ipl-logo

Optimism In Voltaire's Candide

1558 Words7 Pages

The introduction:
In life, there are the cheerful people (optimistic) and there the frown faced ones (pessimistic). Taking one side remains illogic in the course of life, as it is better to strike a balance between these two extremes. Candide is torn between being naïve and a kind of lamb in the herd led by an optimistic Shepard, and his famous saying’ in this best of all possible worlds’. (Voltaire, 1761, p.4). And the shocking discoveries that he makes later on his journey to meet his beloved baroness. The story starts at in Westphalia and travels to the Americas to end in Turkey. In this novel, Voltaire opposes the different views of life as represented in the characters of Pangloss the philosopher representative of optimism and the pessimistic …show more content…

(Voltaire, 1761, p.4)
This quote is links to the philosopher Leibnitz who embraces the optimism, where Voltaire condemns this kind of ideology, and ebodies it in Pangloss’s character that the excessive believe in optimism is something intolerable in Candide. Voltaire’s critique to the Libenitz’s optimism is very severe and starts his novel with this quotation to ridicule and challenge this idea. ,(Voltaire, 1761, p.4)

2- ‘’Mankind must have corrupted nature just a little, ‘he would say, ‘ for men are not born wolves, yet they have become wolves.’’ ( Voltaire, 1761, p.12)
The Anabaptist ‘Jacques’, explains that he does not agree with Pangloss. And demonstrates that mankind is born as a benevolent creature, despite that god has given them the will to do the good but they astray from the right path. He says men born not as beasts but turn to be beasts after all. ( Voltaire, 1761, …show more content…

They attracted by his simplicity, and the way of life he follows. The Turk keeps himself away of trouble by not interfering in politics and others’ business. Candide asked the Turk that he must own a vast wealth of land to have such independent life. But the answer amazed Candide’s curiosity. The Turk answered that he and his children cultivate their land. And the work at their farm keeps them from three sins vice, boredom, and need. They are so busy with their own business. ( Voltaire, 1761, p.92)
12- ‘’That’s well said, replied Candide, ‘but we must cultivate our garden.’’ ( Voltaire, 1761, p.94)
After all the experiences that Candide endured to be with his love, he examines three philosophical schools; optimism with the philosopher Pangloss, Pessimism with Martin, and with reality in turkey. He realizes that not all things are optimistic where everything is good and prosperous. And not from pessimism, where everything is gloomy and miserable. He stays in the middle where lies the reality that matches the real world. ( Voltaire, 1761, p.94)
The

Show More
Related
440 Words | 2 Pages

An initial reading of Voltaire’s Candide can advocate that the far-fetched resurrection of Pangloss and the baron was an optimistic and fortunate fulfillment for Candide, since he was reunited with two people, whose ostensible deaths had brought Candide tremendous grief and sadness. The death of his former teacher and his own-handed murder of his old friend, have been overturned in an instant. However, interpretation through a closer reading can depict an opposing pessimistic view, that their revivals brings Candide no real happiness. The baron’s aristocratic snobbery also remains unaltered and despite Pangloss fared great misfortunes, his bigoted optimistic views remains unaffected and continues to advocate for human folly.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

Man has always prided themselves in whatever they have done since the beginning of time, and with the Age of Enlightenment in which Voltaire lived and was a scholar and innovator of philosophy himself, these achievements of man were thought to be something of perfection, existing in a world of perfect-like utopia. But, Voltaire challenged this so renowned belief and influenced scholars into believing that the world is dependent upon reason and civil liberties— which was ultimately what the Enlightenment truly stood for: innovation, philosophical advancements, and introductions to new thought processes regarding the overall way of

Read More
1323 Words | 6 Pages

Voltaire’s Candide takes us through the life and development of Candide, the protagonist. Throughout his adventures, he witnesses many travesties and sufferings. Like many Enlightenment philosophers, Pangloss, Candide’s tutor, is an optimist; this philosophy was adopted by many to help mask the horrors of the eightieth century. Pangloss teaches Candide that everything happens for a reason. Voltaire uses satire, irony and extreme exaggerations to poke fun at many aspects; such as optimism, religion, corruption, and social structures within Europe.

Read More
182 Words | 1 Pages

While Candide investigates the philosophical phrases such as for the good” and best of all possible,” Voltaire pokes fun at religion, and optimism as well as the absence of human fulfilment, and many other subjects that are relevant throughout the 18th century to today’s world. This is expressed through the events that Candide experienced throughout the story. Voltaire satirizes this philosophy by showing its irrationality through understatements and hyperboles. For example, Pangloss does not allow Candide to save James the Anabaptist from drowning because he believes that it is what was meant to happen. “He was just going to jump after him, but was prevented by the philosopher Pangloss, who demonstrated to him that the Bay of Lisbon had been

Read More
1209 Words | 5 Pages

Candide is a satirical novella written by the controversial French writer, Voltaire. It was written by the philosophe in 1759 to comment on issues in France. The main character, innocent Candide travels all over the world to look for his lover, Cunegonde and comes in contact with various societies and ideas. He experiences and learns about different philosophies and perspectives from the people he meets and finally learns to think for himself. At the end of his adventures, he and his friends live on farm in Turkey where they develop a small society with each individual having an important job and purpose for the community.

Read More
451 Words | 2 Pages

In the Candide by Voltaire, there are two well-known and popular characters that are reflected upon from the beginning to the end of the story. Voltaire allows his story Candide to express the way people are able to agonize and grieve after a catastrophe strikes and their knack to handle the aftermaths of the tragedies. His main goal in this story is to use the beliefs of Optimism through the relationship and situations that the two main characters, Dr. Pangloss and his student Candide, encounter. These characters are shown off to be the perfect optimistic people; however, they make choices throughout the story that does have a huge impact and effect on their lives. Pangloss and his student Candide have an agreement that, “everything is for

Read More
689 Words | 3 Pages

In the novella Candide, Voltaire expresses his disdainful opinion about optimistic philosophers of the Enlightenment by using satirical elements such as exaggeration, irony, and Burlesque to further develop the theme of the recklessness of optimism. Throughout the book, the main character Candide and his mentor, Pangloss, suffer and witness various misfortunes but fail to find a connection to any greater good. Voltaire’s reasoning for writing Candide is to point out the absurdity of the optimistic philosophy, which concludes that God must be perfect and that the world he created must be perfect as well. To these enlightenment thinkers, like Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, the idea that the existence of any “evil in the world”(Voltaire 141)

Read More
1022 Words | 5 Pages

Moreover, situations these forces create, and how they are beyond and within the control of Candide. Leading to Candide’s final beliefs, and how they illustrate the follies of optimistic determinism. At the beginning of Voltaire epic Candide is a naive scholar. He strongly adheres to the beliefs laid out for him by his mentor Pangloss.

Read More
1226 Words | 5 Pages

One key facet of living in the world today is the ability for people to have free will over their own lives. In Voltaire’s story “Candide,” it is clear to observe that although Candide is free to form his own decisions, he allows himself to be strongly determined by his surroundings as well as everyone who he encounters. This story proposes that Candide is trying to find a balance between submitting completely to the speculations and actions of others while also taking control of his life through blind faith. Throughout the story, Candide encounters frequent hardships along his voyage to prosperity. These obstacles include, but are not limited to becoming a bulwark, being beaten and forced to watch his beloved Pangloss having been hanged, leaving such an amazing place as Eldorado, being lied to and tricked out of diamonds by the abb`e, killing Cunegonde’s two lovers, almost being boiled alive for killing the monkey lovers, and being persuaded to be promiscuous on Cunegonde.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

Alyssa Pineda Professor John World Lit 2333 19 October 2016 Topic 1 The Age of Enlightenment was a time in which ideas of religion, philosophy, medicine and science began to develop. The main belief of the time was influenced by the philosophy of Leibniz. Leibniz believed that God was all good, and because He is all good, the world He created could only be the best one. Therefore Leibniz proposes that men cannot comprehend the goodness of God, and that everything that happens including misfortune and misery, is beneficiary for the “greater good”.

Read More
1560 Words | 7 Pages

Taking into account all of Candide’s misfortunes, adventures, and the variety of favorable knowledge he had gained from his feats after escaping the worst possible outcome of many a situation, it is no surprise that as he grew older, he became quite restless, and at the same time, he took a number of things for granted. Candide, though an amiable man, had a naive persona about him that was one of the factors that tossed him headfirst into troublesome situations. However, even after experiencing an assortment of exhilarating journeys, he was now stuck living on a small farm with no excitement whatsoever. It could be argued that this was one of the facets that formed Candide into a man with such wanderlust. Along with this, the people he had learned to respect had all left him accordingly.

Read More
146 Words | 1 Pages

Candide epitomizes a prolonged disapproving critique of the key values of the seventeenth-century philosopher Leibniz. Pangloss personifies his ideas and is used as Voltaire’s main instrument to degrade him satirically. Leibniz trusted that the world we live in is the best of all possible worlds because God created it and that a pre-determined harmony was established; were evil only thrives to emphasize the good. Voltaire lampooned pure optimism; as if it truly were the “best of all possible worlds”, then logically there would be no suffering or misery. More over, Voltaire despised philosophers whose theories were not backed up with empirical evidence to support their argument.

Read More
1644 Words | 7 Pages

Enlightenment was a time of embracing logic and reasoning whilst rejecting untested beliefs and superstition. This time period occurred from the year 1694 until 1795. During this time writers used their medium of the written word to express their beliefs based on logic while denouncing old-world ideologies . During Enlightenment human nature was often put under scrutiny as thinkers strived to find what qualities resulted in the best possible human. In this piece of writing, the reader will be able to see the opinions of human nature held by three great thinkers from this time period: Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.

Read More
788 Words | 4 Pages

Pangloss is meant not to attack Leibnitz, but rather optimism as a philosophy. Thus the reader cannot forget that all of Pangloss 's ramblings in some way represent an often-humorous characterization of the "typical" optimist, or Leibnitz follower. Pangloss, writes Voltaire, "Proved admirably that there cannot possibly be an effect without a cause, and that in this best of all possible worlds the Baron 's castle was the most beautiful of all castles and his wife the best of all possible baronesses" (319). Thus Voltaire establishes Pangloss as the champion of optimism.

Read More
956 Words | 4 Pages

CANDIDE AND ENLIGHTENMENT In this essay, I will read Candide in the light of Enlightenment philosophy and also with reference to Kant's answer to the question “What is Enlightenment?” Although Candide (1759) and the short essay by Kant “What is Enlightenment?” were written during different decades of eighteenth century but both of them reflect the age of Enlightenment in their works. This essay is divided into two parts: Part I discusses about the age of the Enlightenment and Kant's essay on Enlightenment, Part II discusses Candide in the context of Part I where Voltaire’s views against optimism and his character Candide's journey towards the Enlightenment are discussed.

Read More

More about Optimism In Voltaire's Candide

Related Topics

Open Document