Often in life, we read novels on novels. Comparing and Contrasting two books allows us to get a deeper analysis, and a new level of understanding. There were two such books that touched my heart. The novel is Candide by the amazing, wittful Voltaire, and the play is Brighton Beach Memoirs by Pulitzer Prize-winning Neil Simon. They both are similar yet different and unique in their own way. Though they are centuries apart, they have the same charm. After reading them, the mind can only ponder upon thoughts.
Reading Candide is the equivalent of going on a journey. Voltaire has magic in his pen. The book begins at Candide’s hometown, country of Westphalia, a province in western Germany ( Voltaire, 11). “The old servants of the family suspected him to have been
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Close to Candide’s heart is his tutor, Dr.Pangloss, who thinks whatever happens is for the best. Candide believes Dr.Pangloss without a doubt. Candide has a beloved named Cunegonde, who he was caught kissing, and gets banned from his home. In Holland, he runs into Dr.Pangloss, who informs him about the tragic incident how his beloved family was murdered by soldiers. In Lisbon, Pangloss gets executed for having atheistic views, while Candide gets lashed for supporting his views. By fate, Candide runs into his love Cunegonde, who ends up being a double mistress. Cunegonde says “ You, naturally so gentle, to slay a Jew and a prelate in two minutes!" "My beautiful young lady," responded Candide, "when one is a lover, jealous and whipped by the Inquisition, one stops at nothing" (Volatire,
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
CANDIDE By Voltaire 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 towards his goal and only taking the easy way out of all situations. However, by the end of the book the character realized that to achieve happiness a lot of work, compromises, and sacrifices are necessary. Candide is a person of privilege who began life in the Castle of Westphalia.
admission. The work I have chosen to compare this novel to is the classic play
Voltaire, and David Wootton. "Candide." Candide and Related Texts. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2000. 35-42. Print
The experiences that we face in life vary from person to person and one of the greatest differences occur between men and women. In Voltaire 's novel Candide a great deal of the experiences that each of the characters face is unique to them, but the experiences of the women differ greatly to those of the men. The way the two sexes handled those experiences also varied and reflected a satirical view of the times in which Voltaire lived. The differences in events between the men and women can be seen in a few key points that are seen throughout the Novel.
Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needless pain and suffering all around him. Voltaire, a deist, believed that God created the world, yet he felt that the people were living in a situation that was anything but perfect. Thus, the major theme of Candide is one of the world not being the best of all possibilities, full of actions definitely not determined by reason or order, but by chance and coincidence.
In Candide, by Voltaire, Candide struggles through a world torn by constant bloodshed and crime. As he travels, he and other characters are deceived, injured, and abused by the world around him. Voltaire’s Candide reveals another side of human beings’ hearts as he portrays humanity’s hamartias as greed, lust, and religion.
One of the main female characters of this story is Cunégonde, the love interest of Candide, whose life did a complete 180 turn around. When we first find Cunégonde we see that she lives a lavish life with her family. We see her life turn around when her house is burned down, and her family murdered. Cunégonde herself is raped and sold to a man known as Don Issachar. She is then forced to be shared with another man known as The Grand Inquisitor. Although Cunégonde is a victim in the beginning, she retains her strong character, and after Candide slays the two men, she quickly seizes the opportunity to leaves with Candide and the old woman. If she were a victim,she would quickly falter, unsure of how to act or move because of
Voltaire uses the old lady’s elaborate story of suffering to show that sometimes suffering happens for reasons not necessarily within human control. After Pangloss’ death an old lady assists Candide in his quest to find the love of his life Cundegonde. Along the way she shares her story. She was the daughter of Pope Urban X and lived a life of luxury; anything she wanted was hers. As she matured, she grew into a beautiful woman and was betrothed to the ruling prince of Massa-Carrara.
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.
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.
Voltaire, Francois-Marie Arouet de. “Candide.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. Shoter 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. 100-59. Print.
... Conclusion, all of the previously discussed topics were put together by Voltaire in an ingenious way to ridicule the philosophy that everything is exactly as it should be and that everything bad happens for the greater good. All the tragedies Candide underwent were introduced in the novella with the purpose of disproving this notion. The book Candide made me think a lot about everything that is wrong with humankind. Voltaire was very successful and Candide's story accomplished his goal because It is hard to imagine that someone would still believe this philosophy after reading this very ingenious, funny, and entertaining novella.
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.
The philosopher, Pangloss has a certain belief that all things happen for the very best. “It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end.” (Voltaire, 1.425). This takes after the philosopher Leibniz, whose philosophical look on the world was optimism. In the story, the princess Cunegonde saw Pangloss having a sexual encounter in the garden (little woods) outside the castle. “...she saw clearly the doctor’s sufficient reason, observed both cause and effect,...” (Voltaire, 1. 425). After she saw this Cunegonde wanted to do the same actions with Candide. This can be compared to the snake in the Garden of Eden, and how it tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. Candide and Cunegonde then kiss, which is forbidden and Candide gets banned by the baron. Just as Adam and Eve are caught after eating the forbidden fruit and are then banned from the Eden. In both stories the couples commit lustrous acts and then have a hard life from then