Voltaire's Candide Essay

In Chapter 19, after leaving El Dorado, Candide and his guide run into a slave who has been brutally punished by his master who had cut of a hand and a leg. Upon hearing of his sad tragedy Candide for the first time strongly refutes optimism, ”Oh Pangloss, cried Candide, you have no notion of these abominations! I'm through, I must give up your optimism after all. What's optimism? said Cacambo. Alas, said Candide, it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell” (386). It is finally at this point that Candide sees the uselessness of passivity and unrealistically expecting the best results in every situation that one may stumble upon. As the story progresses it is at this point that Candide begins to argue against the “knowledge” of Pangloss.

Throughout every plot twist, every dramatic occurrence in Candide is intended to attack Pangloss’ theories and prove to society that his way of life is inconsiderate and utterly

Voltaire’s masterpiece has been read delightfully and with much interest by many people since its scarcely secret publication in Geneva and Paris (1759). When it was first published, there were about twenty copies, most of which were pirated. When Voltaire died (1778) there were already more than fifty, and later on it became the best seller of the eighteenth century.

To reiterate Pangloss’s beliefs that this world is the best of possible worlds he also claims that there is no effect without a cause. Pangloss uses simple examples in the beginning of the story to demonstrate what he means. He states: “that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for all being created for an end, all is necessarily for the best end. Observe, that the nose has been formed to bear spectacles- thus we have spectacles. Legs are visibly designed for stockings- and we have stockings” (18). This statement is illogical and quite humorous, as one would think spectacles were made for the nose and stockings were made for legs, not vice versa. Anyway, this whole story is based on cause and effect. Every single decision Candide makes affects him in some type of way later in the story. Nevertheless, it is not obvious what the outcome of the majority of his decisions will be, as this story has many twists and random outcomes.

Candide was the protagonist, a young boy who grows up in the castle of a noble Baron who was one of the most powerful people in Westphalia, modern day Germany. He grows up under the tutelage of Pangloss, a philosopher who believes was that their world was “the best of all possible worlds” and that everything that happens was met to serve a good purpose at the end. Pangloss was an optimistic man throughout his life, despite being infected by syphilis disease, hanged and left to die. Pangloss was also dissected by his daughter. Candide was banished from the baron castle for falling in love with the baron daughter, a beautiful girl called Cunegunde. They were caught kissing by the baron. Cunegunde later suffers heavy misfortune in life, she was

Pangloss was a man who convinced Candide to believe “the passion for maintaining that all is right when all goes wrong with us” (pg.86, Voltaire(Butt)), but throughout the story many things come up that makes Candide question this optimism. For example, every time he gets close to living happily ever after with Cunegonde she betrays him, he gets banished, or she is sold to slavery. As Candide begins to question Pangloss’ philosophy he watches as Pangloss gets syphilis, and loses an ear, but manages to remain optimistic. Though the landscape was bleak, they lived in the “best of all possible worlds” (pg.

In this novel, Candide’ teacher, Pangloss who believed in optimism, kept telling Candide that this world is the best of all possible world. Even when Candide suffered incredible

Chapter 1: Candide is living in the castle of a powerful baron in Westphalia. The baron was very powerful, but he was also respected by his people. Pangloss, the family’s oracle, tutored Candide. Pangloss taught Candide about all effects having a cause, and that everything is made for a reason.

In Lisbon, Pangloss is hanged for his freethinking and Candide is beaten for approving of them. Miraculously, Candide is reunited with Cunégonde. She has managed to survive the murder attempt by the Bulgarian soldiers described by Pangloss. Nonetheless, Cunégonde is now a mistress and servant to two men. Candide kills both of the men and the group escapes, along with an old woman, to Buenos Aires. En route, the old woman tells them of her horrific past she has clearly suffered far more than anyone else in the group. At this point, Candide begins to seriously doubt Pangloss's theory of philosophical optimism. Due to the several afflictions they have all endured.

It is a kind of mocking towards some philosophers. Candide’s novel contains reactions of his own about what happened with him and his friends. In fact, Candide refuses both views of Pangloss and Martin. He knows that every thing is not for the best, but also whatever happens is not totally bad. Also, he learns how to achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. In addition that one must be part of the society where everyone shares knowledge. Where everyone has efforts and work hard to have a perfect society. A perfect society does not mean a utopian society, but a perfect society with knowing that it contains human beings. Candide’s reaction to both perspectives is normal. Because he is already has his own perspective. Candide learns a lot of his journeys, he becomes another person who looks to the world with new eyes. This shows when he says”lets cultivate our garden”, which means let's be practical and work on ourselves to fix this

Even though Candide was reared to only believe in the good in the world and to always look on the bright side of things, evil did consume him at times. It was stated that “Candide faces the first contradiction of his optimistic vision of the world: he is a commoner and a bastard, and cannot marry Cunegonde, the noble daughter of the Baron” (Hellman, 2008). After he was thrown out of Westphalian there were invaders who ravaged

Voltaire was a philosopher that many people would not forget. Candide lives in the castle of Baron Thunderten Tronckh in Westphalia. The circumstances that Candide was born was that he combined a true judgement with simplicity of spirit. Voltaire satirizes the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. This was a story of a young man’s adventure throughout the world and had seen many evil and disasters. Throughout his journey, he sticks to the teachings that Pangloss taught him, believing that, "All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” Though Voltaire was no pessimist, he refused to believe that what happens is always for the best.

Although these events do little to benefit Candide or the people around him, both he and Pangloss continue to justify them, however, these justifications become more and more farcical, especially when Pangloss tries to claim that syphilis is a ‘necessary ingredient’ within the best of all possible worlds for the luxuries of chocolate and cochineal. The exaggerated tone Voltaire uses in this justification adds and ironic sting and emphasises that, even though some people are oblivious to it, these tragedies clearly serve no greater good within the real world. Furthermore, after Candide and Cunégonde escape from Bordeaux to Buenos Aires, despite the fact that they are both in love, the old woman convinces Cunégonde to marry the governor because she has ‘seventy two years of nobility but not one penny’. Once again Voltaire is using irony to highlight that even the thing that we perceive to be most pure, love, is corruptible, which couldn’t possibly be the case in a perfect world. Candide’s travels are necessary within the novella for Voltaire to be able to satirise the theory of optimism because they show that life in the real world is nothing like the life in Westphalia and cause both Pangloss and Candide to come up with justifications for the horrors they endured which clearly hold no weight behind them.

Candide, a young man, who embarks on a series of adventures during which he discovers so much evil in the world. Throughout his journey, Candide believes and adheres to the philosophy of his teacher, Pangloss, “all is for the best of possible worlds.” This philosophy was prevalent

Candide’s life story is one of turmoil and pain. Once containing a sense of innocence, Candide starts his perilous journey in the shoddy town of Westphalia. He has a blind eye to the flaws involving the town and describes the castle he lives in as an “earthly paradise”(Chp. 2), which he was later banished from for kissing his forbidden love, Cunegonde. This literary note is making a reference to the famous biblical story of Adam and Eve where they were banished from the Garden of Eden. This comparison gives the reader the sense of wrongful pride he feels towards his own “garden”. He lives in this castle with his trusty philosopher, Pangloss. Pangloss firmly believes in the concept of optimism and that this is the best of possible worlds. His ideas strongly shape how Candide reacts to certain situations throughout the story and in a way fortifies the innocence that Candide contains at the beginning.