Neoclassical Period

Jacob Hurley

British Literature

Ms. Wilson

8 May 2013

Candide

                People during the Neoclassical Period believed that the world could do no harm, and everything happened for a reason, usually a good reason.  Everyone thought they had a reason to be optimistic. In chapter one and Chapter two of Voltaire’s Candide, he uses satire to mock the people and their optimism during the Neoclassical Period. “That things cannot be otherwise; for, since everything is made for an end, everything is necessarily for the best end (Voltaire, 6).”  What Voltaire tries to get across during this passage is that people need to realize that bad things do happen in life, and it is not always for good reason.

                Like TiBor FiscHer’s Under the Frog, Voltaire uses exaggeration in this text, and even sometimes comic relieve, to get his point across to the reader. “Their lips met, their eyes sparkled, their knees trembled, their hands wandered (Voltaire,6). Voltaire is describing a simple kiss between Cunegonde and Candide, but he uses more detail than needed to set the scene. He exaggerates the situation, because their eyes really didn’t sparkle, it was just a simple kiss, but to them it wasn’t.  “Persons of your figure and merit never pay for anything; are you not five feet tall? Come to the table;  we will not only pay for your expenses, we will never allow a man like you to be short of money; men we are only made to help each other (Voltaire, 7).” In this scene, the men are mocking Candide saying that he could eat for free, because of his size and stature. When the men say “men were made to help each other,” Candide thinks they are being serious, when really they aren’t. The reason he thinks they are being serious is because Candide thinks he can do no wrong, and nothing bad can ever happen. Voltaire uses comic relief in this scene, to show how gullible Candide really is.

                “ He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause and that in the best of all possible worlds, My Lord the Baron’s castle was the best of castles and his wife the best of all possible Baronesses (Voltaire, 6).” Pangloss was the one who taught Candide everything, and showed him that there was good in everything. So when Candide kissed Cunegonde, he thought that he did no wrong.  “One fine spring day he thought he would take a walk, going straight ahead, in the belief that to use his legs as he please was a privilege of the human species as well as of animals. He had not gone two leagues when four other heroes, each six feet tall, fell upon him, bound him, and dragged him back to a cell (Voltaire, 8-9).” This is the turning point in the passage, where Voltaire describes how Candide is taken by the men, and about to be beaten for what he did. “ Candide, utterly exhausted, begged as a favor that they would be so kind as to smash his head.(Voltaire, 9).” This was the first time ever Candide was put in a situation like this, and he didn’t know how to handle it. Everything in his life so far has been smooth and he has never experienced anything bad in his life. What Voltaire was trying to get across by writing this was that life isn’t always going to be perfect, and bad things happen to you. He uses satire to mock Candide and Pangoss way of life.

                During the Neoclassical Period, people used satire in their writing but also wrote about optimism. Well in this Voltaire piece, he clashes these two things together by using satire, to try to change the social outlook on optimism. Voltaire thinks people during the Neoclassical Era were too arrogant to realize that bad things can happen to you, and you can’t live your life thinking they can’t.

Blog Post 3

Society is changing in a lot of aspects in our daily lives. One way our society is changing in a major way is the way people use technology. Social media is taking over our world today, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. From twitter, to facebook, people all across the world are using these social media networks in their everyday lives. For example, in the past two presidential elections in the United States, canidates have used the internet and social media networks to get their campaign out to the public. Twenty years ago, if you were running for president, you had to work so much harder to get your campaign out to the people because you didnt have the luxury of technology like people havee today. http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/how_presidential_candidates_use_web_and_social_media

According to www.medialit.org, the defunition of media literacy is  the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms. I would consider myself media literate because i do participate in all of the social networking cites. I use these cites for many different reasons, but mostly to just keep up with my social life. If any other teenager told you that they use it for a different reason, they would be lying.

I agree with this statment because I think technology has taken control of most peoples lives today. To many peopl forgot what it was like before technology and had to read a newspaper to find out information. Without this much technology, children and students would be forced to read more books, therefore would be better off in the long run.

Blog 4: Mise En Scene

Blog 4: Mise En Scene Analysis:
Settings and Props: Right when the little girl walks into the room you can feel the fear inside it. In this scene they use pictures of kids getting hurt, old piles of shoes and a old feast to make you fearful. They also have a fire going on in the backround which gives you a hint that something bad is about ot happen.

Lighting: In the scene the natural lighting never really changes. The dim lighting from the ceiling gives the scene a more creepy feel to the room. When they show pale man, there is a lot of directional lighting on him, hinting to the viewer that something is going to happen with him, and he isnt just there for decoration. The key lighting in this scene is also over the head of the pale man, because they really want to emphasis his role in the scene. The fire going on in the backround also gives it an even more creepy feel, because usually when you see fire something bad is going to happen.

Costumes and Make-up: The way that Ophelia is dressed up in this scene makes her look like a innocent little girl and that nothing can happen to her. At first I honestly thought Pale Man was just a mummy that wasn't going to move in the whole scene. As I looked closer at him, I could tell by not having any eyes, but a nose and face, i knew something was going to happen with him. When he finally wakes up and puts on his eyes, they really try to put fear into the audience with that scene.

Sound: Out of all the categories used in this scene to make it the way it is, I believe that sound is the most important. When Ophelia first walks in, they use silence to grab the audiences attention. When she uses the key to unlock the safe, they really emphasis on the sound of the unlocking, to make the audience start thinking what could be in there. Finally, when Pale Man wakes up, they use the scratching sound of his nails to freak out not only Ophelia, but the audience.

Behavior of Figures: You can tell right when Ophelia walks into the room, she feels uncomortable but also curious about what is inside. When Pale Man finally wakes up they use a close up view of Ophelia to really show the fear in her eyes and also her heavy breathing. Pale man's behavior in this scene whe he comes alive is very angry and forceful. They use many different camera angles to show his agrressivness towards Ophelia