Comparing Wiesel's Candide And Night

In Voltaire’s Candide and Wiesel’s Night there are two competing philosophies of optimism and pessimism. Night is a memoir of Wiesel’s time spent in holocaust camps during World War II. It is heartbreakingly real and unapologetic, quite the opposite of Voltaire’s Candide , which is complete satire debunking the philosophy of optimism regarding the human condition. In both texts, the characters were experiencing war, religious intolerance, starvation and sickness, and both main characters, Elie and Candide, grew bitter and discouraged from their situations. Voltaire ends Candide with “we must cultivate our own garden”. This means that we are the ones responsible for our own destinies. This is hopeful because it hints towards an overall better …show more content…
Candide, the hero of the novel, travels around the world where he encounters many difficulties. During his travels, he sticks to the teaching of his tutor, Doctor Pangloss, believing that "everything is for the best." But, as things get more difficult, he often questions this concept. During the age of Enlightenment, German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, believed that if God had created the world therefore, the world must be perfect. He further explains that when human beings perceive something as unjust or wrong, it is merely because they do not understand the ultimate good that the experience is meant to serve. Leibniz is represented as Pangloss in the novel having the same philosophical viewpoints. Pangloss beliefs often render him and Candide unable to fully engage in the world around them; instead of focusing on analyzing the positive aspect in an experience, which is the downfall of such philosophy. An example of this would be when, instead of helping the Anabaptist from drowning, Candide and Pangloss ponder on why it was for the best. As an enlightenment writer Voltaire disagrees with his fellow philosopher arguing that some suffering in life has no explanation and cannot justify the belief that god has created “the best of all possible worlds”; which was Leibniz’s argument to help explain why evil exists. Voltaire pokes fun at such blind …show more content…
Throughout the text, Wiesel constantly questions the good nature of man and the existence of God, while he watches himself and thousands of Jews endure unspeakable hardships and immense sufferings. He writes, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.” Wiesel began the novel as a devout Jewish student. However, through his experiences at the multiple holocaust camps as he was deported, being shown no mercy and being exposed to complete tyranny, he concludes there must not be a God or decency in the world (Wiesel 34). He ultimately finds out that humans can truly be good. It is the strength of his character as well as the hopefulness of a renewed life, that makes Night a book of hope and optimism. While oppressed in the concentration camps, Elie latches to encouragement where he can, even in the words from his enemies. For example, while the Jews run through the freezing snow all night, the officers come by to cheer them on and reassure them that rest will come soon. Elie explains, “These words of encouragement did us a great deal of good. No one wanted to give up now, just before the end, so near to the goal”(Wiesel 88). On the final page of the book, Wiesel stares at himself in the mirror and explains, “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left