Candide Reflective Analysis

Superior Essays
From the interactive oral presented by my classmates, I was able to gain a deeper understandings of the philosophy and social structures of the time period in Candide. The value of the enlightenment ideas and the contrast between different social classes were super beneficial and allowed me to further develop the true understanding of the text.
The novel, written in the time period of the enlightenment, reflects many aspect of the key ideas about philosophy. The Enlightenment movement encourages people to emphasize reasoning and rational thinking instead of theories and philosophies. This was a key aspect in the book because the ideas of optimism and pessimism are satirized in the book by the author to bring forth the idea of rationalism and
…show more content…
Candide lived a blissful life with the idea of optimism taught by his philosophical tutor, Pangloss. Thunder-ten-tronckh is described to be the “most beautiful and delightful of all possible mansion” (21). The Garden of Eden resembled the castle in that both were described as the absolute paradise where one may live in wealth and harmony. Adam and Eve enjoyed this paradise until they consume the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge where they were banished from Eden forever. Similarly, Cunegonde discovered “Dr. Pangloss behind some bushes giving a lesson in experimental physics” (21). After witnessing this event, she wasn’t afraid of the consequences to make love to Candide. Wanting Cunegonde, similar to Adam wanting the fruit bore by The Knowledge Tree, Candide was fooled by the desire inhibited within himself. This biblical allusion to The Garden of Eden portrays Pangloss’s action to that of the serpent. The “experimental physic” lead Cunnegon to make love to Candide and discriminated him from the palace which parallels to when Adam and Eve were banished from the gardener Eden. This act that Candide has committed exiled him his paradise where he lived a contented life of wealth and power. Similarly, the Garden of Eden portrays Adam and Eve in a perfect world while failing to stay there …show more content…
In the final scene, Candide along with the remaining characters own and cultivate a garden in Turkey. Candide undermines his philosophical thinking by saying that, “We must go and work on our garden” (143). Wanting to cultivate the garden suggested Candide’s abandonment of abstract philosophy. This garden symbolizes Candide realization that he will never be like he wishes. He was once wealthy, but that didn’t make him happy. He discovered that beauty doesn’t last forever because even Cunegonde is “decidedly ugly” (144). By working in the garden he is able to support each character and have enough to eat. Candide compensates that he had nothing left and none of his optimistic hope came true so he abandoned that idea and work hard for his future. The garden also resembles “The garden of Eden” as said by Pangloss (143). The reference to The Garden of Eden similar to the garden at Thunder-ten-tronckh, was to symbolize the content life of Adam and Eve before God banishes them. The perfect life of Adam and Eve happened at the beginning of the story while in contrast, Candide’s garden appears at the end of the novel. Candide truly found a blissful life only after he had experienced the misfortune of the world. People suffer outside of the garden from societal causes but the fate of the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    This shows the Voltaire’s style of criticizing the arrogance. So that, it could be clear why Candide said “We must cultivate our garden” (88). In this sentence, Voltaire clears the idea of simple life and how those people do not concern with other people’s affairs. On the other hand, this sentence indicates the new era that Candide decided to start. He pronounced that he is going to change the way he lives.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Candide by Voltaire Candide starts the story as an optimistic person just like his teacher Pangloss. Candide is a faithful student, but as his life goes on he begins to change the way he looks at things. Candide foolish way of thinking starts to melt away, as his experience the world more. He starts to think and becomes convinced that evil is part of the world.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Candide: Class and Wealth In his novel Candide, Voltaire uses satire to show the folly of wealth and class status. One of the major themes of the novel is how those with wealth and higher social class corrupt and gain power over others. The classes, the poor and the wealthy, are often in conflict with each other, and wealth is often fleeting—gone as fast as it was obtained. Candide, the naïve protagonist of the story, encounters many examples of injustice throughout his journey of love and enlightenment.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the beginning of his novel, “Candide,” Voltaire introduces the character Pangloss and his greatest philosophical and spiritual ideas he passes to Candide and Cunégonde: “Pangloss gave instruction in metaphysico-theologico-cosmoloonigology. He proved admirably that there cannot possibly be an effect without a cause and that in this best of all possible worlds the Baron’s castle was the best of all castles and his wife the best of all possible Baronesses. It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end. Observe: noses were made to support spectacle, hence we have spectacles.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Candide is a work of satire written in 1759. The author of this novella was born François-Marie Arouet, but he is better known by his pen name Voltaire. This work was condemned by both the church and the government due to its unforgiving nature concerning the ideas of philosophy, religion, and optimism. He even denied that Candide was his work, writing under another name of “Dr. Ralph” to keep his identity further secret.…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Candide Writing Assessment Candide is a satirical work that focuses around how someone sees the world. For Pangloss and his philosophy, the world could only bring out good and everything eventually could be traced back to a good consequence. Candide was a great believer in this philosophy and always tried to be optimistic. This blind optimism, though, could not always hold up. When Candide is with Martin and sees the crippled slave, he just could not see how any good could come about because of his condition.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Most notably, the German philosopher Leibniz had espoused his doctrine of Optimism as a response to the problem of evil, where all is for the best in ‘the best of all possible worlds’. Voltaire, however, ridiculed this idea in Candide in response to the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, noting in a letter dated 24 November how it is ‘difficult to explain how the laws of motion can produce such fearful disasters in the best of all possible worlds’. A cultural transformation also permeated the Enlightenment, which stemmed from three sources: rationalism, empiricism and a rekindled interest in nature. Rousseau in particular was a prominent proponent of the last of these three, and argued that men was by nature free, though at the same time he was overwhelmingly pessimistic about freeing humanity from the shackles of corrupt institutions that were in place. On man by nature being free, it is found in Candide as the protagonist ‘remonstrate[s] [...] about freedom of the will’ when faced with the possibility of two forms of punishment from the Bulgars.…

    • 1608 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    General McArthur World Literary Types Matthew Bardowell 12/8/17 Essay #2 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography of a mans life as a slave and how he became the person he is today. This narrative starts with Frederick as a little boy. It describes his experience as a child.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gender Roles In Candide

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Voltaire’s Candide: Women’s Role in Society Women during the 1700s, the time period during which the novel is set, understood they had very little power; and it was only through men that they could exert any influence. Women at this time were seen as mere objects that acted as conciliation prizes for the gain of power and their sole use was for reproduction. Maintaining the duty of tiding the home and looking after the children, no outlet for an education or a chance to make a voice for themselves. Men acted as the leading voice in society, making all substantial decisions for women. The hierarchy of genders was ever so present and was based on the physical differences between men and women.…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    11. What does "We must cultivate our garden," Candide's epiphany, mean in the context of Voltaire's satire? In the context of 21st century life? Voltaire satirizes both Pangloss’s beliefs and Martin’s beliefs to show the absurdity of their philosophies.…

    • 1928 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mankind creates all of the constructs that it places upon itself, negatively impacting their experience in this world. Corruption in government, religion, and even romance are all things that someone can take steps to avoid but chose not to because one feels the desire and lust for power and other idiotic things, and in the midst, think they are pursuing a happy life. Candide is a satirical novel written by Voltaire, that highlights and exposes this false logic. The book can and still will have different interpretations.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Although it appears to be an example of an “Eden story”, there are some odd points to be made (Male 102). In Rappaccini’s garden, all is bad, except for the one good, who is Giovanni, and it is looked after by someone who is very bad, Rappaccini. This is the opposite of the Garden of Eden, where all is good except for the forbidden tree, and God looks over the garden instead of Satan. Beatrice can have many roles in this parallel between the garden of Rappaccini and Eden.…

    • 2030 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Furthermore, Candide serves as a source of historical information in this class. I feel this book portrays one person’s view of historical content relevant to the period of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. Even more, since Voltaire was born and lived during this period, I feel he could have used some of his personal experiences in this book. He could have incorporated what he saw and based some of the characters from the people he knew. I feel like this is a good source of historical information because it has allowed me to experience history in a new way.…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the climax of Voltaire’s novel Candide, the main character Candide’s wife Cunegonde is enslaved in another country against her will. “A Bulgarian captain came in, saw me all bleeding, and the solder not in the least disconcerted. The captain flew into a passion at the disrespectful behavior of the brute, and slew him on my body. ”(17) This image portrays Cunegonde being sexually abused and rescued by a member of the Bulgarian Army.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Candide is a French satire novel written by Voltaire, who was a philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment. Candide criticizes religion, politics, and philosophy, with Voltaire combining his wittiness with a comedic and adventurous romance story. Candide has several main themes, one of the themes is how it is foolish to be optimistic, and the story of Candide repeatedly tells us this. Another theme is criticizing how Pangloss 's philosophical theology of things were meant to happen, is flawed and useless. Candide also strongly criticizes organized religion throughout the story, by showing the reader religious leaders who are corrupt and do not follow their doctrines.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays