On the surface, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Voltaire’s Candide appear to be disparate; Huxley paints a picture of a mechanistic dystopia controlled by an aggrandized World State, and Voltaire depicts El Dorado: an egalitarian utopia where material wealth and pride are foreign. However, both texts reveal that societies based on materialism and pleasure breed citizens who must manufacture fantasies in order to escape the automatism of everyday life.
Huxley’s portrayal of John “the Savage” and Voltaire’s characterization of Candide expose the allure of idealization when society fails to provide the sense of purpose that makes life worthwhile. In Brave New World, John feels isolated by the members of his Reservation. He states that they
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“disliked [him] for [his] complexion” (78) and laments about his exclusion from participating in the group’s rituals. Before John can finish sharing his all-important woes, he is blindsided by the sight of Lenina as he “[gives] a gasp and [is] silent, gaping … [at] the face of a girl … whose expression (amazing novelty!) [is] one of a benevolent interest” (78). John’s alienation slowly dissipates as he places Lenina on a pedestal; as he becomes disgusted with the hedonistic society dominated by the World State, he finds solace in the pure companion he assumes he has in Lenina. Voltaire crafts a similar caricature of a hopeless romantic when Candide begins to glamorize Miss Cunnegonde. Candide describes Cunnegonde as “the purest of noble young ladies” (3), and Voltaire even refers to her as “the Object [Candide] loved” (15). Candide resolves that Cunnegonde “might well be a sufficient reason for” (2) his existence, and embarks on a journey of amassing wealth and conquering in order to return to his one and only reason to live. Huxley and Voltaire are doing more than satirizing the Shakespearean conception of unadulterated love; they are exposing the psychodynamics of characters who are attempting to construct meaning in life beyond fleeting satisfaction. In the process of creating this sense of purpose, John and Candide objectify Lenina and Cunnegonde – they internalize their confusion and soothe their conscience by fabricating the perfect Other. This Other, a human being whom they hardly comprehend or sympathize with, compels them to live their lives with a twisted sense of meaning. Huxley and Voltaire are humanizing John and Candide despite their shallowness because – in societies where passion and individual worth are replaced with momentary gratification – fantasy drives reality. While John’s idealization of Lenina drives him to despair, Candide salvages his motivation by settling to “cultivate [his] garden” (87).
John gradually discovers that Lenina is not the innocent, undiluted woman he once loved. Lenina’s sexual promiscuity is horrifying to him; the thought that other men have had sexual experiences with Lenina causes him to go insane. When Lenina makes a sexual advance, John shouts: “Whore! Impudent strumpet” (132). John’s dream is shattered – the perfect Other has its own imperfections, and this reality corrupts John’s self-awareness. Lenina’s image was a reflection of the person John viewed himself to be: an innocent character that is untainted by the “Brave New World” (94) and its vices. In order to expunge his sins, John flees civilization and moves to the countryside to spend his time gardening, praying, and whipping himself. His redemption is uprooted as he succumbs to the ways of the citizens of the World State by engaging in a masochistic “orgy-porgy” of self-inflicted pain and whips a woman who appears to be Lenina until she becomes a shell of a human being. Huxley provides closure to the fantasy John created by plunging John into an abyss of anguish, reflecting the idea that intense fantasy nurtures insanity. Voltaire, by contrast, ends on a relatively positive note. After a long voyage, Candide is reunited with his dear Cunnegonde only to realize that she is “a scullion … and is very ugly” (84-85). Candide stays true to his word and marries her, but he regains a sense of purpose by opting to tend to his own garden. Instead of relying on the fantasy of a perfect Other, Candide assumes responsibility for his own life by focusing on labor and cultivating his own work ethic. In Candide, characters escape the temptation of fantasy through hard work; by applying themselves to do “some service or other” (87), life is
meaningful. Huxley and Voltaire develop characters that appear to confront specific problems, yet fall prey to the universal seduction of fantasy in the face of the absurdity of a materialistic world. Huxley conveys the idea that fantasy temporarily provides escapism before driving one to a cycle of disillusionment and hopelessness. Voltaire offers an alternative to relying on idealization to forge meaning in life; he suggests that one can be grounded by a specific craft or a strong work ethic. However different the two are in their treatment of the consequences of using fantasy to confront the void of everyday life, they both advance a universal concept: one is necessarily reduced to fantasy when society lacks a purpose beyond pursuing joy and pleasure from moment to moment.
BNW Literary Lens Essay- Marxist Since the primitive civilizations of Mesopotamia and the classical kingdoms of Greece and Rome, people have always been divided. Up to the status quo, society has naturally categorized people into various ranks and statuses. With the Marxist literary lens, readers can explore this social phenomenon by analyzing depictions of class structure in literature. In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, readers are introduced to a dystopian society with a distinctive caste system.
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’s Candide is a satirical novel that addresses common issues in society through a series of outrageous events. Voltaire, the author, wrote about Candide who is extremely naïve and views the world from an optimistic point of view despite the constant troubles him and the people around him encounter. Voltaire points out specific struggles of society including views on philosophy, religion, social power, love, etc. He uses the outrageous events to awaken laughter in the audience but also spark thought on the issues we face in life every day. For example, Candide is stuck on the philosophical standpoint that everything in life happens for a reason and for the overall good. In chapter 16 of the novel, Candide assumes two naked women were being attacked by monkeys, so he proceeds to kill them in hope of saving the women. However, Candide was not aware that the monkeys were actually the girls’ lovers. “Master,” replied the knowing valet, “you have
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.
Blind optimism has concealed the eyes of human beings from the defects of the world since the age of Enlightenment. Defying the archaic thinking of society, Voltaire searched for practical and useful knowledge to explain the world he lived in. Voltaire mocked philosophers, such as Leibniz ,who believed in the “best of all possible worlds” ,and presupposed that all things happen for a reason rather than convincing himself that good and bad are one and the same( 12). The term blind optimism refers to naievty, or having a tendency to expect the best of all possible outcomes and never accepting conclusions in a negative way. In the novel Candide, Voltaire strikes his major characters with atrocious events to challenge the unquestionable optimistic view of the world, showing how ludicrous blind optimism truly is. Voltaire exemplifies this notion by utilizing characterization of his characters Candide, Pangloss, and Martin to satirically demonstrate how blind optimism hinders the perception of reality
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.
There were quite a few changes made from Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World to turn it into a “made for TV” movie. The first major change most people noticed was Bernard Marx’s attitude. In the book he was very shy and timid toward the opposite sex, he was also very cynical about their utopian lifestyle. In the movie Bernard was a regular Casanova. He had no shyness towards anyone. A second major deviation the movie made form the book was when Bernard exposed the existing director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Bernard himself was moved up to this position. In the book the author doesn’t even mention who takes over the position. The biggest change between the two was Lenina, Bernard’s girlfriend becomes pregnant and has the baby. The screenwriters must have made this up because the author doesn’t even mention it. The differences between the book and the movie both helped it and hurt it.
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley deftly creates a society that is indeed quite stable. Although they are being mentally manipulated, the members of this world are content with their lives, and the presence of serious conflict is minimal, if not nonexistent. For the most part, the members of this society have complete respect and trust in their superiors, and those who don’t are dealt with in a peaceful manner as to keep both society and the heretic happy. Maintained by cultural values, mental conditioning, and segregation, the idea of social stability as demonstrated in Brave New World is, in my opinion, both insightful and intriguing.
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.
The true meaning of “Eldorado” in Voltaire’s Candide has been debated for some time. The scene of Eldorado is the visual philosophy of Voltaire’s thoughts of what an ideal society would be. It is a land of richness and where there is a state of being equal in status, rights, belief, and opportunity; it is free of greed, claiming titles or importance, religious strife or contention, and there is no suffering (Mason 55). Eldorado also brings the reader’s attention in its scene to show the bad fortune of realities of cultures beyond its land. If this land is the ideal society one would wonder why did Candide and Cacambo who had traveled different countries and experience many test and trails would want to leave. Voltaire visual scene in Eldorado and the characters makes the readers think that being too optimistic can cause a misrepresentation of what reality really is. The method and visual thoughts of Voltaire’s have some authors and critics expressing their opinion on religion, science, governments, utopia, and wealth; that the land of Eldorado is one that is too good to be true, and come off as unreal. Eldorado is the vision of Voltaire’s utopia where the land is desirable amongst the inhabitants and consists of what the readers are to believe the perfect society. The land is clearly the best of the worlds that Candide traveled which is a reflection of Pangloss when he said, “in this the best of all possible worlds” (Voltaire’s 101).
Because he is an outsider, Candide could not simply forget his principles to all the sudden believe those of El Dorado, where gems are just rocks and pebbles they tread upon. Not only do their citizens undermine the value of the gems but they are content and do not worship nor harm those who have different beliefs as them. They refuse to ask God for anything because they believe that what they are provided with is what they could and must use. “We never pray…we have nothing to ask of God, since he has given us everything we need. But we thank Him unceasingly.”(79). The people of El Dorado understand that most wants and desires will not give them what they need. When Cacambo and Candide reach Eldorado, Candide realizes that this community must be utopia, a place where everything "is for the best." However, he is disappointed because he misses Cunegonde, and Cacambo has an uneven spirit and is not satisfied, either. Because of their strong personal desires to gain more wealth and fame back in Europe, they leave and move on. The satire that Voltaire displays on this subject is that there is a greater problem the world suffers from is that this perfect state is unattainable. Although El Dorado is a dwelling with no worries or difficulties, Candide always wants more. There is no way to completely satisfy human beings, even when all of your mistakes are fixed and forgiven and all men
In Candide, Voltaire explores the ideas of paternalistic optimism and uses satire as a method of social commentary. His story follows the misery of one man as he pursues his one and only love and the happiness that he eventually finds. By framing the novel around a biblical story and having Candide lose and regain paradise, Voltaire suggests that one must cultivate their own perfect world as opposed to optimistically enduring the present in the hopes of a better future.
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
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.
In order to explore Leibniz’ notion to its fullest, Voltaire wrote the story of Candide, a naïve hero who is “tossed from short to shore , from adventure to adventure” (xii). Candide is put in the middle of this turbulent world to both “understand the inconsistencies of individual destiny” and embrace “the entire defective world” (xii).