Since Voltaire has gone ahead an utilized so much Irony in Candide .I have gone ahead and created an Ironic title.The Title of course has to do with the description Voltaires “Heroes” in the book.
The Heroes as we all know are the soldiers of the “Bulgar army”.Voltaire is of course criticizing them through Ironic phrases such as “Girls who had satisfied the appetites of several Heroes lay disemboweled in their last agonies”pg 26.Voltaire seems to be disgusted by the sobriquet that is given to soldiers as Heros.All through chapter four, Voltaire describes the atrocities committed by these Heros.It is evident that Voltaire feels that soldiers are abusive and and are given to much merit for there corrupt labor.
What I have found Ironic or to be more specific interesting is that 234 years after Voltaire's death this sobriquet of “Heroes”is still given to soldiers.These “Heroes” of today aren't much more different than the ones back then and I think that Voltaire would continue to be disgusted at the modern day heroes.Every now and then their are scandals of how in Iraq American soldiers were found torturing prisoners.In Colombia The whole “Falsos Positivos” scandal brought to light how many of the so called “Heroes” would kill innocent men to simply get more vacation time our money.It isn't rare to hear that soldiers rape and kill innocent women.I imagine what Voltaire would feel knowing that 200 years later things haven't changed.
This discussion about Soldiers has also reminded me of the Colombian Movie el Paramo.The Movie is mainly about some Colombian soldiers who loose communication with their base so they end up in a “Paramo” which turns out to be hunted.In the Moive they show a lot of the atrocities committed by soldiers in poor and isolated regions such as these.They show how they rape and kill innocent people.The characters of El Paramo fit the description of Voltaire's “Heros”.So this is what seems Ironic again that after 200 years have passed and we have supposedly advanced and evolved so much the things that disgusted a man in the 1700s still disgust a man 200 years later.
Here you can watch the trailer of El Paramo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfPBT-RWtLU
It is very impressive how you are able to relate the soldiers of Candide, which are made to be completely ironic to the situation of the Armed Forces today in countries worldwide. I found especially significant how you could relate this to the author Voltaire, and identify with his feelings. The style of writing used is very adequate for a blog, since it is formal enough to give credibility, but casual, as well, to interact with the reader, as in a conversation. You not only settled for the literary, or even figurative, interpretation of the book, but you went further and compared it to issues that affect our whole community. While reading the post, I inmediately recalled the Colombian military slogan "Los héroes en Colombia sí existen" (In Colombia, heroes do exist). It is true that both American and Colombian soldiers have been accused of commited suspicious acts in which thousands of innocent people have been killed, but it is important to always remember that they are the ones who have protected us from being attacked by illegal armed forces and other criminal bands. Also, it is important to highlight that even if some militants actually committed this horrendous atrocities, the thousands of other soldiers who fight day and night for our country, should not pay for their actions. Today, we can see the debate for those involved in the seige of the "Palacio de Justicia". Do you think it is fair for the commanders who gave the orders to defend the building to go to jail and be humiliated in front of the whole country? For me, it is not. I agree that Voltaire dos an incredible job in criticizing the Bulgar soldiers in that sense, but saying it is very similar to the Armed Forces in the present is something debatable.
ResponderEliminar