Candide is the story about a boy, who falls in love, ends up far from his lover, before finally reuniting with her, after various trials, losses and triumphs. But it’s a little more complicated than that: Candide is the story about a boy who rejects the thought process he’s always stood behind, rejects the opposite of said process, reunites with his family of sorts, and establishes a new school of thought. Voltaire’s Candide is a satirical work, criticizing both the optimistic and pessimistic train of thought. In the work, Voltaire touches upon Enlightenment ideas, which in turn, helped lead to the outbreak of the French Revolution. Voltaire’s Candide reflects certain Enlightenment ideas, while rejecting various trains of thought, ultimately
…show more content…
In Candide, the scholar, Martin, is a pessimist. He only sees the evils of the world, including humanity and the rest of the world’s inhabitants. When Candide questions Martin if he believes that men have always been liars, cheaters and murderers, Martin responds that if one can accept that hawks will always kill pigeons, then one should not expect men to change their nature (Voltaire, 59). Candide and Martin continue to have this philosophical debate, with neither of them accepting the others point of view. Voltaire treats Martin’s philosophy of pessimism and character much more seriously than that of Pangloss. While Pangloss is easily written off to be a silly man believing in silly ideals, Martin’s ideas are taken much more earnestly. That is, until Martin is finally shown to be wrong about something, and feels no remorse. Martin, convinced that Candide was abandoned by his companion Cacambo, unmercifully tells Candide so, until Cacambo really does reunite with Candide. Martin’s philosophy was seen as incorrect, and he had no reaction (Voltaire, 79), thus showing that Martin was just as obstinate in his beliefs as the optimistic Pangloss. Candide, and by extension the reader, dismisses the thought of pessimism, and it is not taken as a serious thought process one believes in, showing Voltaire’s rejection of the …show more content…
The novella ends with Candide stating that they “must cultivate the garden” (Voltaire, 94). This can show how Candide believes they have responsibility over their actions, rather than responsibility resting solely on God’s shoulders. This idea of taking control over your actions, which was an Enlightenment ideal, was seen in the revolutionaries of France. Voltaire himself said, “Everything I see scatters the seeds of a revolution which will definitely come… Enlightenment has gradually spread so that… there will be a fine uproar” (Merriman, 320). Voltaire means that the seeds of the revolution were in place from the Enlightenment, and it’s up to the revolutionaries to cultivate the garden. Those revolutionaries wanted advancements, so they created revolutionary groups to force the
In Candide, the scholar, Martin, is a pessimist. He only sees the evils of the world, including humanity and the rest of the world’s inhabitants. When Candide questions Martin if he believes that men have always been liars, cheaters and murderers, Martin responds that if one can accept that hawks will always kill pigeons, then one should not expect men to change their nature (Voltaire, 59). Candide and Martin continue to have this philosophical debate, with neither of them accepting the others point of view. Voltaire treats Martin’s philosophy of pessimism and character much more seriously than that of Pangloss. While Pangloss is easily written off to be a silly man believing in silly ideals, Martin’s ideas are taken much more earnestly. That is, until Martin is finally shown to be wrong about something, and feels no remorse. Martin, convinced that Candide was abandoned by his companion Cacambo, unmercifully tells Candide so, until Cacambo really does reunite with Candide. Martin’s philosophy was seen as incorrect, and he had no reaction (Voltaire, 79), thus showing that Martin was just as obstinate in his beliefs as the optimistic Pangloss. Candide, and by extension the reader, dismisses the thought of pessimism, and it is not taken as a serious thought process one believes in, showing Voltaire’s rejection of the …show more content…
The novella ends with Candide stating that they “must cultivate the garden” (Voltaire, 94). This can show how Candide believes they have responsibility over their actions, rather than responsibility resting solely on God’s shoulders. This idea of taking control over your actions, which was an Enlightenment ideal, was seen in the revolutionaries of France. Voltaire himself said, “Everything I see scatters the seeds of a revolution which will definitely come… Enlightenment has gradually spread so that… there will be a fine uproar” (Merriman, 320). Voltaire means that the seeds of the revolution were in place from the Enlightenment, and it’s up to the revolutionaries to cultivate the garden. Those revolutionaries wanted advancements, so they created revolutionary groups to force the