Our struggles define us. That which we have difficulty in accomplishing eventually develops our character. Voltaire’s masterpiece Candide is a chronicle of Candide’s journey of self-discovery. Voltaire uses plot and the philosophy of his time to explore Candide’s character. Candide’s journey takes him through a spectrum of suffering, but also gives him brief moments of happiness which he then compares to his suffering. Through these moments of pain and pleasure, Candide derives his personal identity. Voltaire pushes Candide through happiness and suffering to develop Candide’s philosophy.
Candide, in the beginning of the story, has complete faith in his teacher’s philosophy. Candide is taught in the castle of the Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh …show more content…
He is only able to be optimistic when comparing his fate to the misfortunes of others. After learning of the hardships faced by the six kings he has the pleasure of dining with, he remarks to Martin, “My dear Martin, once again I see that Pangloss was right: all is well” (Voltaire 82). He has only lost a hundred sheep; the kings, however, have all been deposed and stripped of their happiness. Then, only a page after this declaration, Candide, after learning that the rest of the fortune from Eldorado has been lost, calls it a “dreadful chain of calamities, each linked to the next” (Voltaire 83). Candide eventually has the opportunity of confronting Pangloss himself on his philosophy, asking him, “While you were being hanged, and dissected, and beaten, and made to row in a galley, did you continue to believe that all was for the best?” (Voltaire 88). Candide, after his misadventures, has grown to reject Pangloss’s teachings. Instead he learns to develop his own philosophy. In the final sentence of Voltaire’s work, Candide responds to Pangloss’s attempt to explain Candide’s journeys in a positive way, saying “That is well said… but we must cultivate our
Candide, in the beginning of the story, has complete faith in his teacher’s philosophy. Candide is taught in the castle of the Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh …show more content…
He is only able to be optimistic when comparing his fate to the misfortunes of others. After learning of the hardships faced by the six kings he has the pleasure of dining with, he remarks to Martin, “My dear Martin, once again I see that Pangloss was right: all is well” (Voltaire 82). He has only lost a hundred sheep; the kings, however, have all been deposed and stripped of their happiness. Then, only a page after this declaration, Candide, after learning that the rest of the fortune from Eldorado has been lost, calls it a “dreadful chain of calamities, each linked to the next” (Voltaire 83). Candide eventually has the opportunity of confronting Pangloss himself on his philosophy, asking him, “While you were being hanged, and dissected, and beaten, and made to row in a galley, did you continue to believe that all was for the best?” (Voltaire 88). Candide, after his misadventures, has grown to reject Pangloss’s teachings. Instead he learns to develop his own philosophy. In the final sentence of Voltaire’s work, Candide responds to Pangloss’s attempt to explain Candide’s journeys in a positive way, saying “That is well said… but we must cultivate our