The eighteenth century was a crucial changing point in the European history because
of The Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was revolutionary because of Voltaire, a writer that used his ideas to attack the established Catholic Church, and to propagate the freedom of religion, scientific thoughts, skepticism and experiential philosophy.
Voltaire was born in 1694, a year that was under the regiment of Louis XIV. At that time, the aristocracy ruled France in an extreme way that most commoners were struggling in poverty. From a middle-class family, Voltaire did not like the political environment of France and the aristocratic system. As a well-educated and intelligent student from the college of Louis-le-Grand, he became a secretary for the French Ambassador. Although his social status was satisfying to most people, Voltaire was more interested in elaborating his witty ideas by words, so he decided to become a writer instead of continuing working for the French Ambassador. His harsh and sarcastic writing style soon made him famous. However, the fame also brought him trouble: He was disliked by the noblemen in France and was caught into the jail. In the jail, he started to use the name “Voltaire” and produced his first play, Oedipe, in 1718. The play was a huge success and got him more attention. The French aristocracy cannot tolerate the existence of such impact in France anymore. Therefore, they put Voltaire into the jail and subsequently exiled to England in 1726.
Nevertheless, the trip to England enlightened Voltaire at another area: the science. During that time, Voltaire got to be exposed to the scientific thoughts from the British
people: Newton, Bacon and Locke, etc. He found those ideas amazing and started to promote sci...
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...in Optimism, or the priests from the church, throughout the entire book. Candide had all kinds of misfortune, but he was still happy and believed that those disasters were just trials from the God, which made him look like a fool. After the Candide was published, people in France were astonished and ignited the huge debate of individualism and Christianity.
In conclusion, from Letters on England and the Candidate, Voltaire showed his intelligence in explaining the thoughts of science and utilizing sarcasm to attack the current political and religious traditions in France. Also, from his work, he showed the life that he had experienced before, and the ideas that promoted The Enlightenment and the revolutions: the freedom of religion, scientific thoughts, skepticism and experiential philosophy.
Works Cited
Voltaire, Letters on England
Voltaire, the Candide
François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pseudonym Voltaire, was born into a well situated family in Paris, France in 1694. Voltaire’s father was a successful lawyer, but Voltaire had a difficult relationship with his father. He was educated at the Jesuit College Louis-le-Grand from 1704 to 1711. During his college years, Voltaire developed a love of literature and theater while at the same time, the religious instruction of his teachers prompted a skepticism and mockery of religion in general. Against the orders of his father, Voltaire decided to pursue a career in writing rather than law. Already comfortable with headstrong opposition to his family's authority, Voltaire began to find his place as a powerful critic of government and the Church for their abuse of power and injustice. Under the morally relaxed Reign of Louis XV in 1715, Voltaire became the “wit of Parisian society” through
In the beginning of the novel Candide is described as extremely optimistic person who always sees the best in everything. Not only is Candide very optimistic, but he does not really understand how the world works. He seems to be simple minded and immature toward any and all of the harsh realities of the real world. His philosophy towards life is that he is living in “the best of all possible worlds”. Candide gets this philosophy from his teacher Pangloss, who is also an extreme optimist. Both Pangloss and Candide are faced with horrible suffering and misfortune, almost in spite of their optimistic outlook on
Autobiographer, essayist, playwright, poet, satirist, Enlightenment writer and philosopher – these are just a few of the hats worn by French born François-Marie Arouet, more famously known by the adopted pen name Voltaire. Beyond his written work Voltaire was an outspoken advocate for the freedom of religion, expression, and the separation of church and state. He used his versatile literary work as a tool to criticize the Catholic Church and overall intolerant French society. Voltaire’s cynical writing reached its highest potential in his rapid-fire satire Candide, or Optimism. In the novella, Voltaire told the story of Candide – a young man on a quest for happiness and spiritual fulfillment who encountered tragic setbacks that eventually led to bitter disillusionment. The purpose of Candide was to mock philosophers of the
...he Age of Enlightenment in his writing. He is initially trying to show that El Dorado is a successful village where the philosophy behind scientific breakthroughs from the scientific revolution were applied to politics and religion. Which means that science, religion, and philosophy coexist in the nation of El Dorado. This was something that most of Europe was trying to do at the time, yet many people fell to the Catholic Church and their rulers to persecution over their practices. Voltaire had witnessed these things in France and is what really drove him to begin writing about the journey made by Candide to find Miss Cunégonde. Through his writing, he is able to express his philosophy and beliefs of how he believed Europe should truly be.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918. Project Gutenberg. Web. 11 January 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm
Voltaire. Candide: Second Edition. Translated and edited by Robert M. Adams. New York: W. W.
Candide is a humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism accepted by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. Candide looks for true happiness, and his ultimate acceptance of life’s disappointments. He grew up in the Castle of Westphalia and was taught by the greatest philosopher of the province and the whole world, Dr. Pangloss. Dr. Pangloss taught Candide that everything that happens is for the best. Candide is exiled from the castle because of his love for the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. He then sets out to different places in the hope of finding her and achieving total happiness. Candide knew thought he knew that everything happened for the best because the greatest philosopher taught him that, but everyone around him did not accept that theory.
Voltaire’s Candide can be understood in several ways by its audience. At a first glance it would appear to be simply a story blessed with outrageous creativity, but if you look deeper in to the novel, a more complicated and meaningful message is buried within. Voltaire uses the adventures of Candide as a representation of what he personally feels is wrong within in society. Written in the 18th century (1759), known commonly as the age of enlightenment, Voltaire forces his audience to consider the shift from tradition to freedom within society. He achieves this by exploring the reality of human suffering due to traditions which he mocks throughout Candide. In particular he focused on exploiting the corruption he felt was strongly and wrongfully present within three main aspects of society these being religion, politics and morals. Each chapter represents different ways in which Voltaire believes corruption exists providing the audience with the reality of society’s problems due to its fixation on tradition. As a philosopher of the Enlightenment, Voltaire advocated for freedom of religion, freedom of expression and the separation between church and state. Voltaire successfully presents these ideas within Candide by highlighting why they are a significant problem in 18th century Europe.
One of the main purposes of the Enlightenment was to promote reason and rationalism as a way to improve society and politics. However, Voltaire, an influential and famous philosopher and writer during the period of the enlightenment, repeatedly criticized certain aspects of Enlightenment philosophy. In his short story, Candide, Voltaire somewhat harshly attacks the optimism that was so popular between philosophers during this time and instead he decides not to disregard the inescapable presence of the evil that is in nature and humans. In this piece of literature, the protagonist of the story, Candide, experiences extreme changes in his reason and maturity. By the end of Candide’s topographical and philosophical journey, it is evident that
Voltaire's Candide is a philosophical tale of one man's search for true happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westfalia and is taught by the learned philosopher Dr. Pangloss. Candide is abruptly exiled from the castle when found kissing the Baron's daughter, Cunegonde. Devastated by the separation from Cunegonde, his true love, Candide sets out to different places in the hope of finding her and achieving total happiness. The message of Candide is that one must strive to overcome adversity and not passively accept problems in the belief that all is for the best.
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
In 1764 Voltaire wrote one of the world's greatest satires, Candide. Candide pokes at much of Europe and attacks simple human follies and frailties. Most of the characters are killed brutally or fiercely hurt for idiotic reasons. The overall message of "Candide" is that every human being has the power to carve out their own destiny. And that each individual is not subject to God's grand plan, or the idea of predestination. Voltaire made his idea of God and divine right clear in Candide. He did not believe that the world was picked from the cosmos and that it was not "the best of all possible worlds."
Also how he thought that church was wrong with some of the actions they did and how power was unbalanced. Candide was very similar to Voltaire's own life. Wright stated that Candide was written to “move, delight and instruct its readers” (13). Voltaire was more hoping to entertain readers because of the use of satire. The audience for Candide is more for the people from his time because he wanted to show them that optimism was wrong. Also while entertaining, he also got some messages across. Voltaire wrote many messages relating to the topic of the ideology of the enlightenment thinkers. The author’s point of view better helps me understand some of the ways people acted during certain situations. In real life, Voltaire did not like the hypocrisy of protestants nor catholics. In the book Voltaire includes a dutch orator who show hypocrisy when he talk about his theological doctrine when the world is suffering with poverty and
Candide is a reflection of the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s novel is a satire of the Old Regime ideologies in which he critiques the political, social, and religious ideals of his time.
The Enlightenment is held to be the source of many modern ideas, such as the primary values of freedom and reason. The views of philosophers such as Voltaire are considered to be the source of many essential changes in countries such as America and France. His views on religion, government, and freedom are what people remember most because they have not died out in today’s society.