Candide Reflection
Candide Reflection
The enthralling story of Candide written by ancient philosopher Voltaire, features a story of a naive man named Candide. The adventures that the main character faces are entwined with the stories and happenings of those he encounters such as the old woman, Pangloss, Cacambo, Paquette, Cunegard, Martin, and many more. Voltaire writes about historical events such as the German wars, Dutch wars, the Inquisition, the newly discovered lands of the Americas, the undiscovered territory of El Dorado, and some more miniscule events. Candide and his dear philosopher friend Pangloss hold to the idea that “everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” This idea is a simplified version of the thinking of many Enlightenment philosophers of the time. Voltaire does not accept that a perfect God can possibly exist, and throughout the novel mocks the idea that the world must be completely good, and throws merciless satire on it. The optimists, Pangloss and Candide, suffer and witness a wide variety of horrors—floggings, rapes, robberies, unjust executions, disease, an earthquake, betrayals, wars, trickery, lies, unhappiness, and yet retain their point in a stubborn manner. Their argument begin to be absurd and as the reader I found myself laughing at the dumb manner Candide seemed follow his life theory. In Voltaire’s Candide, the main sources of evil he identifies are authority, money, and religion. Voltaire clearly expresses that philosophical thought is useless and wrong. Pangloss, the character most affected by this folly, time and time again is prevented from making reasonable decisions in difficult situations. If asked if nature is a force for good or evil Pangloss would say that it is ultimately all for the greater good of the world, but Voltaire’s irony is in this beautiful. He personally sees nature as a destroying evil that can be explained with no reasoning and prevented by no means. He also believes that the use of reason and being
The enthralling story of Candide written by ancient philosopher Voltaire, features a story of a naive man named Candide. The adventures that the main character faces are entwined with the stories and happenings of those he encounters such as the old woman, Pangloss, Cacambo, Paquette, Cunegard, Martin, and many more. Voltaire writes about historical events such as the German wars, Dutch wars, the Inquisition, the newly discovered lands of the Americas, the undiscovered territory of El Dorado, and some more miniscule events. Candide and his dear philosopher friend Pangloss hold to the idea that “everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” This idea is a simplified version of the thinking of many Enlightenment philosophers of the time. Voltaire does not accept that a perfect God can possibly exist, and throughout the novel mocks the idea that the world must be completely good, and throws merciless satire on it. The optimists, Pangloss and Candide, suffer and witness a wide variety of horrors—floggings, rapes, robberies, unjust executions, disease, an earthquake, betrayals, wars, trickery, lies, unhappiness, and yet retain their point in a stubborn manner. Their argument begin to be absurd and as the reader I found myself laughing at the dumb manner Candide seemed follow his life theory. In Voltaire’s Candide, the main sources of evil he identifies are authority, money, and religion. Voltaire clearly expresses that philosophical thought is useless and wrong. Pangloss, the character most affected by this folly, time and time again is prevented from making reasonable decisions in difficult situations. If asked if nature is a force for good or evil Pangloss would say that it is ultimately all for the greater good of the world, but Voltaire’s irony is in this beautiful. He personally sees nature as a destroying evil that can be explained with no reasoning and prevented by no means. He also believes that the use of reason and being