Dependency is a word that means: something that is dependent on something else (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dependency). When someone says the word dependency I think two things. The first thing I would think is a dependency to substance like tobacco. The second thing would be a person or animal that can't do a thing without another person. In Candide there are many parts that show dependency on another thing. According to Candide: "Our sagacious Pangloss hanged: for otherwise he would have made some remarkable observations on the moral and physical evils" (Candide pg 58). I could see that Candide depended a lot on Pangloss. Similar quotations have appeared in previous chapters that mean that Candide needed Pangloss's advice to do things. Pangloss being the teacher of Candide probably intended like most teachers to guide their students but not do everything for them. In this case Candide did not learn anything from his teacher because he still needed him for everything. This type of dependency has been seen in real life also. One clear example of dependency is when people depend on their friends to do things. If someone invites a person to a party that person will most likely ask who is going and if any of his friends are invited. If the person responds that none of his friends are going then the most probable thing he will do is not go. In that sense he depends on the actions of his friends to do or not to do things. Another example that is more like Candide's is when a tennis player is playing a match. There are many times in a match where the player has no clue what to do next and he wants to call his coach and ask him for his piece of advice. In professional tennis if the coach gives him his piece of advice there will be penalty for the player because it is against the rules. This rule was probably made to prevent the player from becoming too dependent on his coach and starting to think more for himself. It is very important to learn from your teachers and not expect them to tell you exactly what to do, but expect yourself having to explore and discover for the answers.
There was a part where I thought immediately of the word exaggeration. According to the old lady: "If you find even one who has not often cursed his life and told himself that he is the most miserable man alive, you can throw me into the sea head first" (Candide pg 57). When I first came across this I said that it was pure exaggeration because it was impossible to find a ship full of people who thought their life was the worse. As I read in the next chapter that everyone indeed told them that their life was the worse then I understood that Voltaire was doing this to show the reader that people will always want to make themselves stand out even if it is for the bad. People also exaggerate a lot their events to make themselves look stronger or better. When I read this I tried the same experiment with my sister. I asked her what was her worst day in her life and made sure that she told me one day that I was present with her. As she told me the story I was also remembering what had happened and at the end I concluded that she had described the events and difficulties way much harder than what they were. I think it is the nature of human kind to want to exalt ourselves into looking better than what we really are. You can also see this example of showing that they are stronger than the rest when the old lady told her story. It is a strange thing to brag about but in a way it completes its purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment