Societal Norms In Voltaire's Candide

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Lastly, the characters in Candide raise questions of how an individual’s attitude impacts a situation despite society’s overarching role. Written at the end of the eighteenth-century, Voltaire’s Candide satirically narrates the tale of the young heroic Candide and his friends through torturous and lavish journeys. Throughout their experiences, Candide and his philosopher friend, Pangloss, discuss the absurdities of societal norms, particularly how the individual is forced into these practices with no choice. While the construct of society is what humanity’s fate, Voltaire rejects it by introducing a pessimistic character named Martin. By the end of their journey, Martin encourages Candide to “work without arguing [in order to] make life bearable” …show more content…

Voltaire rejects social constructs as Martin believes “that man’s origin is evil” because “the weak detest the strong [...] the strong treat them so many like sheep” (92). With this mindset, one can infer that it is man’s responsibility to alter the fabric of societal norms by rejecting the contradictions of corruption. Particularly, Martin explains to Candide that “you will find them in the government, the law courts, the churches, and in the whole life of this absurd nation” (100) because that is simply “how people are made” (99). Thus, in response to this absurdity and corruption, the individual is tasked to ask “what ought to be done (141)? Here, the fate of humanity lies in the individual’s response to it, particularly in those who question the norm and challenge the predetermined. Moreover, one must “find that the work banishes those three great evils; boredom, vice, and poverty” (143) in order to contribute wholly to society despite fate’s overarching presence. Throughout all of their journeys, Candide and Pangloss learn that not only are they tasked to challenge the predetermined, but that they must also improve others’ fates, epitomizing Viktor Frankl’s theory of adjusting to one’s …show more content…

Evidently, various works bring a different approach to free will’s role in conquering fate. Within Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is only freed from his fate of being consumed guilt when he confesses to his crime, proving that while he is physically imprisoned, he is emotionally and psychologically free from the predestined. Here, Dostoevsky suggests that freedom from one’s circumstances is only attainable by utilizing free will to challenge the predetermined. Similarly, Hamlet suggests that actions often have the reverse effect, as Hamlet had intended to challenge the predetermined, but ultimately gave into it. Representing his fate, the ghost of Hamlet’s father enacts the vicious cycle of vengeance that results in the prince’s death. On the other hand, Oedipus the King illustrates the young king’s blind and unintentional secession to his circumstances. Sophocles depicts the eternal endeavor to challenge the predetermined with little knowledge of the future. Thus, Candide offers a solution to the conflict between free will and fate, as Voltaire suggests that one’s circumstances are fixed, but free will enables the individual to try to better the predetermined. Moreover, one can only challenge an environment when equipped with the proper mindset, subsequently transforming these circumstances into destiny. Thus, these various works reveal several

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