Utopia In Voltaire's Candide

Voltaire was one of the greatest writers and philosophers during the age of enlightenment. Using his controversial works, including more than 50 plays, he was able to “knock mankind on the head and reassure it at the same time” (Academy). Throughout this era, the enlightenment was used to undercut religious belief and replace it with logical reasoning. This ideology was strongly opposed by Louis XIV, who was one of the best dictators at the time due to his intelligence. This became apparent when Voltaire was thrown into the Bastille for being disrespectful towards the government.
In Voltaire’s Candide, Candide struggles with the concept of what he considers a utopia, which is shaped by the influence of Pangloss, Martin, and his own personal experience.Starting in Westphalia, Candide blindly believes Pangloss’s theory when he says that the world they live in is the best of worlds including how “things cannot be other than they are, for since everything was made for a purpose, it follows …show more content…
Martin shaped Candide’s personal ideology as it allows him to see that there is indeed evil in the world as “crime is sometimes punished. That rogue of a Dutch captain has had the fate he deserved..but why should the passengers have perished too? God has punished a scoundrel, but the devil has drowned the rest” (Voltaire 94) in order to be a foil for Pangloss’s theory of optimism. This continued as the money that Candide was given from El Dorado had given him more trouble than its worth as he continuously got scammed and robbed which emphasized how defective the society he returned to was. Even when Candide tried to stay positive meeting Paquette and Giroflee, stating that they must me happy the truth quickly review reveals itself when Paquette tells Candide about her misfortunes after getting kicked out of the Barons house and Giroflee being forced to become a