Do Candide's Punishments Fit His Crimes?

Do Candide’s punishments fit his crimes?

I think it is obvious that Candide’s punishments do not fit his crimes. In my opinion, Candide does no wrong in the book. He is painfully naive, and a little immature and gullible, but to say that he committed a crime hugely overstates the case. The only crime he committed is the one he didn’t get punished for, and that is killing the inquisitor and the Jew. The story puts Candide through all of these ridiculous and life threatening experiences because he is convinced that whatever is happening to him is the best it possibly can be. After a few near death experiences, some war and destruction of cities, Candide finally begins question whether he is actually in the best situation he can possibly be in. Granted, some fortunate things do happen to him in comparison to all of the hardship he has gone through, but that is only to be canceled out again by more trials and tribulations. The really only true punishments Candide had was when he was in the Bulgarian army and they whipped the skin off of his back, and also being thrown out of the castle for kissing the princess. I think with the progression of the book, Candide becomes less of a push over, and begins to take initiative. If he had been doing that all throughout the story, he wouldn’t have dealt with all of these punishments I’m sure. However, the author does a great job of portraying Candide’s growth as a multi-faceted character, and it is satirical which makes it 10 times more enjoyable. 

Is the unexamined life worth living?

Socrates felt that the only way to truly enjoy life and have happiness is to completely examine your life. By that he meant question everything you do all the time and have the deepest possible understanding of yourself and the things around you. On the one hand, I can partially agree and say that is one way of achieving happiness, but I imagine it is a very intricate and laborious way of doing so. I feel like I am a happy person, and I've never gone through the self examination process that Socrates is talking about. Perhaps I am missing something, but I consider myself happy. Perhaps I am not happy by Socrates' standards. Maybe in truth I'm not "truly" happy. But if that's the case, I've never been truly happy, and I cannot miss something I've never been exposed to. Maybe it's not too late for me to do the self examination, though. I just don't have the time. Maybe when I get old and I'm retired, and looking for activities to fill my day, I'll examine myself and my life and always be happy, even when I'm bored. Or maybe if I fall on rough times, and I am idly feeling sorry for myself, I will reexamine my life, accept that nothing is as bad as it seems, and achieve true happiness. But for now, I smile everyday, I live comfortably, I love my friends and family, I am perfectly content. Perhaps I'm not truly happy, but is it worth DYING for? Absolutely not.

Eulogy

Victoria Estelle Thompson was born to Hubert Orlando Thompson and Kennise McKinzie Herring on the morning of November 11, 1992. She was the 2^nd of their 3 children, the 1^st of their set of twins, and their only girl. As a child, Victoria was outgoing, and learned how to speak before her twin brother. As a baby, she often translated for her brother, and even added some of her own opinion when talking to her parents and other adults. In later years she attended Ancona Montesorri School in Hyde Park, which would become the foundation of her childhood. She would spend countless after school evenings in Hyde Park, where she would meet, unbeknownst to her at the time, the love of her life who attended school just down the street in the 7^th grade. In high school, basketball defined her. She began playing with her soon to be high school coach in the 8^th grade for an AAU team called the lady fire. She formed a life long bond with her coach from then on, and the people who continued on to Whitney Young with her. As a senior, Victoria and her brother Sam both enjoyed the recruiting process of college, and went on many visits to many different schools. They knew they were going to be separated for the first time, and they were dreading the reality of it all. Victoria will be missed dearly by all of her many loved ones. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, teammate, and friend.