Choosing A Name In Voltaire's Candide

Most people do not have the pleasure of choosing their own name. Infants are born and a name is slapped on them that becomes their permanent identity. Some may be given a name that is simply a pleasant combination of sounds. Others can be named in honor of an ancestor whose characteristics will hopefully be manifested in the child. Similarly, Voltaire does not hand out names arbitrarily in his novel Candide. He uses his cleverness to name his characters in a way that satirizes the individuals, religions, and cultures that surrounded him. Voltaire points his sharpened wit at society and the philosophies present at his time, specifically the beliefs that were expressed by Alexander Pope. Pope argues for an optimistic view of life, that the world and all of mankind is perfect and in the state that it was meant to be in. Voltaire disagrees and desires to prove that there is a lot of wrong and evil in the world that cannot be a product of divine destiny and perfection. One of the ways he accomplishes this is by giving the characters of Candide names that not only add to the satirical nature of the novel, but point out the issues found in society. He chooses names that …show more content…
His works are thought provoking and entertaining. In Candide he addresses the issues that he sees in society, specifically the social inequalities that are perpetuated by the philosophy of “whatever is, is right” and the practice of optimism. That philosophy makes people believe that they are not responsible for the outcomes of their actions. It allows religions to practice intolerance and injustice because they are justified by a divine plan. It makes people believe that if they are of a higher social class, they deserve to be there. The names that Voltaire gives to the characters in Candide add depth to the argument he makes against Pope’s philosophies by showing how ridiculous those philosophies become when applied to the actions of individuals and