Let me start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoy satires; it is the genre I appreciate most for its employment of wit and militant irony. Upon delving into Candide by Voltaire I was lured in by its display of ridiculously brutal situations that dramatized the many evils of human experience. I think Voltaire wonderfully crafted this particular satire through his conglomeration of themes and symbolisms. Seemingly swiftly Voltaire takes the reader through a manifold of episodes of extreme cruelty that prove both horrible and vividly comic. Like other satires, this novella has many themes linked by one central philosophical theme traversing the entire work. This theme is a direct assault on the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz, Alexander Pope and others. Leibniz held the view that the world created by God was the best possible world with perfect order and reason. Similarly, Alexander Pope, in his Essay on Man, argues that every human being is a part of a greater, rational, grand design of God.
Voltaire points out the absurdity of optimism through the use of irony, hyperbole, understatement, and especially flawed logic. Doctor Pangloss, a follower of Leibniz, attempts to use logic to explain the existence of evil, upholding such beliefs to the point of absurdity, justifying all events through cause-and-effect relationships. One example of this is when he contends that "things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end. Observe: our noses were made to support spectacles, hence we have spectacles." All of his philosophies are rife with flawed logic, portraying him as a learned fool. Voltaire follows up by throwing dirt on Pangloss’s ideals with co...
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...of optimism.
Another interesting point to note is the extraordinary set of plot coincidences where the characters’ fates interact with each other. These worthy plots maneuver ties back to the philosophy of “everything happens for a reason”. The spontaneity that Voltaire keeps flowing induces hilarity and a disregard for realism. William F. Bottiglia writes that the diction in the work is a “vehicle of sustained symbolism.” The critic notes that it is impossible to summarize clearly the stylistic and narrative technique of the novella because the entire work operates as an extended metaphor accompanied and supported by its verbal text. Bottiglia also lauds the depth and scope of the subject matter handled by Voltaire in a text the size of Candide. I most profusely agree with Bottiglia in his critical acclaim. Candide is truly a worthwhile read for the learned mind.
The author, Voltaire, wrote in the Enlightenment period, a literary movement characterized by the rising concern of philosophy, science, and politics. Voltaire’s writing was influenced by the Enlightenment movement to create awareness of global issues. This is evident in the repeated tragedies Candide stumbles upon. Social issues, corrupt authority figures, and war are real world topics that Voltaire chooses to address in Candide. The satirical nature of Candide allows for an in-depth discussion between the characters regarding the problems they face and the problems of the people they meet, creating a perspective that the audience is forced to look through. It is also a coming of age story, not just for Candide, but for the rising awareness in global issues. Voltaire’s inclusion of the issues of his time reflect the severity of those issues. Satire is used as a reaction to a society’s hypocrisy. Candide as a satirical piece reflects what people have neglected to pay attention to. Coming into a new era of awareness and responsibility leads Candide to reflect on the live he lived in Westphalia and the people he encountered across
Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best. Voltaire shows the primary concerns during the period of Enlightenment, but also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. He attacks the idea that good prevails over evil because he believes that human beings perpetrate evil. He laughs at Candide for believing all the corruption that is occurring and religious intolerance.
Candide is well known for its critique of optimism by Voltaire. The title character, along with his companions, bears many hardships throughout the novel and philosophizes about the nature and necessity of good in the world. Whether there is truly any good in the world is debated between the characters, particularly between the very discouraged Martin and Candide, who carries with him the optimistic words of Dr. Pangloss, a believer in the good nature of the world. While the characters debate why man must carry such burdens, Voltaire shows us that it is dealing with the bad that makes us human. While discussing Cunegonde Martin says to Candide, "I wish" that she may one day make you happy. But I very much doubt she will. ‘You are a bit hard,’ said Candide. ‘That’s because I’ve lived,’ said Martin.
These points may be amply demonstrated through an analysis of Candide itself and also through the views of important critics. To best appreciate this novel, however, some background concerning its origins and its relationship to the author's preoccupations should be mentioned.
Candide or Optimism, written by Voltaire in 1759, was created to satirize the a priori thinking that everything is for the best in the world. Candide, the guileless and simpleminded main character and his companions are exposed to the very worst the world possibly has to offer with rape, murder, whippings, war, earthquakes, shipwrecks, cannibalism, thievery, disease, greed, and worst of all, human nature. Through these horrific events, Pangloss, the philosopher maintaining a priori thinking, stubbornly upholds the idea that everything is for the best. It is Pangloss’s influence above all else that is imprinted upon Candide and that as the novel progresses, is slowly replaced in Candide’s mind by others characters’ viewpoints. Rather than assertive
For example, “Optimism," said Cacambo, "What is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "It is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst,” (Voltaire
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.
Throughout Candide the author, Voltaire, demonstrates the character’s experiences in a cruel world and his fight to gain happiness. In the beginning Candide expects to achieve happiness without working for his goal and only taking the easy way out of all situations. However, by the end of the book the character
To get his point across in Candide, Voltaire created the character Dr. Pangloss, an unconditional follower of Leibniz's philosophy. Voltaire shows this early in the novel by stating, "He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause and that, in this best of all possible worlds....(16)" Pangloss goes on to say that everything had its purpose and things were made for the best. For example, the nose was created for the purpose of wearing spectacles (Voltaire 16). Because of his "great knowledge," Candide, at this point a very naive and impressionable youth, regards Pangloss as the greatest philosopher in the world, a reverence that will soon be contradicted by contact with reality (Frautschi 75).
Candide is an outlandishly humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man’s adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses much evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." Candide is Voltaire’s answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists - an easy way to rationalize evil and suffering. Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best.The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. The primary feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people can actively work to create a better world. A spirit of social reform characterized the political ideology of Enlightenment philosophers. While Voltaire’s Candide is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. It attacks the idea that optimism, which holds that rational thought can inhibit the evils perpetrated by human beings.
Throughout the book, Voltaire critiqued Leibniz theory that we live in the “best of all possible worlds.” Pangloss was our optimist philosopher, who contended for the Leibniz theory. He argued that, “since everything was made for a purpose, everything is necessarily for the best purpose” (Voltaire, 16). After Candide was beaten, his love raped, his tutor sick with syphilis; After earthquakes, shipwrecks, slavery, being exiled, and l...
The book Candide by Voltaire is a humorous satire constructed of many themes. Through his book, Voltaire expresses his views on life by criticizing many aspects of humanity at that time. He focused in war, religion, and love, but the main target of Voltaire's satire was a certain philosophy. All of the previous topics unite to ridicule the philosophy that, as the character Pangloss said, "things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end" (1).
Candide may have started as an innocent boy that believed the world to be perfect, but he soon adapts his beliefs and opinions to the world around him as he realizes that there is nothing perfect of the world he lives in. This is just how people start their lives in the world and learn to adapt to their surroundings as they experience life. Therefore, Candide can be seen as an interpretation of the life of people by Voltaire in his novel Candide. That is because just like Candide, people adapt to the world through life experiences and may do good and bad things.
Pangloss’s sole purpose in the novel is to represent the idea of Optimism, and, through his obstinate adherence to the philosophy, the folly of those who believe in it. By the end of the novel, there is no doubt in the reader’s mind as to Voltaire’s opinion on the philosophy. He shows the reader the ridiculousness of Panglossian philosophy, describing how Pangloss, despite seeing “Whirlings of fire and ashes” and “Thirty thousand inhabitants… crushed under the ruins”(20) during the Great Earthquake of Lisbon, refuses to consider that his ideals are misguided, instead asserting again that “all is for the best” and that “everything is right”. (20) Even when Pangloss contracts syphilis, and is “all covered with scabs, his eyes diseased, the end of his nose eaten away, his mouth distorted, his teeth black” (14), he sticks to his optimism, saying that his malady “was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of worlds” (16). However deluded Voltaire makes Philosophical Optimism seem, it, for the first part of Candide’s journey, is the philosophy that Candide believes in wholeheartedly. In fact, through Candide’s blind acceptance of Pangloss’s optimism, Voltaire shows how young and naive Candide is. Candide describes Pangloss as “the best philosopher in Germany”
Defining optimism and redefining the philosophies of the fictional Pangloss and the non-fictional Leibniz, Candid embarks on a mishap journey. From the very onset, Voltaire begins stabbing with satire, particularly at religion.