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Voltaire’s Candide reflects his aversion to Christian regimes of power and the arrogance of nobility while it also criticizes certain aspects of the philosophical movement of the Enlightenment. He attacks the school of optimism that challenges that rational thought can restrain the evils perpetrated by human beings. In other words, as he demolishes optimism, he pays tribute to human resilience. ... Because Voltaire didn’t accept that a perfect God (or any God) had to exist (Durant 27), he mocked the idea that the world was completely good by incorporating merciless satire on this idea throughout the novel. ...
It was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient
in the best of worlds; for if Columbus had
not in an Island of the Americas caught
this disease…we should have neither
chocolate nor cochineal (Voltaire 8). ...
One of the most glaring flaws of Pangloss’s optimism is that it is based on abstract philosophical argument rather than real-world evidence (Durant 33). ... For example, while James drowns, Pangloss stops Candide from saving him:
He [Candide] was just going to jump
after him but was prevented by the
philosopher Pangloss who demonstrated
to him that the bay of Lisbon had
been made on purpose for the Anabaptist
to be drowned (Voltaire 10). ...
In this novel, another element of society that Voltaire satirizes is organized religion. ... In addition, Voltaire adds Cunégonde’s brother, a Jesuit colonel with gay tendencies. But even with these numerous examples of hypocrisy and immortality in religious leaders, Voltaire does not condemn the everyday religious believer.
Approximate Word count = 1242
Approximate Pages = 5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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