Inferno

"It is all useless, if the last landing place can only be the infernal city, and it is there that, in ever-narrowing circles, the current is drawing us." And Polo said: "The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of the inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space." (Page 165) So in the end the beyond is not happy. Or there is no beyond. We live in an inferno or in a heaven, depending on how we manage to deal with it and/or escape from it. This might also be an allusion or comparison to Dante's Inferno.

The first option that Marco portrayed is becoming an emblem among emblems. That is of course easy for many, you just accept the fate you have and deal with it. So you don't see it as an inferno anymore, you just see it as life. The second portrays one selecting the best of the inferno and take care of them to prevent losing them. Give them space and enjoy the good parts of the inferno. So, it is in your hands, it is in your mind and choices the decision of living in an inferno or escaping from it. Your past, present and your future all affect that, and you will have to make the best of those to escape it using one of the two ways that Marco portrays to escape the inferno. As Francisco said in his blog, on half of the city is permanent while the other is temporary. At this point one must be expecting to get the book but it is still hard for me to understand the book. Like the story, some things about us are permanent while others are temporary. I understand the book on a literary level but we all know that you can't take this book literally. One cannot take Calvino literally. Getting some pieces together is still lacking for me, but in the end we must all live the inferno. I believe that what Marco said in section two became true. Now, I am the book. I have become an emblem among emblems. I know that I will never know it all and that I need to keep traveling in my journey through life. At least that is how I take it.

Polo Attacked

"Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased." (Page 87) Marco says this phrase after Kublai Khan discovers that all the cities that Marco Polo describes to him come from his memories of Venice. That Marco thinks of Venice as a starting point and on from there he imagines the rest of the city. When Marco is describing Adelma, that to me sounds like if he were to describe heaven or the place that you go when you die, he states: "You reach a moment in life when, among the people you have known, the dead outnumber the living. And the mind refuses to accept more faces, more expressions: on every new face you encounter, it prints the old forms, for each one it finds the most suitable mask." (Page 95) He is saying that he only sees dead people in the people he sees. he sees his grandmother, his dad, only people that are dead. Then he says, "Perhaps Adelma is the city were you arrive dying and where each finds again the people he has known. This means I, too, am dead. This means the beyond is not happy." (Page 95) So there he says that either he is in his memory thinking about the people he has known and comparing them to the people that he sees, or he is dead. I chose to believe that he is describing "heaven". In a way, unhappy heaven. He is dead and he can't rest in peace, he just sees the people he knew that are dead once again. Meaning that he is dead or he is dead in a dream. The part that made me think the most was when he said that the beyond is therefore not happy. That gets me thinking. Is there something after life? Do we truly "rest in peace?" Or do we just go back to our memory and dreams and recreate our own world with the people that we used to know? That, one will never know until he or she is dead so I prefer just not to think about it. Honestly, I don't want to be dead haha. Maybe in the end Marco became an emblem among emblems.

"... So the yours is truly a journey through memory!" (Page 98) In a way the Khan is right. It was all based on memory, I thought that was established a long time ago in the book. Everything we do and think are based on memories. Our desires and dreams are based on memories. Therefore the cities had to be based on memories and imagination, memories transformed and recreate by the mind. Then Marco things to himself that in the end of the journey one would find the jam of pat, present, future that blocks existences calcified in the illusion of movement. So in the end you would just find a revolt of thoughts, concluding that the past, present and future affect in different ways; or as I like to say it, nothing. You would find nothing. You cannot do anything about fate and about the fact that past, present and future all affect and indirectly relate to each other. So just go in the journey of life, in which you will find nothing, you will just become an emblem among emblems.

Growing on the Inside

"Falsehood is never in words; it is in things." (Page 62) This is waht Marco states while decribing a city, and it makes a lot of sense. How can you know that something is false only by words? What actually proves something are actions that you take. Besides, the words are based on things, hence falsehood or truth have to be in things. The basis of anything; a thought, a commentary, an action, or anything is based on a thing. The complete basis is a thing.

When describing Trading Cities 3, Marco says something that is very impacting in every sense. He states that this city changes to repeat itself. Just that the protagonist of each story or situation changes. So for example when I get tired or find something weird in my life, I change to someone else's life and someone else changes into mine. It's ike a rotation exchanging lives. In a way this is true. There are people with very similar stories that happen a different times. It is like a recreation of someone else's life. Something as "simple" as marriage happens in many lives. Every time someone gets married in a way it is recreating another person's situation. Something like that. Sounds kind of crazy, but I somehow make sense of it haha. So, is something in the end really original? Is your life really different if you think about it? In the end everything is a recreation. Everything has happened before, it just has different actors. Just like a game. That city as that he describes is a bit crude, and what I am stating in this blog is also a bit crude, because you could argue that you have to live the moment, that there are new things, etc. And it is also valid, well what you live is your life and no one will have it the same way. But in a general sense you see where I am getting with all of this.

Last thing of these two sections (5 and 6) that made an impression in me was when the Khan says something about the fact that his empire is growing too much towards the exterior and not growing within itself. Just like a person. One can take this statement in two ways. One, the Khan could be saying that know his area of knowledge is too broad. That he went over a lot of territory without going too deep into anything so he has like an overall of everything but doesn't have a good specialization in any of those. I personally believe that it is better to be extremely good at one thing than being okay in many. You just have to find that one thing for you and make the best out of it. So maybe he says that he has too much knowledge about everything but about one single thing he cannot go in deep. His knowledge is too shallow. Or two, which has to do with the mind and the heart. Maybe he says that it is also important to know yourself before worrying about the eterior. Maybe he is trying to say that you first have to know yourself and judge yourself to go to the outer world and be who you are. NOt letting stupid thing change you. Of course you will change, but you have clear who you are. Like getting to know what you like, your feelings, and then taking advantage of your good areas to make the best out of them and out of yourself to help yourself and the outer world too. Grow within yourself.

Desires and Memory

"Cities also believe they are the work of the mind or of chance, but neither the one nor the other suffices to hold up their walls. You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it give to a question of yours". (Page 44) I think that the point that is tried to be made here is that when you imagine or discover something new, it has to be based on desires and/or fears because if not your "city" is based on mind and chance only. And these to are not strong enough to hold the thought and make you believe it. Eventually the thought will crumble down if there is no desire, the driving force that keeps you building up on that thought. As we said before, desires and dreams are based on memories so in the end your city has to be based on memories that have impacted you enough to hold the walls of your thought. 

The book at this point is still very complicated, the point I still doesn't fit in my mind. I still quite don't get the book in other words. Specially at the end of section 3 when Marco says, "The city exists and it has a simple secret: it knows only departures, not returns." (Page 56) So what is the point of going to the city if he won't be able to come back and tell the Khan what he saw? Now there are cities everywhere, cities that do not exist and that they are only imagining, cities that they know, etc. It's all just very confusing, and it is having the spiral effect again. It turns and turns on the same idea. The reader still has the doubts of the intention that the author has. Where is the story going? Is there any chronology in particular that the story tries to portray? In page 29, the Khan asks Marco some questions that made me stop and think for a moment. "Journey's to relieve your past? Journeys to recover your future?" He is asking Marco about the purposes that he has for traveling and going through mountain ranges, rivers, valleys, etc. Marco answers, "Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveler recognizes the little that he is, discovering the much that he has not had and never will have."(page 29) I think that Marco is trying to say that the more you explore, the less you know in a way. If you explore more, you keep gaining knowledge but there is also more that you do not know because you are widening your field per say. In the end, you will realize that you will never know it all because there will be always something more to explore, there will always be something new. 

You will never know it all, you will realize that you are one small grain of sand in a world full of mysteries and adventures. So in the end is Marco trying to say that there is not point in traveling? To me, no. He is trying to say that one must try to attain his own empire. One must try to know as much as possible and conquer their own desires, dreams, fears, and memories. That is the purpose of life.    

  

Conquering Your Own Creation: Your Knowledge

After reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino I have decided that I have no clue of what is going on in his mind. I do not understand the book very well. I wonder, has the author given us two ways to read the book for a reason? Or is he just fooling us and let us understand the book on different perspectives? At the end of the first section I got a bit of an idea of what might be going on. MOments after discussing this in class I thought to myself that the idea that was exposed in class had to be right. This idea consisted as seeing the literal parts of the book as the empire tha Kublai Khan is conquering, the figurative as the power, and the metaliterature used in the book as the reader. So, let me expand on this idea a bit more. If Kublai Khan is trying to conquer an empire, if we twist it to the reasoning proposed in class it might make sense. He is trying to conquer knowldge. He talks about tnemy troops, which I find as things that he doesn't know or understand. It is an assimilation, the book describes itself and portrays the reader in the story as Kublai Khan.

"On the day when I know all the emblems," he asked Marco, "shall I be able to possess my empire at last?" And the Venetian answered: "Sire, do not believe it. On that day you will be an emblem among emblems." (Page 23) Let's analyze that last frase for a moment. What is Calvino trying to symbolize with an emblem?  I belive that the Venetian, Marco, is saying that the day that he understands and knows it all (the book for us), then he will just be part of it. He will become part of the book. Another emblem among emblems. The book in a way is like a vicious circle. It goes around a point again and again. Like a spiral.

When I read Stephanie Vainberg's blog, she talked about spirals. She says that whe live by the law of spirals and that we are destined to take turns and go in circles. In a way she is right, it just repeats. It is a spiral. Just like the story is describing itself, recreating itself. Therefore the connection with the spiral. But I think that we and Kublai Khan make our own destiny. That not necessarily must we understand it one way and become part of the book. That we can change our destiny and make many things out of the knowledge we conquer to keep building the empire. At one point he also says that desires and dreams are memories. Going back to the recreation point. It is true. What you imagine and what you dream of is based on memories that reacreate themselves. Desires are memories recreated. This guy is a genius honestly. I have so many doubts of where he wants to go with this book I mean, what will be is conclusion in the end. I can't make sense of the book yet or imagine any end by myself. There is much more empire to conquer, and much more knowldge to attain while reading this book. We still have many enemy troops that attack us with things we don't know. The only solution is to give it time and thought. Let's see what this empire can bring and show us. In the end it won't matter because we will be "an emblem among emblems".

Memes and Nice Guys

Dawkins portrays several ideas in chapter ten and eleven. As we have heard all throughout the book, DNA are replicators  which create every living thing on earth, and that these sometimes make mistakes that then lead to evolution. Now, he comes up with this idea of memes. These are ideas or beliefs that remain with some people and to which some can relate. Like in 9gag, there are memes that everybody who visits 9gag can identify with. "Cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give a rise to a form of evolution." (Pg. 189) I strongly disagree with he point that he makes that memes go from one brain to another replicating ideas. Ideas have nothing to do with genes, a person form itself through time, and changes through time. No one is born to do something specifically or to be the one destined to portray certain idea. It does not work like that. People base themselves on the environment that they are exposed to and by what they are taught (whatever method he or she was taught to) to create who they are. For example leadership. Leaders are not born, they are made. The same with ideas; as people grow and learn they conclude different things about different topics. Many have different opinions and think differently on many things. They were not born thinking like that, they based themselves on what they were taught and on whatever he or she is evaluating to create a solid and supported conclusion about it. Culture is transmitted from one person to another, but it has nothing to do with genes.

One thing that Dawkins talks about to which I agree is that he portrays God as a meme. Its just a common figure that many identify with and/or believe in. No one is certain that God exists, but many believe that he does. He is portrayed and seen in many different ways but in the end it is an idea that people have, or in Dawkins words a meme. The argument is perfectly valid, since many just use God as an excuse for many things, or just to have a place to go to in rough times. In tough times some people just pray, in a way just hiding from reality behind a meme. Well, that is each one of us' choice, as everyone is different and hence have different ideologies about life and God. "God exits, if only in the form of a meme with high survival value, or ineffective power, in the environment provided by human culture." (Pg. 193)

In the end Dawkins talks about the "nice guy" finishing first. Well some might think, what is that supposed to mean? To me, he is referring in a way to karma, and to values. Since we are very little we are taught values and morals so that we are correct and decent people. Just think about it with some logic, if you are nice and good at what you do you will be respected, you will be liked by many, and you will be successful in life. Nice people make friends. Mean people make enemies. Its that easy, no need to over think this statement, if you are good you will be rewarded and results from your good actions will eventually come. The key is to be good, work hard, be perseverant and (of course in different proportions due to the fact that unfortunately not everybody is born into the same circumstances) results will eventually come therefore the statement of finishing first. Finishing is success.   '





   

The Selfish Gene

After reading The Selfish Gene (actually just 2 chapters), I found out some interesting statements that are made throughout the book. According to Dawkins, the human is selfish. I wonder why the human is selfish, and where that argument comes from. He says that it is because of the genes, that make humans selfsh. He talks about DNA and how animals (ncluding humans) are conformed by genes that determine how they act and who they are.


I strongly disagree with that. I believe that the only thing that genes affect are the physical traits of one. Who someone becomes or who someone is depends on the environment that he or she is exposed to throughout their lives. That is why people change and take different decisions. You learn values throughout your life, that make you who you are. Your parents also affect a lot in how they raise you and what they teach you is wrong or right, since when you are very little you have not discovered many things yet. Genes only affect our body, and not our feelings.


A very impacting frase that he uses is: "They are in you and me; they created us... Now they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines". He is basically saying that genes control us, like if they weren't part of us, but as if we were their slaves. Like if they used us to survive but they are the ones that make you who you are and just use the body to represent themsleves. I still say that values are learned as time passes and that people change throughout their lives, depending on many factors like experiences, situations, people, environment exposement, etc. I believe that genes just make you physically, which of course affects in a way because that may decide if someone else likes your physical traits or not. BUt that is not the point right now, the point is that genes do not affect who you are and did not create us, I believe that God created us.


He of course, believes that the genes are our type of God, and that without them we would not exist. In a way it is true, but only to the extent that scientifically genes form our genetic material and define us. But genes are not the reason that we exist, I mean its not like they control us or that they can "think". They are just genetic traits that you inherit and that form your body up, but in the end it all depends on who you become depending on the environments you are exposed to and who you want to be. Also he talks about how humans are individualistic and don't think abut group benefit, only about individual benefit. And that genes are capable of using others to make one prosper, making us their survival machines as mentioned before. I just find that statement out of context, I think that it is a bit exagerated to think that all this has to do with one's genetic material. 


He says that everything about us have to do with genes, and I think that it is just crazy to think that. I mean, what about guilt, what about people going mentally crazy, what about something as "simple" as choosing religion and beliefs. That has nothing to do with genes. Has to do with character, personality, and morals. 

Interesting Bet

Martin and Candide, still arguing about life and how it works, observe a monk and a happy lady. Candide remarks that the lady is happy, and makes a bet with Martin. The bet consisted of discovering if the monk and the lady were actually happy or not. If they were happy, Candide would win. If they were not, then Martin would win (obviously). Candide invites them to dinner, to discover the lives that these two had. How small the world is, that Pacquette was the "happy" girl. Pacquette was the responsible for causing all the problems for Pangloss in Westphalia. By the end of the dinner, Martin had one the bet by a mile. Pacquette's life was horrible: she was beaten, robbed, and unhappy with her life. The monk... wanted to kill himself. Candide is once again proven wrong by reality. You can't guide yourself by how people look before actually talking to them. The world is a horrible place, according to Martin. Candide thinks he'll see her loved one again, and we all know that that is unlikely. He calls Martin a pessimist, but he is just being realistic. I think that all these stories are absurd, and that Voltaire is obviously exaggerating things.

I do not know if to take Voltaire/Pococurante seriously or ironically. He might be using irony, and criticizing all the rich that think that they are better because they posses valuable things. In this case, the Pococurante possesses great pieces of art (that is: Homer, Milton, paintings, etc.). The Pococurante hates all he possesses, even though he possesses a lot of precious stuff. Well, that is according to society, since he thinks it's all crap. He criticizes all the works and books, saying that their themes are boring. There he might be being sarcastic, because gods, wars and tragedies are not at all boring. The other option, is to take Voltaire literally in this case. If you take him literally, he might be criticizing the way that ignorants don't get true art, and don't appreciate what really takes work and dedication.  If they don't get it, then they won't find the interesting part. Even his own book is an example of this. If you take Voltaire literally, the book makes no sense at all. You have to see the satire to understand the book. You have to take it outside the bubble to be one of the few privileged to actually get art and literature. Maybe he is criticizing this, and the ignorance that people have when they talk about one of these works of art without even getting it right.

Voltaire may also be emphasizing in the point that money does not make you happy. The senator, which supposedly possesses great pieces of art and a great house, hates what he possesses. He may even be making all these three points. I think that the most likely is the one of the ignorance. If he was to be ironic and be saying the opposite of what he thinks, I believe that he would use more absurdity. It is likely because his own book is hard to get and that is why many people don't really read Candide because they take Voltaire seriously. If you take Voltaire seriously, you are reading another book. In this case though, I think he is not being sarcastic or ironic, since it would be typical of him to criticize ignorance.

Naive Candide

After leaving his fellow servant to wait for him in Venice, he encountered a compromising situation. He had to reach Venice somehow, therefore he had to find a ship that would take him there. He first tried to negotiate with a Dutch pirate, which asked for much more money tan it was worth to go to take someone to Venice. Each time he rose the price, Candide just gave him more money without questioning anything. He put his two sheep on board, and when he was in a rowing boat following the ship to get on board himself, the Dutch pirate took off. Candide was outraged by this, since he never thought a man would do that. He went to a judge but the judge also asked for a lot of money just to listen to Candide. Candide never suspected that he was being cheated on, being too naive and thinking that no man would be so cruel to trick him. Well, he was wrong. And he still had to find a way to get to Venice. Finally, he found a French ship, that would actually take him to Venice. Candide did not want to go alone, so after offering money for someone who would keep him company, he and Martin set sail to Venice.

Martin had the opposite philosophy to the one Pangloss had. Martin believed that the world was created to drive men crazy and that it was made by the force of evil, not the force of good. He had gone through so much that he couldn't have believed something else. He was robbed by his wife, left by his daughter, and beaten by his son. Martin believed that men were evil and that they have always been that way. They argued all the way to Venice, and were still arguing when they got to Bordeaux.

While they are at the ship, some gunfire is heard. Two ships were battling very close to them, so they were supposed to be scared. Were they? Voltaire says: "... but the wind brought them both so close to the French ship, that the passengers had the pleasure of watching the fight in comfort". (Page 93)That was very ironic, since the point wasn't to fight the fight in comfort, it was to prevent being killed by one of those two ships! I mean, who would want to be so close to war itself. After one ship won, one of his sheep was swimming towards the French ship. It was the only survivor. Candide was very happy to have one of his sheep back, and told Martin to see how crime is punished. Martin responded that the Dutch pirate had been punished, but the other 100 men were also punished and did nothing. He was right. The only conclusion I can draw from that is that the world is not just. Justice does not exist in the world, but one can make his own destiny and be successful with what he has. One can always be happy, no matter what. Sometime the day comes for some of us, but in the end we all die. Ones will be punished by the actions of others, and that is inevitable. I think that Pangloss and Martin are both to extreme, well I think the world is right in the middle. Some things happen for the best, while others make no sense and are unjust. That is just how it is, and there is nothing to do about it. It's all a matter of perception, therefore no belief is wrong but some to me are a bit too extreme.        

The Country of El Dorado

What they saw in the country of El dorado, when arriving to the His Majesty's kingdom, was marvelous. Candide and Cacambo were treated very well, as they were provided food for free in a restaurant they found there. They tried to pay the man with gold, but the man laughed and said that why were they trying to give him stones from the street. These stones were gold, diamonds, and other precious stones. Stones? That's jewelry right there. Candide and Cacambo were just as surprised as me with the fact that they called gold "yellow mud". They were taken to the palace, to see His Majesty, who received them with pleasure. It's ironic how the city works, it may as well be actually the city were it all happens for the best. The people al had the same opinions, so there would never be any problems or disputes between the people. There were no jails, no monks, and no materialistic people. The people were very happy with what God gave them, thanking him day and night (at least that is what the a "hundred and seventy-two" year old man told Candide).

Cacambo and Candide had a great life: they lived in great conditions, they could stay as long as they wanted, and nobody wanted them to leave or hated them. Even though they had such a great life, Candide couldn't live without Lady Cunégonde. He wanted to rescue her and then go back to the old world with some gold and sheep from His Majesty's kingdom. That is exactly what they did, but just until the part of leaving with sheep and gold so far haha. Who knows were Cunégonde is and what is of her. When they asked His Majesty for the gold and the sheep to leave, he said that even though he'd like them to stay, that he wouldn't stop them. It was against his religion and laws. He asked his engineers (pretty advanced for that time I think) to help them to make their way. Before they left, His Majesty said this: "I don't understand your European taste for yellow mud, but take as much as you wish..." (Page 83) It is ironic how different perceptions he Europeans have of life than the new world people. Voltaire may also be criticizing how the Europeans would do anything for gold and precious stones and how they killed people for those. The perception of the two sides is completely different, what some consider mud other consider a lot of money. Now they are off to sail with their gold and sheep, and everything seems to be good? Will they become rich or will they encounter  tragedy once again?

How Strangely Things Turn Out

Somehow, Candide is alive. By killing the brother of his loved one, he was not eaten. Besides, they encountered Cunégondes brother in Paraguay. Strange, he has been at the verge of being killed at least five times, and he always finds a way to escape. This time he had to kill his old master, friend, and companion. Then he killed two monkeys thinking he was finally doing something well but it turns out that he screwed it up again. They were thought to be jesuits and were almost eaten but they proved not to be and instead were treated like kings. they were offered girls, food, rest, etc. They were offered all you can need. Every time things are going badly something good happens and when they are in a good situation, then something bad happens. This story is full of ups, downs and surprises.

Who knows how Cunégonde and the old woman are doing, they have probably been ravished and sold to another governor. Without Cunégonde's brother, Candide and Cacamo will have to find those two alone. They are still doing somewhat well compared to the expectations after being separated. Who knows who will they encounter next and how they will manage to survive. Maybe in a way everything will actually happen for the best. Just kidding, of course it will not. The old woman has been through many different things, probably she will find a way to keep loving life and saving Lady Cunégonde. The reader, at least me, sometimes gets lost in the irony of the book. Sometimes I don't know if the characters are being ironic or not. Also, the changes in time and place are very fast, with many actions in each place. A lot of things happen in a short lapse of time so understanding why things happen takes time. Like when Candide and the Baron are crying of joy and suddenly the baron is dead. Oh, and i forgot to mention that the guy weeping a few moments ago was the one who killed him. It is very unpredictable, well i have no clue of what will happen next. Hopefully Candide and Cunégonde will marry and the old woman can die in peace after being the hero of the story. Very unlikely, but this book is full of surprises.

It will all depend on the decisions Candide makes. Hopefully he will be wise and evade any problems with natives besides the Governor of Buenos Ayres. Everybody wants to marry Cunégonde, hopefully Candide can be there in time before she marries the Governor of Buenos Ayres if they have not been married already. Again, good luck to Candide and Cacambo in all their voyages and adventures.

The Old Woman's Story

"I have tried to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life". (Page 57) This is what the old woman says after telling what had been of her life, proving Candide and Cunégonde that she went through a lot more than they did. She was provoked to tell this story by Cunégonde, when she implies with a laughter that no one had suffered more than she had. The old woman's story is a tale full of war, disease, poverty, slavery, abuse and misery. It seems like no one can suffer more than the old woman. She went from having everything to having absolutely nothing and being treated like an priceless object. How she tells the story makes it even more miserable, like how she chooses the order of the words. the syntax of the book when the old woman is telling her story makes the reader be more impressed with the anecdotes each time. After the story was told, even Candide questioned the world's greatest philosopher and his way of seeing life. After hearing that, how can you even think of everything happening for the best? No way. How can you want to keep living after going through all that the old woman went through? Even with Cunégonde's and Candide's story you may be devastated as well. I mean, how can people's fate change so fast?

You've got to be in love with life as the old woman said to want to keep living after living those stories. And not only the stories, but how they end up in those situations. The old woman was a princess! She was recognized all over Italy, with an excellent future before her and somehow ended as a slave. That's how life tests you, putting you down until you can't keep up. I once heard: "It ain't not about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward". I fully agree on that, and respect Candide, Cunégonde and the old woman for moving forward. It is still a book, but in real life there a hundreds of people going through very tough situations, that is why we must not complain about our tiny problems and instead be thankful for what we have. At least in my case it is that way, I sometimes think I am so unfortunate without knowing how fortunate I am and not knowing with what other people are dealing with.

Back to the book. Now, they are in the new world, and their hopes of everything happening for the best in the new world are gone. A nobleman in Buenos "Ayres" wants to marry Lady Cunégonde and Candide has to be gone because they were persecuted for the death of the Inquisitor. Once again, Cunégonde will probably be ravished, the old woman will end up as a slave and Candide will be persecuted to be killed. Good luck finding your loved one again Candide...

Everything Happens For the Best

Does everything happens for the best? Certainly that is what Pangloss, the "greatest philosopher in the whole world" thinks. After being infected by a disease, loosing an eye and an ear, seeing James the Anabaptist be killed and being hanged, Pangloss holds his thought that everything happens for the best (well I do not know if after being hanged haha). Candide, does feel a bit doubtful towards this idea after seeing his master, Pangloss, be hanged in front of his own eyes. As soon as he starts questioning himself, a good woman appears and takes care of him. Candide does not know who the woman is, or why she is being so kind to him.

He still had suffered some hard blows life gave him. He had lost the love of his life right? Wrong. One day he is taken to a desolated house, where he is stunned by what he sees after walking up some stairs. Lady Cunégonde is in front of him. At first, he cannot believe it, well he was assured that she was dead. They talk for a while, and update each other of what has been of them since that kiss Candide gave to Lady Cunégonde. Maybe now he can start believing again on what Pangloss said, even though Lady Cunégonde  did not share Pangloss's views. It's ironic, that they say that Pangloss is the best philosopher in the world. Obviously he is not, and the text proves to the reader as the story goes by that Pangloss is nuts. I mean, how in the world can you think that an earthquake or having a disease is for the best? Just crazy. Even I could be a better philosopher than Pangloss. Okay, maybe now I went too far, I wouldn't be better than Pangloss. Still, you get my point.

Also, we see a lot of care and love between Candide and Lady Cunégonde. When he describes her as a "pearl amongst women" and as she describes her feelings when seeing Candide suffer at the auto-da-fé. Which by the way is also crazy and ironic, well it consists of sacrificing people to prevent earthquakes. As I am writing this, I am even more aware of the absurdities said by Pangloss and the rest. Okay, back to the love. They have attraction to each other, but who knows how things will happen for the best. Maybe they might as well commit suicide for the best. As this story is going, I'm not talking non-sense. In the meanwhile, good luck to Candide and what is left for him.    

ENGLISH VIDEO LINK

http://youtu.be/JgtQ5lW81nU http://youtu.be/JgtQ

World War II is Over

At the end of the book, after many changes in time take place, war is finally over. Going back to what happened before, Dresden was bombed, leaving only 100 Americans alive and four German guards. They walked through Dresden, until they got to a motel, where they stayed for some time. Many events happen, like the plane crash that left Billy like practically unconscious, dreaming about his past. He looses his wife Valencia, when she drives to see what happened to Billy and dies because of carbon monoxide (all that work for nothing, ironic). This is shortly after meeting his mentor, Kilgore Trout, inviting him to his anniversary before the incident happened. Billy still stands firmly in believing in the Tralfamadore teachings, visiting his baby and Montana from time to time. After time traveling from the hospital in Vermont (telling Rumfoord that he was in Dresden and receiving the other end's point of view) to the war again, he is in a wagon going back to the Slaughter house for more resources. Billy bursts to tears when two other survivors show him the horses' bad state. Momentarily, they are captured by Russians and then given to America, their homeland. I am wordless about all the events that take place on the end of the novel and how everything connects.

What I found most interesting was how we see that all the ideas that billy provides to the world, in one or another way (either by radio or normally speaking), come from Kilgore Trout's books. MOre of his books are introduced, also in many ways (even as window dressings haha). After "the pervert" buys the window dressing, he travel to Tralfamadore where Montana is, with here interesting necklace that restates a very significant quote: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference". (Page 209)
Another shocking connection is the one about poor old Edgar Derby, which actually dies as Vonnegut presents the situation at the start of the novel, by taking a teapot. Once again, religion is questioned, in one of Trout's books, which talks about a kid that built a time machine and traveled back in time to presence the death of Jesus Christ, the well-connected son of God. In the last chapter, Vonnegut talks in first person, while he is in an airplane with his friend O'Hare, caring only about the moment (like the Tralfamadores). O'Hare is predicting that the population will breakthrough 7 billion people by 2000, which is happening now, in real life.

I am still blowed away by the ending of the book, the war is over! The crave to find thousands of dead bodies, creamed by the soldiers. The soldiers left to fight the Russians, but Billy Pilgrim was still in Dresden; no traffic, only one vehicle. The only vehicle he sees is the green wagon he rode before being kidnapped by the Russians. Even birds were talking, as one said to Billy: "Poo-tee-weet?" I really have a different view of war and life itself after reading this book.Life is very loosely wired, but that's how it is meant to be. The moment was made up so that that specific thing would happen. Destiny determines it all, if you are meant to die today, there's now sense in trying to prevent it, you will still die one way or another. It's just fate, or luck, if you believe in such thing. Everybody wonders why life it is how it is. To me, Vonnegut, and Billy Pilgrim, it just is.

Reflection

In Manuela's blog, she talks about the exemplified Tralfamadorian life. She mentions how through BIlly Pilgrim in different situations, these morals or rules for way of life are transmitted. The interesting situation that she chooses is the promise of Paul Lazzaro, about avenging his buddy Weary by killing Billy. After giving his powerful speech at Chicago, he knew he would soon be dead, assuring it to the crowd with this quote: "I, Billy Pilgrim, the tape begins, will die, have died, and always will die on February thirteen, 1976." (page 141) I found very interesting how at the end of her blog she mentions that Billy died being at peace with himself, learning the lesson of fate and how he would eventually live again. You can clearly see the analysis on her words and way of writing, which really amazed me. It has very similar points of view in comparison to my blog, which I find cool and satisfactory in certain way. To see others blogs really makes one reflect on the different situations on the book more carefully and if the points of view differ, it also helps to make up your mind.

Dresden

Once again, Billy Pilgrim finds himself in the cold and harsh conditions of the prison. He, poor old Edgar Derby and Lazzaro were taken to the theater where the rest of their lads were. According to the Englishman back in the theater, everybody should take care fo their appearances, or they would soon die. That seemed easy, but still Billy and old Edgar Derby had their beards. There, elections for an American leader would take place, since no one voted, the englishman chose old Edgar Derby for his experience. They were told that they would be taken to Dresden, an open city that would "never be bombed". Billy, as a time traveler, had seen the bombing of Dresden just thirty days away. He had also seen his death many times, in February of 1976, when Lazzaro kept his promise to Roland Weary. Of course, he doesn't really care, well he would never be really dead, what the Tralfamadores taught him. When he dozes off after having been woken up because of animal magnetism, and after he passes some time in prison talking to Lazzaro (actually being threatened, not actually a pleasant dialogue haha), he is giving a speech to a big crowd about his death. Yet again, we see sudden changes in time and place, this time between 1945 and 1967.

 When they get to Dresden, after a short trip, the city seems to be perfect. The rest of Germany was already bombed, while Dresden was supposed to be safe, which Billy knew it wasn't. Shortly after being a while there, dialogue between Billy and an ex-soldier started. Billy was trying to be friendly, but apparently BIlly's Cinderella boots bothered the guy. He criticized the boots, and how they represented the country, he was told: "And do you feel proud to represent America as you do?" (page 152) They were finally taken to a slaughterhouse, which now gives sense to the title of the book: "Slaughterhouse-Five". In case they got lost in the big city, they were asked to remember the address Slaughterhouse five, in german. With Billy's stupidity, who knows what'll happen next...

Poor Americans

Have you ever thought about what others say about you or say about a certain topic? After Billy finishes making love to Valencia he travels back to the prison while taking a leak. Interestingly, Vonnegut mentions himself in the book for the first time as: "That was me. That was the author of this book." (Page 125) There in the prison, a German that comes to visit the Englishmen is translating a text from Howard W. Campbell Jr. He states that at the same time that America is the wealthiest nation in the world, its people are mainly poor. Americans have certain hatred for the poor, because they think that they are all rich and that for them making money is easy (therefore the hatred for poor is hatred for themselves haha). Due to this belief is that the poor Americans blame themselves to death when they cannot make money. Lastly, it states that the Americans have no brotherly love at all. Campbell says that any prison administrator that had to deal with Americans should be warned that he would not presence any brotherly love, not even between brothers. "Each will be a sulky child who often wishes he were dead." (Page 130) While all these critics about the Americans are being told, Billy and all his war mates are listening (except poor Lazzaro who is getting his arm fixed).   

As in previous occasions in "Slaughterhouse Five", we see sudden changes in time and place. First, Billy travels from his bed in his honeymoon back to the war. Then, as he falls asleep as the German is translating the Campbell text, he is back in 1968 but as a widower (poor Valencia died apparently). He is talking to Barbara, not being taken seriously, like always. He is taken to a hot bed so he doesn't freeze, and as soon as he falls asleep he is back at the Tralfamadore zoo with Montana. At first all the little Tralfamadorians are excited to see earthlings mate, but as soon as Montana realizes that she wasn't at the California beach anymore, she freaks out. After what would be an Earthling week, Montana asks Billy to sleep with her, which he does. Suddenly, he wakes up in the hot bed again, after having a dream with Montana. He is back in the hot bed, soon comforting a child that had no father due to his death in Vietnam. He comforts him by telling him what the Tralfamadorians taught him: nobody really dies, the body is just at a bad state at the moment. As usual, they think Bill is crazy, making Barbara take Billy away form there. He is arguing with Barbara again, which brings up a familiar statement to Billy: "Father, father, father, what are we going to do with you?" (page 135) What are they going to do with Billy? 

The Universe As It Is Meant To Be

Have you ever pictured the mind of a war veteran? It must be certainly complicated and changed due to the war and the experiences that he had to live. Billy is lying in the veteran hospital, under his blankets due to the fact that Billy thinks that he did a bad to his mother by being born. As time went by, Billy fell asleep and "woke up" in the war again, talking about Dresden and how the wars were fought by children. " It's like the Children's Crusade". (Page 106) They reflect on this point for a short amount of time on that, especially Derby and the colonel which were aged men. Then, they mention how the Americans came out of the woods to not be killed by the Germans, which ordered them to drop their weapons and walk out of the woods if they wanted to live.  

There is a change in the pattern of writing like for 2 pages, which consist of dialogue between Rosewater and Billy's mother. They talk about how Billy was engaged to Valencia, a rich woman that would give large amounts of money to Billy of course, if they married. After Billy's mother leaves, Valencia comes and has a short dialogue with Rosewater and Billy too, about the reading that Rosewater was doing. Again, there is a change in time and Billy is in his forty's at the Tralfamadore zoo, amusing the crowd by taking a leak. He was asked several questions and asked several himself also, like how the universe would end, which the Tralfamadorians already knew. He was told that the Universe would end by a testing pilot pressing a button and making the universe disappear, which would not be prevented because it was meant to happen. He was instructed to just look at the moment instead of trying to prevent wars which was stupid.

When he was back, he was making love to his big wife, Valencia, which made him officially rich now. Billy is unhappy with Valencia, well he didn't want to marry that ugly woman even though he still had to, it would make him rich. They then went to their honey moon, where Valencia cried because she was very happy that someone had married her. Billy had seen the future of his dreadful marriage so when Valencia said that she wanted to become beautiful for him, he just told her he liked her just the way she was. "Really" (Page 120) I would never think of doing something that I really don't want to, it makes no sense at all (to me, because to Billy it seems to). What would you do if you could prevent the end of the universe: take action or just let it be as destined? Certainly I would take action, its me and thousands of other peoples' lives that are at risk, but to Billy its all okay since he hates his life. Common Billy, wake up...

German Camp

Have you ever thought in what other creatures exist outside of our planet? I have... Billy has too, with the Tralfamadorians. He gets taken and talks about the similarities and differences between humans and Tralfamadores. For example when they talk about the texts of Tralfamadore which are viewed all at one to represent how beautiful life is instead of viewing one after another. "What we love about are books is the depths of the many marvelous moments all seen at one time" (Page 88) Suddenly, he appears in the world war again after being in total darkness in the Grand Canyon being only twelve years old. At the moment Billy is captured by the Germans still and taken to a camp, where several Englishmen are too. 

He meets a guy named Eliot Rosewater, which like Billy, finds no sense to life at all. They talk about their families and experiences during the war since they are together in the camp. Billy is in that cabin do to his shrieking in the cinderella play (honestly, how funny can a cinderella play be haha). As seen in previous parts of the book we see a lot of changes in time, the expression so it goes, and deep description of several situations. I found very important that they mention a turning point in Billy´s life, which was when his father died and Billy stopped living like before: was not in the top of his class anymore, hated life, etc. Certain gaps start filling in throughout the reading of "Slaughterhouse Five" which apparently will continue happening. Lastly, once more I noticed how everybody's life is shaped by the experiences and turning moments that they have had to live due to luck, if there is such a thing.

Changes in Time and Place

Throughout this portion of ¨Slaughter House Five¨, we see how the author uses changes in time and place in reference of Billy Pilgrim for the development of the story. I found amazing how he is suddenly putting and when he bends down, loses consciousness and when he gains it again, he is back in the ship of the Tralfamadorians. The main events are that Billy is at Barbara´s wedding night and can´t sleep so he goes out to the backyard and gets taken away by a flying saucer. When he wakes up again, he is in Germany still in the World War II, where both the hobo and Roland Weary die. Weary´s last will was to get avenged by hurting or killing the one who killed him: Billy Pilgrim. All throughout the chapter the reader gets a glance at three different worlds in which Billy is the protagonist: with his family in the States, with the Tralfamadorians and in the war.

I found very shocking to see how the author uses irony and changes in time and place to hook the reader. For example, when he states: ¨Their penises were shriveled and their balls were retracted. Reproduction was not the main business of the evening.¨ Here the irony is used when he says that reproduction is not what is happening there, instead they were ordered to take their clothes off so they could have new ones from the Germans. The black humor feeling that the book gives is incomparable, well with such a harsh subject, Kurt seems to make the dark side of it funny. Billy is at a critical point, well Lazzaro and the rest in the boxcar wants to avenge Weary and therefore kill Billy. What would you do if you were in that situation? (I personally would be really scared haha) Good luck Billy....    

Pursue Your Dreams

Throughout Chapter 3, Kurt Vonnegut describes Billy at war and Billy in his dreams. He jumped from when Weary was crying due to the the pain on his feet to Billy driving a Cadillac to work as a doctor. I really found interesting how suddenly <i was reading world war two and then 1967 with Billy at his house.  I did not feel the jumps from on e time period to another which made me even go deeper into the reading because it hooked me. Also, how he describes Billy stupidity but calm throughout being a prisoner along with Roland Weary and Wild Bob. The description of the characters is also really accurate which makes the reader go into the characters shoes like how Billy had hope and imagined himself in the future and how he referred to the tank´s inside as heaven. It is also very abundant the phrase: So it goes. He uses it after he describes a situation or event making the reader deduce the details or wonder what exactly happened. His references to Adam and Eve and connection like when Wild Bob says if you are in cody ask for Wild Bob and suddenly O´Hare and Billy are there.

But what I found most important was:              
GOD GRANT ME
SERENITY TO ACCEPT
THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
COURAGE
TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND WISDOM ALWAYS
TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE

Billy always had his motivation clear because no one can live throughout all those atrocities without some king of guidance or motivation (at least not me haha). Everybody should pursue their dreams and 1967 was Billy´s dream, therefore he was doing the right thing. Billy, like Forrest Gump, knew they had another obstacle more than other people but had the hope of achieving things of the same magnitude. That´s why up to now, Billy has impressed me each time more...

Tralfamadores

Through the pages 23 and 53 of the book Slaughter House five they refer to Billy. He suffered a nervous break down after a plane crash therefore everybody believed that he was crazy. He talked about some strange creatures called Tralfamadores and how they lived differently from humans. They had different perceptions of past, present and future. They also mention how he got married and what he did while he was in World War II being sent to be a replacement. He was slower than everybody and didn't realize that he was in a war he just walked normally giving their position away always. His step father was a genius and he gave Billy the job and business for which he didn't care much after several years.

I like the way that the author makes the characters express themselves, sometimes with vulgar language which makes the reader identify the situation better and make it more real. What is a bit strange is when they jump from one scene to another like when he goes to the tralfamadores in a microsecond the day of Barbara (his daughter) was getting married. Kurt Vonnegut has a great perception of real life situations and makes the text suspenseful and real so that the reader identifies the situation which for me is the most important especially the relation between Roland Weary the other two musketeers and Billy. It ends with Billy finally giving the team away by making Roland saves Billy even though Billy says he is O.K. Good luck Billy.....

My Name is Yon Yonson

In the first 23 pages of the book slaughterhouse five by Kurt Vonnegut, many concepts or ideas are introduced. He starts like if he was talking to the reader, telling his story with different names. He talks about the Second World War and how he lived it with his friend O´Hare in Dresden. He describes it but always as remembering the ideas to write his book about his experience therefore he is talking about writing a book in his book (haha kind of ironic). I really liked the way he introduced himself and how he takes reference of different sources and jumps from one scene to another. He is suddenly getting in contact to write his book but after all he was drunk and got in touch with his friend because he has some type of disease. Also, it is interesting when he dedicates the book to the cab driver, and Mary (O´Hare´s wife).  The topic he chose and the irony with which he expresses it is unique, along with his emotion descriptions and inside thoughts. At first it is a little confusing due to that you don´t know who he is but then it gets more interesting while you fill in the blanks. Surprisingly, I he tells the reader that he taught Writers Workshop in the university of Iowa which we do in class. War is really tough to handle, and even more if you had to be a part of it, but when he talks about it, it seems like if he considered it really important but he laughs with his friend at some memories like the one that a guy got killed for using a teacup that did not belong to him. I wonder out of the many failure drafts that he attempted to write, how will he describe his final copy and thoughts. He says he really has nothing to writ about but as he says that he is writing it, so many things have sort of a double meaning. I wonder when will he be satisfied with the arrangement of his thoughts to make The Childrens Crusade the best possible.

Perspective into The Perfect Life

In the poem, The Perfect Life by John Koethe, he describes his life as perfect. It is not a common perfect like all the goals are achieved, kids, wife and a great house. Instead, he says its not that good but its enough for him (honestly, kind of mediocre expectations). He says that his life does the basic, keep him alive and happy in a vague way. Another interesting point he mentions is that he feels no disappointment, and that while he looks forward anxiously, he still is very satisfied with the conclusion of each day. His head works as a counselor; his thoughts comfort him and he reassures himself of his inner strength and superiority. The feeling that I got ultimately is that he has no feelings because he says that all the colorful turns black and gray, and what is beautiful becomes indifferent. The perfect life closes over in death.... It is a strange poem to me because having no feelings or variety in your life is actually not the perfect life in my perspective, its exactly the opposite. Of course, its all a matter of perspective, but what he states in the poem is not the common perspective (I strongly believe that none of you would be satisfied with that life). He seems as he never had any accomplishments or goals or motivation because as he says that the colorful turns into black and gray, as does his life.

Poetic Justice

In the seventh circle of Dante´s Inferno lie the sinners. These are the ones that dishonored God and the privilege of life by committing suicide and if I am not wrong, negating their gifts. In my perspective poetic justice is that fate gives everybody what they deserve. The good are rewarded and the bad are punished according to their sins. This is what happens all throughout Dante´s Inferno, that in each circle there are different kind of sinners and their punishment are according to what they did to dishonor God. In this case as I said before, there lie the ones who committed suicide and their punishment is to be trees for the rest of eternity. They can talk and sleep but they lack food, movement in the dark forest that they are encountered. Now, that they are trees, they regret what they did and did not do when they still had the chance to move and have a good healthy life on Earth instead of being a tree in Inferno. I think poetic justice applies to this because these are punished according to their sins therefore the statement that the bad are punished is applied. This is only one of the numerous circles in which the punished stand.