Elements Of Symbolism In Voltaire's Candide

    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.

In Voltaires?s Candide, the main character, Candide, fails to live happily because he is looking outside of himself and his circumstances to do it. Voltaire says through Candide's ultimate discovery that happiness in many ways depends on a person's attitude. Voltaire's philosophy expressed through Candide's final realization is that "We must cultivate our garden," which is the key to happiness(p.585). By cultivating our garden, Voltaire means that we must make the best of our situation in the present moment. We accept what we are given in life and work to make the best of it. It all has to do with our perspective on life. We do not find happiness somewhere else or by philosophizing about it, we open our eyes to the

After Candide is reunited with his no longer beautiful Cunégonde, the old woman, Pangloss, and his former traveling companions, Candide still could not find peace and continued to reflect on his past misfortunes (Voltaire, 157). Martin even went on to say “that man was bound to live either in convulsions of misery or in the lethargy of boredom” (Voltaire, 157). Then, Candide encounters a Turk who claims he has a solution that keeps his family from “three great evils, boredom, vice, and poverty” (Voltaire, 159). The Turk had twenty acres of which his family cultivated, and Candide realized that the hard work and belongingness in the family is what makes the Turk’s fate extremely desirable (Voltaire, 159). This led Candide to conclude that his group must work hard in their garden and when all of the members found a useful job to do, true satisfaction was finally achieved in the “best of all

Voltaire’s Candide portrays an exaggerated image of human cruelty and suffering in the world. Specifically, Voltaire criticizes people’s lack of willingness to prevent suffering, and their tendency to accept the idea that there is nothing anyone can do about human outcomes. He upholds his belief that practical ways of solving problems generate improvement. He believes that human indifference and inaction cause suffering to carry on. Voltaire’s believes that naïve optimism, absolute pessimism, cruel indifference, and lack of reason hinder positive and constructive change.

When people decided to gather, communicate, and cooperate to make their livings around beasts, they also had to decide the ownerships of trophies. That was the time when the idea “property” was invented. Many wise men in the past, while thinking about a better format for people living together, argued meanings of property to people. British philosopher John Locke in his work Second Treatise of Government separates property as public goods shared by all humans and necessities for living created via labor. The value of property has changed over time, when later French philosopher Voltaire in his novel Candide, or Optimism expresses that property becomes for what people in a world where Candide lives keep fighting: land, gold, and even ownerships of women. Necessities and public goods becomes luxuries. Voltaire’s work shows this trend and it can explained by the worry about the risk of losing current living standard in the future when easily accessible things are no more available to everyone. In fact, Candide also reflects scarcity of property, a nature which Locke never mentioned. Thus Candide is a strong critique to Second Treatise of Government for the nature of property when Voltaire demonstrated scarcity in material and philosophical ways in Candide.

Voltaire’s Candide is a lively satirical work wrought with black humor and caricature-like characters. Apart from being a humorous and entertaining masterpiece, Candide explores the metaphysical conflict humanity faces in attempting to make sense of the world and its struggles. In his work, Voltaire uses his characters to serve as caricatures or parodies of various contrasting philosophies which each in their own way attempt to confront and remedy this existential conflict. He frames these characters’ worldviews in such a way as to create a philosophical spectrum with optimism and pessimism being at opposite extremes amongst other worldviews, such as meliorism and quietism, within the spectrum.

“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

The novella Candide, written by Voltaire is based on a satirical outlook on how society views philosophies. Each character undergoes multiple situations where their faith to their morals are tested. The last line, “We must cultivate our garden,” (113) hints the impression of how Voltaire wants society to act. While the novella Candide discusses the values of optimism, the overall message of the last line is to be pessimistic and for an individual to be focused on oneself.

On November 21, 1694, Francois-Marie Arouet, otherwise known as Voltaire, was born in Paris. The youngest of five, son to Francois and Marie Arouet, Voltaire grew

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

     “Everything happens for the best, in this the best of all possible worlds.” This is a statement that can be found many times within Voltaire’s Candide. Voltaire rejected Lebitizian Optimism, using Candide as a means for satirizing what was wrong with the world, and showing that, in reality, this is not the best of all possible worlds.

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

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.

The directing force of the journey in this novel is Candide’s love for Cunégonde. He goes to irrational lengths to chase his love which includes deserting paradise of El Dorado, numerous murders, and barely avoiding imprisonment and death sentence, mocked by the realism that once he can get married to Cunégonde, he is no longer fascinated to her.