Candide Analysis

Toward the beginning of the 18th century, a new ideology began to take hold of Europe. It was during this time that a radical and critical revolution took place to bring about the use of rational thought and enlighten the people about their own beliefs and values; thus igniting the period of Enlightenment. In this period many people followed the teachings of their forefathers, such as Socrates, who was considered a figure of skepticism and rational thought. Challenging all views and theorems was the main point of this new ideology. Voltaire, a very powerful and influential figure among the writers of the 18th century, was known for his rejection of religion and a devout deist. In one of his most famous works, Candide, he

            Candide is consistently being brainwashed by reason (Pangloss) saying that we live in "the best of all possible worlds", while it is quite obviously that he does not. For how can there be, in the best of all worlds, war, slavery and many more abominations. Half-way through the book it would appear that Candide has given up his optimism when he looked at the Negro slave. "Oh Pangloss... I'll have to give up your optimism at last" (73). But to the distress of the readers he has not given up his chafing optimism. "Since I found you [an Eldoradian sheep laden with stones], I'm sure I can find Cunegnde again" (79). Thus we see that he has quickly recovered his optimism. Voltaire is using Candide's blatant optimism to relate to the people of his time that also have the same type of optimism.

In Candide, or Optimism, Voltaire envisions a paradise, El Dorado, where the inhabitants have all they ever need and the idea of physical wealth or excess does not

The Story of Candide is a short but diverse story that tells of a young man’s journey for love and understanding and the hardships he faces, all the while keeping a very strong, positive and philosophical outlook on life. The novel takes place both in fictional and existing locations throughout Latin America and Europe during the 1750’s. Voltaire believed that the society he lived in had many flaws, which are often illustrated and satirized in Candide. Candide’s journey portrays the flawed human assumption that the grass is always greener on the other side as well as giving the reader an apt example of an individual’s journey from innocence through a series of trials and tribulations to becoming a mature, experienced and enlightened individual.

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

In Voltaire’s short story Candide (1759) the theme of disillusion is manifested through various aspects of the text. From the moment Candide, whose very name means ‘innocent,’ is banished from the kingdom of Thunder-ten-tronckh, the situations he faces should suffice to disprove his master Pangloss’s theory that this is the “best of all possible worlds.” However it is not just Candide’s internal struggle between Pangloss’s views and his own experience that is representative of the process of disillusion; Candide’s own love for Cunégonde, which is the driving force behind his actions, is not all it seems either. It is not only the characters, however, that undergo the process; contemporary readers themselves, being placed alongside Candide in

Candide, along with his companion Cacambo, stumbles onto the secluded but physically speaking flawless land of Eldorado. Not even here is Candide able to find everything that he is looking for. Eldorado, which was originally the home land of the Incas, is completely sheltered from the rest of the world by the means of unsurpassable mountains. It is here that people are able to escape the evils of the world. Happiness in the real world is just a moment of happening which

Candide is a naïve character that is in complete control of his ideas and actions despite the influence from others. In chapter two when he is captured by Bulgarians and given the choice between death and running the gauntlet, he groundlessly uses his free will to receive an intense degree of torture and anguish. “He was asked which he would like the best, to be whipped six-and-thirty times through all the regiment, or to receive at once twelve balls of lead in his brain. He vainly said that human will is free, and that he chose neither the one nor the other” (4). Candide tries to argue that having free will meant

Greed and pride are negative moral truths which are most evident when Candide and Cacambo decide to leave El Dorado because if they stayed they would be like everyone else, and if they left and took some riches with them, they could "show off for the folks at home" and buy whatever they desired. Eventually, their wealth is stolen by dishonest and wicked men, and they find themselves more miserable and untrusting than before. They find that all their riches cannot buy what they truly want.

Enlightenment thinkers wanted tangible, concrete evidence to back their arguments. Pangloss based his arguments on nothing. Voltaire portrays him as naïve, scorning him for not experiencing and studying the world before he becomes firmly planted in his ideas. Even after Pangloss experiences the evil ways of the world, he refuses to change his philosophy. Pangloss would rather preach something attractive to the ear rather than reality. Candide’s servant Cacambo also speaks of false optimism as he tries to console Candide over the loss of Cunegonde. He says that women are never at a loss and that God takes care of them. However, Cunegonde and the Old Woman both experienced brutality and suffering many times over in their lifetime. Cunegonde was bought, sold, and treated like a possession throughout the novel. She and the Old Woman were left vulnerable to molestation and treated like objects. The only hint of optimism in Voltaire’s novel is when Cacambo and Candide stumble upon the country of Eldorado. However, this optimism is quickly distinguished when the two men foolishly trade such a perfect society for jewels, gold, power, and influence. Eldorado is a country in which there is no organized religion, no courts or prisons, no poverty, and complete equality. Even the king is treated as a normal citizen. Candide overlooks the fact that this is a perfect society because of the ideals they practice, and believes that the riches are the most

Typically, wealth is an idea that most people view the same way, but in Voltaire’s El Dorado there is a different view of wealth being expressed that suggests peace in society, rather than the corruption for the desire of money. Voltaire criticizes wealth in “Candide”, by showing that El Dorado is paradise and the perfect society because there is no form of wealth and outside of El Dorado there is lying, cheating, and stealing being committed to gain more riches and valuables, which shows that the normal society in the world is corrupt compared to Voltaire’s image of paradise, El Dorado. The different ways that Voltaire criticizes wealth in “Candide” are how money corrupts people through lying, cheating, or stealing, how money is used to bribe other people in the story to do things that are unjust for society, and how Candide is happier being a poor man than a wealthy one. Voltaire’s El Dorado is peaceful and non-violent, while outside of the society, some people are corrupted by the idea of wealth.

Candide’s South American wanderings in many respects become the apex of the Optimistic world view. The zenith of it comes once Candide and Cacambo stumble into Eldorado. The city of Eldorado, compared to their European contemporaries, can be qualified as a utopia. Eldoradan society and law are predicated on the ideals of equality for all, unlike in European where the idea is spoken but not put into practice. Eldorado society is described to be perfect in every way. There are no courts, no prisons; it is described to be a perfect society. The idea of Eldorado can be suggested as a false hope for Candide and Optimism because of the preposterously perfect society of Eldorado. Also due to the fact that it illustrates how impossible the task would be to undertake by a European to create a similar society. This fact especially is made clear by the king of Eldorado, “We have always hitherto been safe from the rapacity of European nations with their unaccountable fondness for the pebbles and dirt off our land, and who would kill us to the very last man just to lay their hands on the stuff” (Voltaire, Candide, 48).

Throughout the novel we follow, the main character, Candide, through his journey of reuniting with his beloved Cunegonde. The journey was very dangerous because throughout the novel, Candide was flogged, forced into an army, shipwrecked, betrayed, robbed, and separated from his love Cunegonde, and tortured by the Inquisition. Most of Candide’s misfortunes was mostly of robbery and abuse. Throughout the journey, Candide was able to acquire love and wealth. Though, both things were taken away from him. Cunegonde and Candide were separated frequently ever since that kiss they shared. As for the wealth, Candide kept flaunting it around and spent a lot of it unwisely. Therefore, the villainous characters in the novel were able to notice that Candide was a fool and noticed that robbing some of his wealth would be an easy task for them. Though, it was at this moment that Candide was fed up

Voltaire also illustrated in Candide that society as a whole places more emphasis on physical appearance than on inner beauty. Throughout much of the story, Candide is obsessed with the idea of being reunited with Cunegonde. Candide speaks of how beautiful his future bride is and of how much he really loves her. As the story concludes, Candide is reunited with Cunegonde only to find that she has become ugly. Candide has a change of heart and

Explorers always wanted to find the "Golden City." Of course, none of them did. In Candide, Voltaire describes a city that is equivalent to any "Golden City." This world is the ideal world that almost anyone would like to live in. However, when Candide finds his "Golden City," known as El Dorado, he leaves it. One might wonder why Candide left El Dorado, but there were many well justified reasons for Candide's departure from the perfect world he was searching for. Candide gives several arguments for leaving El Dorado. Candide wants to find Cunegund, and he wants to be of higher status. In El Dorado, everyone has wealth; but if Candide leaves with some pebbles from El Dorado he can richer then the nobles in Europe.