Voltaire’s “Candide” was published in 1759. Candide experiences numerous undertakings. Some of them are clever, some are pitiful, and some are shocking. His eyes open to reality. He sees that everything does not happen generally advantageous as the rationalists and metaphysician Pangloss had let him know in the Baron's manor.
Through the protagonist Candide one can deduce Voltaire’s negative outlook on human nature. He believes every word that Pangloss says, in the same way that people of the day believed everything that the Church would say. At the beginning of the text he blindly worships Optimism and by the end of it he worships the Turk’s philosophy of labour. “I also know… that we must cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 99). However it does appear that Candide has gained more knowledge and wisdom and has therefore made a more informed decision.
Candide, is a satirical novella by Voltaire that Mocks the concept of Philosophical Optimism. Throughout the novel, Pangloss and Candide believe that “We live in the best of all possible worlds”. Pangloss remained a static character. He Voiced the idea of Philosophical Optimism Until his demise. Voltaire, however, using satire, continued to refute this belief.
The novel Candide, written by Voltaire, portrays the adventures and experiences of the main character named Candide. Being a very honest man, a character like Candide can be easily swayed and convinced to do and believe anything. From carelessness to greed, the reader can clearly understand that Voltaire ridicules many decisions and situations that occur in the novel. One of many themes Voltaire mocks in the novel would be how greed can result from wealth. What Voltaire is ultimately conveying to the reader is that money cannot buy happiness.
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.
Throughout Voltaire’s brilliant short novel, Candide, he utilizes the influential tool of satire as a civil attack on Europe’s corrupt society. While there are many themes that Voltaire confers upon in his writing, the central thesis in my view is his sarcastic portray of the optimistic view from the Enlightenment. This optimistic view is strategically used to hide the horrors of life during this period such as sexual oppression, religious hypocrisy, brutal warfare, and more. In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to the protagonist, Candide, who is being taught by a philosopher named Pangloss whose focus is the idea of optimism.
Voltaire is well known for his suggestive satirical work, especially his masterpiece Candide. Candide is a timeless piece still relevant today, that was written to warn the public about the consequences of radical optimism (Online-Literature 1). The main character, Candide, is a naïve and trusting young man who is banished from his home. Despite his life being filled with a series of bizarre disasters, Candide holds fast to his optimism – which serves as an example to readers. Voltaire emphasizes the dangers of radical optimism by incorporating tone, themes and utilizing satire in Candide.
Voltaire’s Candide: Commentary on the French Enlightenment Established as the “greatest of the French satirists”, François-Marie Arouet, later to be known as Voltaire, has been praised throughout history for his reconfiguration of freedom of thought during France’s Enlightenment. This Enlightenment was a movement that supported and explored the application of using rational thought to explain natural occurrences. Voltaire uses his novel Candide to bring the hypocrisy of the world around him to the attention of the public while challenging those at the helm of this movement. Candide criticizes the societal aspects of the French Enlightenment, such as organized religion and class systems, while still staying connected to its original biases.
Voltaire’s Candide is a story of a young man’s adventure and how his experiences change his philosophy on life. Although Candide’s adventures begin with a rather positive confidence that he lives in “the best of all possible worlds” his attitude is quickly transformed when he realizes the world is in fact full of evil. In
The story shows Candide as a naïve man who had a pure heart and expected others to be like him too. However, throughout his voyage around the world, he saw many selfish and dishonest people who only cared about taking advantage of others to benefit themselves. As the good Anabaptist died in the sea trying to save the sailor, the sailor stole what he can and only saved himself to the shore of Lisbon. And even during the earthquake that killed thousand and destroyed the city, he had stolen from victims and dead people to benefit himself. Voltaire showed that the absence of just law is normal when the justice government does not exist and the noblemen and religious people only work to benefit themselves.
At the end of the story, Candide’s redeems himself by living a humble and simple life, working at the farm with his family and not worrying about the rest of the world. The philosopher Pangloss also obtain redemption despite his suffering from contracting syphilis. His positivism helps him at the end as he knew that every misfortune a person could experience, is a step up for absolute positive change in the person’s life. Alternate characters in Voltaire’s story,
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.
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.
During the eighteenth century, a new way of viewing the world began to take shape, one that believed life is a series of causes and effects that contribute to this world being the “best of all possible worlds” (Voltaire 4). This philosophy of optimism argued that everything happens for a reason, and there exists no other possible outcomes than the one that takes place. However, many critiqued this sanguine world view, most notably the philosopher Voltaire. In his philosophical fable, Candide, Voltaire puts his buoyant characters through outlandish misfortunes in order to critique early forms of philosophical optimism, yet his inclusion of commonplace atrocities and demolition of potential positive alternatives merely substitutes a philosophy
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.
