Optimism In Voltaire's Candide

Candide is worn down by the travesties that have happened to him and to his companions, and he decides to remove himself from that world. Although Pangloss still quotes his “best of all possible worlds” philosophy, “he no longer believed it” (Voltaire 85). Candide is further assured of his decision when they hear how the Turk remains at peace. Simply put he and his family work hard to cultivate the land (Voltaire 86). Candide see how content this man is and compares him to the men who continued to strive for power.

Man has always prided themselves in whatever they have done since the beginning of time, and with the Age of Enlightenment in which Voltaire lived and was a scholar and innovator of philosophy himself, these achievements of man were thought to be something of perfection, existing in a world of perfect-like utopia. But, Voltaire challenged this so renowned belief and influenced scholars into believing that the world is dependent upon reason and civil liberties— which was ultimately what the Enlightenment truly stood for: innovation, philosophical advancements, and introductions to new thought processes regarding the overall way of

An initial reading of Voltaire’s Candide can advocate that the far-fetched resurrection of Pangloss and the baron was an optimistic and fortunate fulfillment for Candide, since he was reunited with two people, whose ostensible deaths had brought Candide tremendous grief and sadness. The death of his former teacher and his own-handed murder of his old friend, have been overturned in an instant. However, interpretation through a closer reading can depict an opposing pessimistic view, that their revivals brings Candide no real happiness. The baron’s aristocratic snobbery also remains unaltered and despite Pangloss fared great misfortunes, his bigoted optimistic views remains unaffected and continues to advocate for human folly.

This essay will explore how Voltaire uses specific evidence from Candide to depict religious extremism and relate it to the Enlightenment idealism of reason and logic, challenging the depiction of a perfect world and highlighting the importance of rational inquiry in contrast to unchecked adherence to religious doctrine. Through its critique of religious extremism, Candide reflects the broader cultural shift towards rational inquiry and empiricism that characterized the Enlightenment era. One outstanding example of religious radicalism in Candide is represented by Pangloss, who proceeds to embrace his idealistic philosophy despite confronting various tragedies. For instance, when Pangloss is contaminated with syphilis and suffers significantly, he still demands that it is the best of all possible diseases, utilizing deductive reasoning to legitimize his condition: "If Columbus had not caught on an island in America this sickness, which poisons the source of generation [...] we should have neither chocolate nor cochineal" (Voltaire,9). Here, Pangloss illustrates his extraordinary adherence to his logic, denying questioning or critically looking at it despite the self-evident

Enlightenment was a time of embracing logic and reasoning whilst rejecting untested beliefs and superstition. This time period occurred from the year 1694 until 1795. During this time writers used their medium of the written word to express their beliefs based on logic while denouncing old-world ideologies . During Enlightenment human nature was often put under scrutiny as thinkers strived to find what qualities resulted in the best possible human. In this piece of writing, the reader will be able to see the opinions of human nature held by three great thinkers from this time period: Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.

The novel Candide, written by Voltaire, portrays the adventures and experiences of the main character named Candide. Being a very honest man, a character like Candide can be easily swayed and convinced to do and believe anything. From carelessness to greed, the reader can clearly understand that Voltaire ridicules many decisions and situations that occur in the novel. One of many themes Voltaire mocks in the novel would be how greed can result from wealth. What Voltaire is ultimately conveying to the reader is that money cannot buy happiness.

Voltaire’s Candide is a story of a young man’s adventure and how his experiences change his philosophy on life. Although Candide’s adventures begin with a rather positive confidence that he lives in “the best of all possible worlds” his attitude is quickly transformed when he realizes the world is in fact full of evil. In

Moreover, situations these forces create, and how they are beyond and within the control of Candide. Leading to Candide’s final beliefs, and how they illustrate the follies of optimistic determinism. At the beginning of Voltaire epic Candide is a naive scholar. He strongly adheres to the beliefs laid out for him by his mentor Pangloss.

Taking into account all of Candide’s misfortunes, adventures, and the variety of favorable knowledge he had gained from his feats after escaping the worst possible outcome of many a situation, it is no surprise that as he grew older, he became quite restless, and at the same time, he took a number of things for granted. Candide, though an amiable man, had a naive persona about him that was one of the factors that tossed him headfirst into troublesome situations. However, even after experiencing an assortment of exhilarating journeys, he was now stuck living on a small farm with no excitement whatsoever. It could be argued that this was one of the facets that formed Candide into a man with such wanderlust. Along with this, the people he had learned to respect had all left him accordingly.

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.

Candide is satirizing the idea that we live in “the best of all possible worlds.” (Means, n.d.). Voltaire had a message to deliver behind creating the characterization of Cunegonde, Paquette and the Old woman in his book Candide. He wanted to review that females at that time were

Voltaire is well known for his suggestive satirical work, especially his masterpiece Candide. Candide is a timeless piece still relevant today, that was written to warn the public about the consequences of radical optimism (Online-Literature 1). The main character, Candide, is a naïve and trusting young man who is banished from his home. Despite his life being filled with a series of bizarre disasters, Candide holds fast to his optimism – which serves as an example to readers. Voltaire emphasizes the dangers of radical optimism by incorporating tone, themes and utilizing satire in Candide.

CANDIDE AND ENLIGHTENMENT In this essay, I will read Candide in the light of Enlightenment philosophy and also with reference to Kant's answer to the question “What is Enlightenment?” Although Candide (1759) and the short essay by Kant “What is Enlightenment?” were written during different decades of eighteenth century but both of them reflect the age of Enlightenment in their works. This essay is divided into two parts: Part I discusses about the age of the Enlightenment and Kant's essay on Enlightenment, Part II discusses Candide in the context of Part I where Voltaire’s views against optimism and his character Candide's journey towards the Enlightenment are discussed.

Pangloss is meant not to attack Leibnitz, but rather optimism as a philosophy. Thus the reader cannot forget that all of Pangloss 's ramblings in some way represent an often-humorous characterization of the "typical" optimist, or Leibnitz follower. Pangloss, writes Voltaire, "Proved admirably that there cannot possibly be an effect without a cause, and that in this best of all possible worlds the Baron 's castle was the most beautiful of all castles and his wife the best of all possible baronesses" (319). Thus Voltaire establishes Pangloss as the champion of optimism.