A Comparison of the Quest for Enlightenment in Candide and Dream of the Red Chamber

    Candide on the surface is a witty story. However when inspected deeper it is a philippic writing against people of an uneducated status. Candide is an archetype of these idiocracies, for he lacks reason and has optimism that is truly irking, believing that this is the best of all possible worlds. Thus Voltaire uses a witty, bantering tale on the surface, but in depth a cruel bombast against the ignoramuses of his times.

“Things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for all being created for an end, all is necessarily for the best end.” (p. 1) Of all the great things to come out of the enlightenment era Candide by Voltaire is perhaps the most interesting and entertaining in my opinion. In fact it so happens that it is one of the most popular and read classics of the time, one my say that is serves to enlighten the reader on the issues that were most prevalent at the time. Voltaire uses Candide as a clever devise to voice his views on the world, be it political, religious, or Social by using satire and comedy and achieving the desired result perfectly. Voltaire begins by introducing us to Candide a young and rather naïve man who is taught by Dr. Pangloss a philosopher of sorts that the world he lives in is “the best of all possible worlds.” (p.1) However shortly after this introduction he gets vanished for stealing a kiss from the beautiful Cunegonde, and so begins the long journey of our hero. It is in this journey that through many trials and hardship that include, War, famine, beatings, deaths, romantic betrayals and even the mythical city of El Dorado Candide questions his own and others views on the world. Sometimes losing all hope and arriving at the conclusion that the world is nothing but suffering; while other times reinforcing the teachings of

Being a young man raised in a fine castle of the Baron, Candide had no idea of what a real life is outside of the caste. In that place, he was surrounded by his needs, including his lover Cundegonde and a great mentor Pangloss. Once he was abandoned from his fine castle, he had separated from his Cundegone and had to face the brutal life on his journey to find his lover. However, Candide learned the idea of Pangloss, which is ‘everything is for the best’, he faces, hears, and lives through the worst things of human existence on his journey. Every adventure he goes through with or without the help of others, such as Cacambo, Martin, Pangloss, and an old woman, gives him

During the period of Enlightenment, many philosophers began a new way of thinking. For philosopher Alexander Pope in An Essay on Man, Pope believed that, “Whatever is, is right” (L. 294), in that God is in control and every human being is a part of a greater design of God. Voltaire later challenged that belief in Candide with the idea that God does not produce order, but instead, we must produce it ourselves and use reason to give our lives meaning. Pope’s position is more optimistic, while Voltaire’s position takes on a pessimistic view in that it does not allow for the belief in some sort of higher purpose. Drawing from personal experience, Pope’s belief that we perceive troubles as troubles only because

Within the hundred or so pages of Voltaire’s Candide resides proof of all four values of the Enlightenment: hope, progress, natural law, and reason. Being a man of the enlightenment, it makes sense for Voltaire’s novel to include these values. Using ironic humor and satire, Voltaire managed to say what he needed to say without being directly responsible for having said it. As Candide reads like an adventure story, there is a lot of dialogue between characters. Through these conversations and stories, Voltaire’s Candide shows support for the enlightenment principle of reason (critical, rational thought) with regards to organized religion but shows very little support for the enlightenment principle of progress (change for the better) with regards to female tropes and sexism.

The novel Candide, written by Voltaire during the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement during the 18th century, that promoted rational thinking, favored secularistic views over religious ones and left irrationality and superstition behind. Voltaire’s novel is about a young and sheltered man, Candide, who finds true happiness after witnessing and experiencing great hardships. At the end of the novel, Candide’s final words are, “we must cultivate our gardens”, which means that if one desire to find true happiness, they must be actively pursuing it and not be hoping that it will come on its own.

Francois-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, is one of the greatest French writers of the eighteenth century, and is the personification of the Enlightenment period. His most celebrated work, Candide (1759), specifically exhibits his Age of Reason ideals. Voltaire broke new ground by using rejection. In Candide Voltaire introduces the oppositional “philosophy of optimism”, denounces optimism as naïve and a facile perspective, and ultimately describes his enlightened ideals.

There are seven chambers in the abbey; these rooms symbolized seven period’s mental status of the whole life. According to the design, the chambers in the follow colors arrangement: blues, purple, green orange, white and violet. Everyone has its own meaning; the initial stage of the life the confusion of the life, and the melancholy of the life. The seventh room is black with red windows. There was an ebony clock standing in the room.

Literature is a multidimensional world full of characters, plots, and the like that has brought consistent light to to an otherwise habitually dark world. Whether discussing serious or delightful aspects of the human condition, literature never ceases to teach mankind something of merit. For example, in Voltaire’s Candide, the author discusses existential subjects throughout the novel by using humorous yet tragic events to teach and entertain his audience about the intellectual depth of the human race.

In several of the text written there has been a character that either was given authority or accepted natural leadership. Two such characters were Pangloss appearing in Candide and Master Houyhnhnm in Gulliver’s Travels. While both had authority in some way over the main characters in their book, the way they held and managed that authority was vastly different. Both characters would go on to make decisions that would go forth and alter the outcomes of many characters. However, while Pangloss and Master Houyhnhnm both have alternative approaches to how they “impart knowledge” or assume leadership; it is seen their belief in their teachings pulls characters, respectively from their own works, to follow their lead.

Voltaire’s satirical novella Candide tells the story a young man who, having been raised in a secluded utopia and educated in philosophical optimism, is suddenly thrust into the world and forced to make sense of the evil and suffering around him that he has always been taught to reason away. As his journey progresses and he encounters numerous horrors, Candide increasingly struggles to accept his tutor’s theory that all is for the best, and it ultimately becomes apparent that he has lost faith in his tutor’s philosophy. I argue that Candide’s gradual loss of faith in his tutor, Pangloss, was the result of the contradictions he increasingly observed between Pangloss’ philosophy and his lived experiences. This loss of faith in Pangloss’

Inspired by the bold ideas that coincided with the French enlightenment, writer François-Marie Arouet, more popularly known as Voltaire, wrote Candide, published in January of 1789 in Paris, France by Sirène. Voltaire became known as the “fountainhead of the Enlightenment and the intellectual spearhead of the French Revolution”² with his bold ideas that challenged society’s way of thinking. This satire was written during the Enlightenment period and demonstrated Voltaire’s criticisms toward the church, society and a multitude of other subjects. This book was chosen for the class because it exhibits the point of view of a famous philosopher during the Enlightenment period whose ideas were beneficial and relevant to the time period being studied. Candide contains many criticisms throughout the book and introduces the philosophical details of the Enlightenment period. This book ties in with what we are learning in class and served as a source of outside information and context for this specific era of history. Candide displays how a productive, fruitful era can also corrupt a nation and produce peril and hardship throughout the people,

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in Europe, which expanded during the 17th and 18th centuries. It questioned the historic views of science, religion, and also the state. Enlightenment thinkers concluded in using reason and scientific experiment as a guide to the enhancement of life and society. The Scientific Revolution gave the impression on which the universe behaved according to the universal and unchanging laws. This provided a model for looking rationally on human institutions as well as nature.

When François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen-name Voltaire, secretly published Candide, ou l 'Optimisme simultaneously in five European countries in January of 1759, it was met with widespread denouncement due to its controversial content and scandalous portrayal of politics and religion. Nevertheless, the bitingly satirical novel fervently spread throughout Europe and was translated into several more languages, selling tens of thousands of copies within its first year of publication (Barnes). Despite being first categorized as dangerous blasphemy, Candide is now regarded as one of the most influential books of all time. Almost 300 years later, Candide is considered an unparalleled criticism of politics and religion during the Age of Enlightenment.

In each adventure of the story Candide, Candide is on the path to his own enlightenment. Enlightenment comes through one’s personal trials and tribulations. Candide is an optimistic individual, and his story explains the view of Optimistic Philosophy. But, in the end of the story Candide abandons his optimistic views to be happy with the life he has come to create for himself. There are several other themes or motifs related to this story, and I am going to touch on seven of the obvious ones.