Candide Essay example

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 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.

Voltaire's Candide is the story of how one man's adventures affect his philosophy on life. Candide begins his journey full of optimism that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds," but he learns that it is naïve to say that good will eventually come of any evil.

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

This novel first published in 1759 and written by French philosopher Voltaire teeters on the edge of satire and pure absurdity. The title, Candide has been translated into, “Optimism”, “The Optimist”, and “All For the Best”. Candide is a successful novel full of satire, erratic plotline, and absurd situations. Despite Voltaire’s crude sense of humor, satire makes Candide a more enjoyable novel, and without the satire the novel would be overall less effective. Voltaire turns even the most historically serious situations into something comical.

Biographical information about the author: Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Voltaire long held a great passion for writing, and rather than going to law school, spent his time extensively composing poetry, essays, and historical studies. His widespread recognition as an author was established with the publication of the play “Oedipus”, a variation on the original Greek tragedy, in 1718. In 1726, after a fight with a French nobleman, Voltaire was exiled to England. There, he was exposed to a

The Enlightenment was rife with skepticism, self-reliance and discovery. Voltaire’s Candide boasts each within its three main themes; the critique of philosophical systems (optimism, pessimism, and empiricism,) along with social criticism, and utopian ideologies. Voltaire viciously attacks the Church, the Aristocracy, and the Military. This was perfectly in line with the core ideals behind the enlightenment, a time where philosophers believed in using reason and scientific experiments in lieu of Christian dogma and tradition. Voltaires Candide perfectly encapsulates the ideology behind the Enlightenment through its’ illustrious acrimony and skepticism against the church, military, and philosophical systems.

“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

Candide is a reflection of the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s novel is a satire of the Old Regime ideologies in which he critiques the political, social, and religious ideals of his time.

Candide is a fictional satire of the optimism many philosophers had for life in general during the mid 1700’s written in response to Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man. Written by Voltaire, the literary alias of Francois-Marie Arouet, the satire covers religion, the wealthy, love, why people thought natural disasters occurred and especially, philosophy. The novel even goes on to make fun of the art of literature by giving ridiculous chapter headings. Just about everything Voltaire put into Candide is designed to question and satirize real world injustices. In effect Candide is the 18th century equivalent of a modern day sitcom (Shmoop).

The Age of Enlightenment was a philosophical and an intellectual movement that took place in Europe during the 18th century. From the 1600’s to the 1800’s, philosophers opened a path for independent thought and there were many advances in the scientific, political, economic, and mathematical realms. Many ideas were transpiring and people began to “mature,” becoming less dependent on others. This time is known for four major components: the idea of freedom of thought, rationality, progress and humanitarianism. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Voltaire were all major minds that contributed to the Age of Enlightenment. Voltaire, the author of Candide, wrote about the positives and negatives impacting a person’s life. The plot of the novel revolves around Candide’s journey to find Cunegonde, the supposed love-of-his-life. Throughout the novel, characters face highs and lows, such as becoming rich, being scammed, and forced into exile. Using Candide’s life and the lives and philosophies of minor characters, Voltaire satirizes aspects of the Age of Enlightenment, especially the idea of rationality.

Voltaire’s Candide is a satirical fiction that was meant as both an insult and a criticism to the wealthy nobility and the Catholic Church. Voltaire, major voice during the Enlightenment period, had a wide spread influence from England and France to Russia. Candide was massively circulated throughout Europe. Voltaire used Candide to offer his opinion of what was wrong with society: being that the wealthy were ungrateful, selfish people and the church was a ruthless, maniacal super power.

In Candide, Voltaire uses general criticisms paired with specific examples to illustrate his idea concerning the contemporary corruption of the time. It is a "grinning critique of the 18th century's excesses and cruelties" (Kanfer 1). With Candide,

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.