Optimism In The Candide

After a while Candide realizes he can’t stay here any longer, because Cunegonde isn’t there with him. Before he leaves he brings along with him “two great sheep, saddled to serve as steeds, thirty with presents containing those of rarities of Eldorado; fifty with gold, jewels, and diamonds.” (Voltaire,

Candide is intent to rescue his love, Miss Cunégonde, from the governor of Buenos Aires. He requests, “… a few sheep loaded with provisions, some pebbles, and some of the mud of your country” (385), from the king of Eldorado. He knows that even a small flock of sheep laden with the pebbles and mud of Eldorado will make him the richest man in all of Europe, if not the world. He plans to use a small amount of them as payment to get Cunégonde back. The king tells Candide and Cacambo that they are foolish to leave Eldorado, but allows them to leave.

Candide meets a slave who is missing his arm and leg and when he asked the man how it happened, he replies “ It is the price we pay for the sugar you eat in Europe” (Voltaire 19). The irony shows that people who produces the sugar pays for it, not just the consumers. Therefore, this emphasizes the injusctice that the slaves faced for European wants. Irony is also emphasized when Candide’s servant Cacambo asks him what optimism is and Candide says “ it is the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means

As the story , Voltaire reveals a horrid truth to the audience. Pangloss is found by Candide and Pangloss appears to be a homeless beggar. Pangloss then reveals he has syphilis. Now here is where the humor gets a little extreme and weird. Candide begins to remark on the horrid state of Pangloss ,however Pangloss says that this is for the best.

This shows irony because Candide expected that these great religious people would help him no matter who he is, but instead Candide’s distress was completely ignored and Candide was yelled at. Further in the book, where Candide finally reunites with his love, Cunegonde tells Candide about what she have went through after she was separated from Candide. After Candide left the castle, the Bunglers raided the castle and raped women and killed the people of the castle. The leader of the Bunglers took Cunegonde as a prisoner, but after some times the Bungler leader sold Cunegonde to Don Issachar. When the Inquisitor, who is a religious leader, met Cunegonde instead of helping Cunegonde he wanted to get Cunegonde for himself.

Candide is the main protagonist in the story Candide, by Voltaire. Candide chooses his actions for the potential prospect of marrying his love, Cunégonde. Candide says, " 'That 's what I 'm longing for, because I was expecting to marry her; and indeed, I still hope to, '" (Candide, 66). He proclaims that marrying Cunégonde is the only pleasure that will make him complete as a person, "It 's essential for me to go and find Lady Cunégonde" (106).

At long last, Candide reunites with Cunegonde. Unfortunatley, Cunegonde, having been relegated to a slave, is a complete shell of herself. Her beauty has all but eroded and the love Candide holds for her only exists to uphold a promise. According to foster, the real reason for a quest is to acquire knowledge, more specifically

Both stories leave the reader with a negative outlook on life due to the fact that no matter the optimism instilled in the characters, the world is

In his novel, Voltaire examines the abuse of women during the eighteenth century through the female characters in the novel. Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman endure sexual abuse and assault paying little mind to riches or political associations. These characters have almost no unpredictability or significance in Candide. With his portrayal of Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman, Voltaire satirizes the role of women and highlights the ineptitude of women during the eighteenth century. Cunegonde is the young daughter of a well off German lord.

The allure of money is a recurring event which makes its way back to Candide time and again, even making his love Conegonde, marry Governor of Paraguay, Don Fernando, in order to gain status and fortunes, again mentioning, “you have seventy-two quarterings, and not a farthing to your name” , which further highlights status and birth

Raised in Westphalia, Candide was surrounded by greed and his life was ultimately affected by strength and wealth. The phrase “everything is for the best,” taught by Master Pangloss, clouds Candide’s judgement and makes him careless. What Master Pangloss was trying to teach Candide was that with every cause there is an effect and that it is best of all possible worlds. For example, Candide stumbled upon a utopian society called El Dorado which was literally a city of gold. What seemed like pebbles to the residents who lived there were actually gems and bits of gold to Candide.

In Candide Voltaire discusses the exploitation of the female race in the eighteenth century through the women in the novel. Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman suffer through rape and sexual exploitation regardless of wealth or political connections. These characters possess very little complexity or importance in Candide. With his characterization of Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman Voltaire satirizes gender roles and highlights the impotence of women in the 1800s. Cunegonde is the daughter of a wealthy German lord.

One key facet of living in the world today is the ability for people to have free will over their own lives. In Voltaire’s story “Candide,” it is clear to observe that although Candide is free to form his own decisions, he allows himself to be strongly determined by his surroundings as well as everyone who he encounters. This story proposes that Candide is trying to find a balance between submitting completely to the speculations and actions of others while also taking control of his life through blind faith. Throughout the story, Candide encounters frequent hardships along his voyage to prosperity. These obstacles include, but are not limited to becoming a bulwark, being beaten and forced to watch his beloved Pangloss having been hanged, leaving such an amazing place as Eldorado, being lied to and tricked out of diamonds by the abb`e, killing Cunegonde’s two lovers, almost being boiled alive for killing the monkey lovers, and being persuaded to be promiscuous on Cunegonde.

Voltaire’s Candide takes us through the life and development of Candide, the protagonist. Throughout his adventures, he witnesses many travesties and sufferings. Like many Enlightenment philosophers, Pangloss, Candide’s tutor, is an optimist; this philosophy was adopted by many to help mask the horrors of the eightieth century. Pangloss teaches Candide that everything happens for a reason. Voltaire uses satire, irony and extreme exaggerations to poke fun at many aspects; such as optimism, religion, corruption, and social structures within Europe.

Cunegonde’s story in Lisbon gives Voltaire the chance to focus on and show the injustices of protestants, intellectuals, slaves, Jews and most importantly women. For example, Cunegonde was abused as a slave and was sold more than one time. Paquette suffered because she was forced to be a prostitute. Voltaire is satirizing the attitudes of the society towards the “gender role” in the eighteenth century. He shows the submission of females in the male-dominated society.