The Garden State

When I think of a Garden State, I imagine a community that resembles a garden. A good garden wouldn't be something exceptionally big, so the community would be fairly small. Gardens are supposed to be maintained and tended so there wouldn't be any weeds, or in the case of a community, no evils or negative values. And all gardens are taken care of by something, so this community has a government that actuals cares for the people. To me, a Garden State is any community where people get along and live happy, simple lives.

What I got from Candide is that a Garden State is a place where people work constantly for the sole purpose of staying occupied. Because there is no specific end goal and everyone has their own roles, there is no competition, jealously, anger or as the old man put it, "boredom, vice, and need" (pg. 98).

I don't know if I agree that this lifestyle is the right way to live. The fact that everyone just works to fulfill their roles seems repetitive and boring. Maybe because I live today's society, I believe that challenges and goals add to a well rounded and happy life. I think that accomplishing something gives people happiness, and I don't see a problem with competition.

On the other hand, in earlier and more primitive human lifestyles, people hunted and gathered or farmed. They just worked, worked, worked, and worked. The work created roles for everyone in the community, and going by the philosophy of Candide's ending, these people had happy, negative-free lives. I don't know if Voltaire's believes in the Garden State portrayed in the book, but I can't believe it. I think people are too complex to just sit as plants do, repeat the same tasks everyday, and still have happy and fulfilling lives.

Candide's Punishments, Do They Fit the Crime?

I don't think Candide really deserved any of his punishments. Candide is not just a naive person, but he is also kind of stupid for not realizing that Pangloss's logic is completely wrong. Even Cunégonde was able to realize that Pangloss's philosophy was wrong, yet Candide continued to just believe it, regardless of what life literally put in front of him.

Any ways, I can't really blame Candide for doing most of the wrong things that he did. In the beginning, on of his punishments was being forced into the Bulgar army. But he had he done nothing wrong. He only agreed with the two men (unknowingly) that he liked the Bulgar King, and this was  because they provided him with food. Most of the punishments Candide received were from actions he committed without knowing that they were wrong or immoral. For example when he was on the boat during the storm, he didn't rescue the Anabaptist (even though he had every intention to do so) because Pangloss convinced him that the Anabaptists was supposed to drown.

The only punishment that I see fit for him, is when he lost most of his treasures and his sheep from El Dorado to the merchant. He deserved that punishment because he took advantage of the King's generosity by taking a vast amount of valuables. In this situation, he let greed get the best of him. However, all in all, I think Candide is a genuinely good person. His stupidity and Pangloss's influences are what blocks him from truly understand which actions are right and wrong, and I don't believe he will deserve any punishments until he realizes what he's being punished for.

The Modern Gadfly

To be honest, I don't watch talk shows or follow any news programs, so I am not familiar with actual people who may bring up societal problems as gadflies might. Socrates was a gadfly because he was able to criticize the status quo of his society while getting others to realize the problem(s) as well. And so I guess him influencing how people viewed the government, lead to his death. Our society is substantially larger than that of ancient Athens. Maybe this is too literal, but I think its fair to say that Socrates had a smaller crowd to influence than someone might in present day America. Because of that, I don't think there is one person who can be a modern gadfly. Instead I think that groups and organizations are the gadflies that expose problems to people and promote change. The only gadfly group that I can think of right now would be Anonymous. I don’t really know much about them except that they are an anonymous group of hackers who dislike certain government and corporate regulations. Whether or not they are a legitimate group, they do have a presence on the Internet. The thing is is that virtually anyone can join, so really whatever criticisms they have or any changes they want to bring about is open to anyone in society. 

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living?

Honestly, I don’t think there is anyone living an “unexamined” life.

Of course I can’t speak for every single person, but really, who doesn’t wonder why they’re living, and who doesn’t spend time thinking about the future or any decision they have to make?

We can say that someone living a repetitive life—waking up, going to work/school, returning home—has an unexamined life. We can easily judge and say bums hanging on the street or not contributing to society don’t question life either. We can even say, people in control who abuse their power by exploiting others or taking lives, don’t think twice about the people they are affecting. But we are only looking from the outside. I am not making an excuse for anyone’s actions, I’m just saying no one can assume that these people never stop to wonder what they are really doing with their lives.

Anyways, who’s in the position to judge people and determine if their lives are worth living? How can anyone do that when we are all looking to find our purpose in the world and our significance to humanity? What really should be of importance is not how people think of life (or the things and factors in it), but how they approach and respond to the problems they examine.

To me, examining life is to question life itself, yourself, others, and problems in the world. Anyone can do that, and again, I think generally everybody does. However, not everyone makes changes based up their questionings, and I think that is what should be considered when deciding if a life is “worth living”.

Me

Hi. My name is Nambi Williams, and I’m 17 years old. I have a 4-year-old sister and a 13-year-old dog.  I did have a cat, but one day I came home to find out that she had already been given away. I’m not sure if I want a pet in the future though. They are so time consuming, and I already get annoyed at my dog for waking me up early on the weekends just to take her out.

I don’t really have a hobby, but I do have a habit of counting airplanes. My favorite book is The Picture of Dorian Gray, and my favorite TV show is Spongebob Squarepants. I really enjoy playing Sims, and at one point I was pretty addicted to the game. I would like to get into other video games, but I’m not sure if its worth the money to buy new consoles and stuff, considering I barely have time to play the games that  I do have.

At school, I am part of the Young Company and lacrosse, and this summer I had an internship at NIH in Baltimore. The internship was really fun but it was challenging to understand a lot of the biology terms and concepts, since I haven’t taken biology since 8^th grade, and the only thing I vaguely remember anything about is ATP. I met a lot of people there, and I sincerely enjoyed my lab experience. So yeah, I had a great summer, and I guess I’m looking forward to this school year.