakes of apparently great caliber, fire, looting, disembowelment, and murder (take note, an incomplete list).  These events are not to be taken lightly.  While these events are meant to be satirical, the enormity of their weight also should not be lost upon the reader.  While it is supposed to be humorous, and surprising, Candide is also meant to be taken seriously.  The "vices" that Voltaire is attempting to point out with his satire are hiding behind these interesting and challenging literary techniques.

As we move through the story more, I hope that surprise, humor, and horror continue to be motifs for Candide.  I am excited to learn where Candide travels, and what awful things are coming to him - I also am excited to see how his optimism either continues to serve him poorly, or comes through in the end.