MacBeth log Sculpture

They Can’t Get no Satisfaction

In Candide Voltaire indicated that happiness and satisfaction are different for everyone. Candide’s happiness rambled on Cunégonde’s company, Paquette’s on a normal job, Brother Giroflée’s on quitting his devotion to religion, and Count Prococurante was never happy. Whether these characters where rich, poor, fortuned, unfortunate, successful or fiascoes, each had an aspiration. Everyone has an aspiration and that is what keeps people running. Whether it is Candide trying to find his love, or a businessman that wants to monopolize carbon production, in their own ways, they try to achieve something to satisfy them. Count Prococurante was rich and had a great collection of art and literature, but that was not what made him happy. For him everything had defects and everything he possessed disgusted him. Martin commented on this subject, “there is a pleasure in not being pleased,” which captivated me because maybe that does happen to many people. Some people feel everything is so vague and empty that they see or have because maybe as Candide, they feel superior to all they possess. My happiness and satisfaction lie on different things and certainly very different (less harshness, complexness and agony) from the characters in Candide. Happiness is unique for everyone and it is found in people’s own ways, and that is what everyone tries to do.

The movie The Untouchables portrays the story of federal agent Eliot Ness in his rampage to imprison the gangster Al Capone. As Capone intimidates Ness by killing two of his colleagues, he wanted more and more to make Capone pay for his crimes. Ness never rested until he was able to confine Capone to jail, and that was when he satisfied his desires. In this movie (and true story) satisfaction was achieved and that was the end to that goal, but in Candide, when Candide reunited with Cunégonde, he didn’t really want to marry her anymore and besides she had become ugly. Candide achieved his goal, but everything he did to get to his lover didn’t justify the means, while in The Untouchables the blood shed to capture Al Capone satisfied a whole lot of people. These two works don’t relate in any way, but they are clear examples contrasting the usual satisfaction and Candide’s. Another film that shows satisfaction is Martin Scorsese’s The King of Satisfaction. Robert Pupkin, an aspiring stand-up comic and a stalker, kidnapped a successful T.V comedian and demanded to host his show as ransom. After Pupkin hosting the show he was imprisoned, but when he was paroled he published a successful book autobiography and got his own comedy T.V show. In the end Pupkin became a successful comedian and he achieved what he wanted. Pupkin got his own show, however Candide lost all the wealth he got, to not mention the rest. How far should one go to get satisfaction?