Hypocrisy In Candide

In the words of Steve Marboli, “Religious dogma creates a perfect fertilizer for the weeds of hypocrisy” (Marboli). During the 1700s, religious intuitions and the oppressive government systems held power. The most influential of all was the Catholic Church, which was considered to be sacred and above in the state authority and importance. However, in Voltaire’s novel, Candide, he uses characters to exploit and depict the prejudice, hypocrisy, and corruption in the religious leaders and intuitions through the use of satire. In addition, he contrasts the European religion with the perfect city, El Dorado’s beliefs. Voltaire’s view of organized religion is presented throughout the novel. Voltaire uses the agent Inquisitors and Grand Inquisitor …show more content…
The Jesuits are “a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church” (Lim). The Jesuits have a corrupt nature. This is exemplified when there was an excellent breakfast served with cool arbor while the Paraguayans were eating outside in the scorching heat: “An excellent breakfast was provided in vessels of gold, and while the Paraguayans were eating coarse Indian corn out of wooden dishes in the open air, and exposed to the burning heat of the sun, the reverend father commandment retired to his cool arbor” (Voltaire, 42). This demonstrates the corrupt nature because the Jesuits grabbed the wealth and power away from the government during the Paraguay rebellion. This left the poor Paraguayans as an impoverished servant of the power and wealthy Jesuits and a mere pawn. The Jesuits are not willing to help them in their situations, either. Voltaire also criticized the Jesuits for their melodramatic nature. This is evident when Candide meets the colonel: “On this they both drew a few steps backwards, then running into each other’s arms, embraced, and wept profusely (Voltaire, 43). But, this sweet reunion didn’t last long until Candide shares the hope to marry Cunegonde. There was a sudden change in the colonel’s tone: “You! You have the impudence to marry my sister, who bears seventy-two quarterings (Voltaire, 45)! The colonel mistreats Candide and insults him because he is lower than him in the society. It also shows the European aristocracy and arrogance. Lastly, Voltaire attacks the Jesuit priest for being a hypocrite and going against the Jesuit principles. This is evident when the colonel tells Candide how a Jesuit priest took him in order because he found him physically attractive: “I was very handsome; I became still more so, and the Reverend Father Croust, superior of that house, took a great fancy to me;” (Voltaire, 44). Here, it is suggested that the colonel and the Jesuit