Does Candide Deserve His Fate

For instance, a conversation with a Venetian lord causes a stimulating observation from Candide, who asks Martin, “but still there must certainly be a pleasure in criticizing everything, and in perceiving faults where other think they see beauties” (Voltaire, 98). Then, Martin agrees with him and says, “that is…there is pleasure in having no pleasure” (Voltaire, 98). This behavior continues throughout the rest of the story. By the end, the main characters have established themselves on a small piece of land where they live free from all of the evil they have faced throughout the story. However, the narrator still explains a continuation of the characteristic that is seen in the old woman and Martin.

Candide is brought up amongst greed, reared in a castle in a small corner of the world in Westphalia with the privileges of being the son of a baron’s sister, his life is ultimately influenced by this example of money and power. His journey into the world, after his expulsion, begins with the notion that “everything is for the best” from his philosopher Pangloss that every cause has a reaction (Voltaire 2). It isn’t until he is out of Europe traveling with his servant

In a way, Pangloss is Candide’s “father-figure”. As no physical father is present in Candide’s life, Pangloss’s teachings install order and opinion in his world. Whenever introduced to something new- terrible or grand- throughout this novel Candide’s first thought is always about Pangloss; what he would say about it or how he would react. Pangloss physically bounces in and out of this novel, infrequently, but in reference he is in the entire book. Page four in chapter one, while setting up the background for Candide, Voltaire includes an educational and philosophical speech by Pangloss in which he ends by stating, “...all is for the best.” This direct quote continues to influence Candide throughout his quest. This quote initiates an optimistic attitude in Candide which will encourage him throughout his adventures.

Candide is introduced to the story as an acquiescent youth with a simplistic view on life. His perception on reality has been formed from an overly optimistic theory explained by his friend and personal tutor Pangloss. The ultimate vision, which is Pangloss's theory, is extremely provincial in thought but the experience of those he teaches is exceedingly limited. This inexperience allows the hypothesis concerning “the best of all possible worlds” to influence Candide's mannerisms as well as his perceptions ultimately leading to Candide's

He was born to a world that had much potential, but in the end was also killed by the natural evil of man. Throughout

Candide grows up in a castle in Westphalia believing the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, specifically the optimistic belief that they are living in the “best of all possible worlds.” When Candide falls in love with Cunegonde, the daughter of the baron, he is thrown out of the castle and his hardships begin. Candide vows to find Cunegonde again. During his travels he experiences and witnesses much human suffering, but remains optimistic, especially when he is reunited with Pangloss. Candide eventually finds Cunegonde, but he begins to question the validity of Pangloss’s belief and to accept the idea of pessimism which is expressed by the character of Martin. Candide learns that “cause and effect” are a result of life experiences, not just optimistic thinking. He reaches the conclusion that hard work and objective results are what is most important, not extreme wealth. This is illustrated in the conclusion of the book when Candide meets a successful farmer. Candide and several of the other characters cultivate their own garden in which each person has his or her own role. With hard work and

In Voltaire’s Candide, the reader is taken on a journey that consists of floggings, rapes, murder, disease, an earthquake, and countless other atrocities. Candide becomes the primary receiver of these atrocities along with a few others. However, two men are important to note; Pangloss and Martin. Both men are masters of two very different philosophies. Pangloss, the embodiment of optimism, and Martin, the embodiment of pessimism. The two men are never with Candide together until the end, however both men try to indoctrinate Candide into their own philosophical beliefs. Throughout the story there is a constant alternation between optimism and pessimism. The two philosophies are like magnets of the same pole, they do not attract. Since Candide

Voltaire's Candide is a novel that is interspersed with superficial characters and conceptual ideas that are critically exaggerated and satirized. The parody offers cynical themes disguised by mockeries and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life narrowed to the concept of free will as opposed to blind faith driven by desire for an optimistic outcome. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic by Pangloss, his cheerful mentor, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world through the eyes of the troubled character, Martin. This raises the question of whether or not the notion of free will is valid due to Candide’s peculiar timing of his

Martin is another character who holds a philosophy that is not useful. Martin holds a pessimistic view of people, claiming that humans are innately evil. For example, he compares the natural evils in humans with the natural tendency for hawks to prey on pigeons (87). When Candide accuses Martin of being possessed by the devil, Martin says, “he is so deeply concerned in the affairs of this world that he may as well be in me, as well as in everybody else” (82). Contrary to Pangloss, who is in denial of societal faults, Martin has accepted suffering as a present part of life. Although acceptance is important, Voltaire criticizes pessimism to being as equally detrimental as optimism. Martin constantly criticizes the evil in people and finds the fault in others. When Candide trusts Cacambo to take on the great task of retrieving Cunegonde, Martin condemns Candide for foolishly trusting a person enough to think that he will do him any favors with large sums of money handed to him. This is evidence to further suggest his belief in the natural evils in people. When Candide increasingly loses hope in Cacambo ever returning with Cunegonde, Martin is “not consoling” and “continued to prove to him that there was very little virtue or happiness upon earth” (104). Because Martin’s statements do nothing to help Candide’s

Candide falls in love with his cousin Cunegunde and when caught kissing her is thrown out of his uncle’s home. Candide at this time in the story has no true understanding of the world and this leads him from bad to worse. He is tossed in the army where Voltaire shows that there is no winning in war and that the army can be a savage place. Candide is almost killed by his fellow soldiers for the simple act of taking a walk and later after running from the army sees the horrors of war after discovering two villages. The two villagers are on opposite sides of the war; but both have been plundered, men and children killed, and the women raped. During the entire story Candide finds himself is horrible situations like this; however he is able to stay true to the belief that he is living in the best of all possible works because after each hardship he finds some sort of out. Pangloss in Candide’s teacher and represent intellectuals of that time. He believes that with no doubt he is living in best of all possible worlds, however he is a simple-minded man who is somewhat blind to things happening around him. He ignores his own

Candide is in search for his love Cunegonde. He thinks that will be what makes him truly happy with life. She will make him a better man. As a reader I feel like Candide needs to understand himself first before he can actually be truly happy. It seems that no matter where he travels he finds a reason to be unhappy, no matter how beautiful the place is. He feels like if Cunegonde was there he’d be happy anywhere. I feel like he was not realizing how

When Candide is thrown out into the world, he is very naive and ignorant about the world. His first encounter is in Holland where he believed he might be better treated because they are

Martin is a character who is pessimistic through experience. After discovering that Cunegund is dead, through hearsay Candide reassess the situation feeling like a fool for leaving El Dorado. “I have nothing to do but follow her. Alas! how much better would it have been for me to have remained in the paradise of El Dorado than to have returned to this cursed Europe!

Starting the story in a Westphalian palace, Candide winds up in affection with Cunegonde, young lady of the Noble of the castle. He is instilled with Leibnitzian hopefulness by his mentor, Pangloss, who loves Paquette, of the royal residence. After straightforwardly demoing his affection for Cunegonde, Candide is immediately ousted by the Baron from the castle. Candide 's preeminent significant venture is his unwilled enrolling into the Bulgar ground powers. which opens him to the frenzies of physical and sexual abuse. each piece great as the deck power of fighting. After draw offing to escape the ground powers. Candide goes over a sort Anabaptist. Jacques. each piece great as Pangloss. who has been rendered syphilitic because of a prior brush with Paquette.

In Voltaire’s Candide, we are taken by the hand through an adventure which spanned two continents, several countries, and to a multitude of adverse characters. The protagonist, Candide, became the recipient of the horrors which would be faced by any person in the 18th century. But Candide was always accompanied with fellows sufferers, two of which our focus will lay, Pangloss and Martin. In equal respects, both are embodiments of different philosophies of the time: Pangloss the proponent of Optimism and Martin the proponent of Pessimism. Each of the two travelers is never together with Candide, until the end, but both entice him to picture the world in one of their two philosophies. Throughout the story there is an apparent ebb and flow