Essays on Candide

Written in 1759, Voltaire’s Candide is an adventure novel that tracks the life of Candide, an innocent boy who is desperately in love with a girl. However, this love story is unusual in that Candide embarks on a number of journeys and faces tough situations, and all underneath a satiric writing style. Candide teases the archetypal coming-of-age novel and particularly literature’s representation of romantic love. As Nelly Severin points out: ‘Some critics have seen in Candide a parody of “romance” and Voltaire certainly used an array of “romance” commonplaces, such as shipwrecks, pirates, bastard births, abductions and ...

Section 1

One of the famous stories of the 18th century is written by Voltaire in which he tried to deliver his message to the readers through the experiences of Candide (the main character of this story). For that, he showed that Candide believed in the theory to live his life. However, the theories on which Candide lived his his life repeatedly put him to the test throughout this story. Even then, Candide did not change his views and learned from his experiences. Through this story, Voltaire tried to give a lesson to the readers. I believe that there are five ...

Question I

The Way of the World is an English play written by William Congreve. The play’s story is centered on the affair between two lovers Mirabell and Millamant. Both of whom were in love with each other. For most of the scenes in the play, they were planning for their future married life. In the presented excerpt from The Way of the World, love was presented in a unique way. The presented text centered on the plans of the two after their wedding. To be more specific, they were planning what to call and what not to call each ...

The concept of self has been viewed differently throughout the periods of cultural development. People always were trying to focus or omit the concept of their self personality and relationship with their self-esteem. The concept of self representation has been quite researching by the literary critiques. Many of them have addressed the issue. Eurocentricity is a part of Renaissance and its development, at least in the literary world. Eurocentrism is the practice, cognizant or something else, of putting accentuation on European (and, for the most part, Western) concerns, culture and values to the detriment of those of different societies. ...

Voltaire has been considered as a writer of the Enlightenment era, where the writers would initiate a change in the way of the present society through their writings. In his book Candide, Voltaire sought to satirize the entire theme of the way women were treated in the 1800s. While the book's main protagonist is a male, the underlining's of the book is based on a female, Cunegonde. The protagonist of the book, Candide lives at the mayor's house under the study of Doctor Pangloss. Candide falls in love with the daughter of the mayor, Cunegonde. However, when the mayor ...

Candide by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire is a satirical work whose main idea is challenging the widely accepted beliefs in the society. The concept of optimism is one which is heavily satirized through the experiences of the characters presented in the book. The basic idea of the novel was to challenge the beliefs and philosophies that scholars during the Enlightenment period held as the truth. According to the thinkers, God was a perfect God, and this meant that the world; his creation would be perfect. The book uses characters such as Pangloss and Candide, who hold on to the optimism ...

Molière and Voltaire are thought to be the masters of satire due to their outstanding literary artworks. Their stories usually focus on the modern society, which is usually full with flaws. The authors are responsible for making those flaws not only obvious to the readers, who are not always educated, but also showing them in a humorous way. This genre was very popular back then, but it can still be seen in on TVs and in the modern books. However, nowadays, people are free to express their dissatisfaction with the world. Back then, it was often dangerous to ...

Voltaire identifies various flaws in the society that he lived. The scenario in the Voltaire’s world is analogous to the situation in the modern society. In his book, Voltaire highlights the problems in his society. He uses satire to express his discomfort about various issues in his society. The paper highlights how Voltaire’s approach of the use of satire can successfully be employed in building a better future. The paper suggests the plot of the book, which Voltaire would most likely write in today’s world. Essentially, the paper highlights how Voltaire would present these issues ...

Voltaire’s Candide is one of the most famous works of literature that has won over the scythe of time remaining as popular as ever even in the modern day world. The work in context is the testimony of quintessential artistry on the part of the author, and it goes on to echo in the minds of the avid readers with the timelessness of the thematic content that are so very aesthetically portrayed by the stalwart literary artist. If one makes a close introspection regarding the thematic content of the literary work, it would become clear as crystal why this ...

In a world where most people will only be interested in those things that satisfy their selfish whims, it is unlikely that one would passionate about the general happiness of others in the society. The concept of happiness is an emotional state of wellness that is manifest by the exuberance of pleasant emotions that emanates from a feeling of contentment and joy. However, this definition at best does not capture all the multi-facets of happiness as it may be construed by different persons. Disparities in meaning and construction have been raised by commentators who confine happiness to the hedonistic tradition of ...

“Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift is considered one of greatest satirical literary works in the world literature heritage. To the great extent “Candide” ranks Voltaire on the same level of significance as one of the greatest satirists in the world literature. Satire is “a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule”. (Literary Devices) The goal of satire is improving humanity by means of criticizing and mocking its foolishness and weakness. In satire a writer uses fictional characters, which actually hint at real people ...

World literature Topic Literature always gives an opportunity for people to explore the cultural diversity in the society. Most literary works, as depicted in the works of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, V1:1801-1900, Candide, VII: 97-159, and Popol Vuh, V1: 1905-1920 bar plots that were obtained from different sources, showing the rich research embraced when coming up with the texts. In line with the distributed plays, acting versions, feedback, and adjustments can moreover shed light on decisions made in performing the plays. The listed texts, especially basing on their cultural perspectives that people always accentuate to, can regularly help a variety ...

Religion is one of the major themes portrayed in candied. Voltaire’s mockery is mainly focused on religion. Voltaire criticizes religion throughout the entire book. He brings out religion as morally bankrupt and corrupt. The religious figures in Candide include the Jesuit baron, the inquisitor and the protestant minister. Voltaire despises the corruption found in the clergy of the Catholic Church. An elderly woman helps Candide to re unite with his love, Cunegonde, after a long time. While on a ship, the three share stories of the experiences and troubles that they had gone through. Initially the old woman says “I ...

Philosophical optimism is one of the major topics in Voltaire’s Candide. Throughout the story, Voltaire’s has employed satirical references to describe “the best of all possible worlds” as stated by Dr. Pangloss, contrasting them with the natural disasters and the evil that human beings engage in. Dr. Pangloss and Martin, major characters in the novel, have different views of the world. Dr. Pangloss is seen as an advocate of philosophical optimism, believing that everything is for the best and that evil exists as a means to the greater good (Mason 4). He sees everything as being for the ...

Philosophical optimism is one of the major topics in Voltaire’s Candide. Throughout the story, Voltaire’s has employed satirical references to describe “the best of all possible worlds” as stated by Dr. Pangloss, contrasting them with the natural disasters and the evil that human beings engage in. Dr. Pangloss and Martin, major characters in the novel, have different views of the world. Dr. Pangloss is seen as an advocate of philosophical optimism, believing that everything is for the best and that evil exists as a means to the greater good (Mason 4). He sees everything as being for the ...

Voltaire’s was a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment whose most famous work is the novella Candide explores many of the popular schools of thoughts of the Enlightenment period. 1759, the year that Candide was first published was a time of great change of thought happening in Europe and the novel presents ideas found in three of the dominant school’s of thought, Rationalisms, Skepticism, and romanticism. By exploring these philosophies and showing how Candide treats them, we come to the conclusions that it was not Voltaire’s intent to support any of this particular schools of thought but to ...

Modern culture is so saturated in satire that it is difficult to find works that pursue the authentic and the sincere. Once works like 1984 and Brave New World opened the floodgates of cynicism and skepticism that the events of the two World Wars made to seem the proper perspective. Today, works like The Onion make satire a part of the culture. Popular programs such as Saturday Night Live and Conan live off satire, which means that members of modern culture look at life with a half-satiric eye. In the time of the first modern satirists, such as Voltaire and Jonathan ...

In Candide, François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) humorously criticizes power, love, wealth philosophy, education, religion as well as optimism. Throughout this book, Candide does several things the wrong way, which the author uses to exaggeratedly elucidate the inhumanities of man in a humorous way. This paper seeks to discuss the role of humor as presented in Voltaire’s book, Candide, which is a humorous satire criticizing the aforementioned phenomena in the society in which he lived. The use of humor in this book assisted the author to reach his audience and reduced the amount of criticism for his book, considering that he ...

At first glance, William Blake’s selection of poetry in Songs of Innocence and Experience seems to be vastly different than the satirical masterpiece that is Voltaire’s Candide. However, despite being very different works of literature, both of the pieces were created in the same time period, and in the same political and international climate (Blake and Lincoln). Both of the literary works are concerned with similar themes, and with the changing political and social climate in western Europe during the mid- to late-eighteenth century. The theme of innocence and the pain of acquiring knowledge is a common thread ...

Candide is a piece written by Voltaire and is still relevant today. The piece was written in order to warn the public of consequences of radical optimism. Voltaire is known for his satirical work that is suggestive, and Candide is one of his masterpieces which demonstrate mastery of literature. Candide, the main character, is a young man who is naïve and also trusting and is banished from home. Despite the bizarre disaster that fills his life, he holds to his optimism fast. This is an example to the audience. Voltaire makes an emphasis of radical optimism dangers through incorporation of ...

The Islamic Mentality among Wisdom and Philosophy

In Candide, by Voltaire, I like the part in the book when (Paquette and Girofle) stops at a roadside farm and the farmer kindly invites them to a pleasant dinner. He only has a small farm, but the old man and his family work hard on it and lives an acceptable existence. Candide finds the farmer’s life appealing. He, Cunégonde, and his friends decide to follow it, and everyone is satisfied by hard work in the garden. Pangloss suggests to Candide once again that this is the best of possible worlds. Candide responds, “That is very well put . . . but we ...

‘Institutional Affiliation’

Candide / Voltaire Candide, penned by Voltaire, is one of the most significant literary works of the past few decades, not so much for its witty and humorous plot, as much for the way in which the author narrates the social and political issues of the eighteenth century, in a philosophical perspective. It is an excellent satiric novel that questioned many of the popular beliefs of its time and created much debate and criticism wherever it was published. The novel was so scandalous, that it was banned both by the church and secular authorities. In fact it was classified ...

Voltaire employs satire in his works Candide. Indeed, he takes the opportunity to show his disdain for the societal norms that dominate his times. It should be appreciated that his work comes at a time when Europe has a complex religious structure and an oppressive system. He employs symbolism in El Dorado, the city that has all the best. This paper shall discuss Candide’s religious intolerance. Through the main character, Candide, we witness absolute religious intolerance. Voltaire provides his solution to the religious intolerance in the conclusion when Candide enjoys a conversation with the old man in the city of El ...

In Voltaire’s Candide, the title character is a young, naïve man who knows little about the world, and who is thrust into dangerous situations that gradually undoes his perception of his world being “the best of all possible worlds,” taught to him by the philosopher and teacher Pangloss (Candide, p. 2) Candide starts out sheltered and then gains a greater understanding of the world around him, mostly because of an array of minor characters who teach him something along the way. One of these characters is Pangloss, who represents Voltaire's distaste for overly optimistic and abstract philosophers. Despite Pangloss' ...

Introduction The analysis of Candide in the perspective of the wider scope of Western movements and thought reveals that his work was highly essential in the historical social institutions. As Voltaire criticized various societal aspects, candide gives insight of unenlightened view that was the basis of the revolutionary movement inn France. Candide was also written in retribution against the opinions of historical eminent philosopher from Germany, who argued that humankind lives in the best of promising world.Voltaire writing is an attempt to dismantle this conception. This historical paper therefore, gives a deep analysis of how Voltaire conveys the vital message ...

Optimism has never done very well in literature, or any of the written media. From the very beginning, the stories that were recorded for posterity revolved around chaos, around, heartache, around tragedy. The Book of Job, considered by many to be the oldest part of the Old Testament, is about a wager between God and his adversary over the morals of a man; that man's family and possessions are the chattel in that wager. The earliest Greek writings include the tragedies of Sophocles and Aeschylus; the plots include twists that might even make the Kardashians blush: a son murdering his father (without ...

Gender roles and gender-related stereotypes are often depicted in literary works. For example, Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” could be considered misogynistic because it promotes the stereotype that women are the root of all evil, manipulate men for their selfish needs, and create chaos because all female characters in the play show that form of behavior. On the other hand, it is also possible to notice the lack of stability and logic in the main character Macbeth who is depicted as a naïve, indecisive, and dependent character. In “Candide,” it is possible to notice that Voltaire depicts the vulnerability and ...

Candide is Voltaire’s attack on the philosophy of such Enlightenment thinkers as as Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, who believed that the present world was the best of all possible worlds, and that all things turn out for the best. They also believed that God exists, and since God has to be perfect, his world has to be perfect as well. The only reason that people see imperfection in the world is that they have limitations on their understanding. The violence that happens around (and to) Candide, and his fellow optimist, Pangloss, is Voltaire’s way of ridiculing the ...

Gender roles and gender-related stereotypes are often depicted in literary works. For example, Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” could be considered misogynistic because it promotes the stereotype that women are the root of all evil, manipulate men for their selfish needs, and create chaos because all female characters in the play show that form of behavior. On the other hand, it is also possible to notice the lack of stability and logic in the main character Macbeth who is depicted as a naïve, indecisive, and dependent character. In “Candide,” it is possible to notice that Voltaire depicts the vulnerability and ...

In the story Candide by Voltaire, satire has been largely used. Satire is mainly used by authors to criticize members of the society such as leaders and other prominent people. In the book Candide, Voltaire uses satire to criticize other philosophers. Voltaire had a different view about life as compared to other philosophers and this is why he uses satire to argue against the arguments of other philosophers (Frautschi, 43). The other philosophers claimed that the society has no problems and therefore people from different society live a good life. However, candied argues that the society is not perfect since it ...

Abstract

Products of the Enlightenment, Voltaire and William Hogarth were pioneers and masters of satire, a comic form with a long venerable history reaching back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Both were apt observers of a society adrift in a sea of moral aimlessness, rotten with greed, ambition and cynicism. Voltaire’s Candide and Hogarth’s great paintings and engravings both entertain and inform, using exaggeration to ridicule the behavioral excesses of rich and poor alike.

As products of the Enlightenment, Voltaire and William Hogarth expressed their contempt for those bourgeois manifestations of society that would eventually bring down the French nobility, the Bourbon ...

Dependence is one aspect of life which we cannot run away from. Human beings are dependent on others, just as nations depend on other nations. However, if the dependence is not handled or treated with the sensitivity it deserves, then cruelty, violence, inequality and other unjust social practices emerge. The inequality in life produces two classes of individuals, the masters and the servants, the employers and the employees, or the providers and the dependants. Candide’s philosophy, which advises us to “cultivate our gardens,” can be a breakthrough from the social injustices that result from careless handling of dependence. Biblically, a ...

Candide and Madame Bovary

In Voltaire’s Candide, the title character, Candide, is a young, naïve man who knows little about the world, and who is thrust into dangerous situation after dangerous situation that gradually undoes his perception of his world being “the best of all possible worlds.” (Candide, p. 2) Emma Bovary of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, on the other hand, is weary of her own empty life and seeks out excitement in the form of dangerous liaisons and money deals. In both of these works, the characters start out sheltered and then gain a greater understanding of the world around them. ...

The author Voltaire and his ideas shaped the overall philosophy during the Enlightenment. His novella Candide, written in 1759, helped open the eyes of people throughout Europe to the hypocrisy and cruel nature of the outside world, proving that there were problems with aristocracy and religion that had to be addressed. These kinds of ideas helped form the basis for the French and American Revolutions.

Voltaire was a strict deist, and his works, Candide included, served to deconstruct faith and fundamentalism – they taught that European styles of hereditary aristocracy, especially regarding organized religion, did not hold up when weighed against ...

In Voltaire’s Candide, we see an incredibly prescient bit of satire, as the titular character, Candide, experiences an episodic, darkly comedic, eerily satirical breakdown of all the things he thinks he knows about the world. Over the course of the book, everything from war to love to polite society itself is lampooned, broken down and exposed for the farce that it is. Candide comes to understand that, contrary to what he believed in the beginning, he is not living in “the best of all possible worlds.”

Candide has a lot of fun lampooning the tenets of polite European society, ...