François-Marie Arouet, later known by the name Voltaire, wrote Candide. A variety of disasters influenced Voltaire to write Candide. These disasters included an earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 and the execution of an English Admiral named John Byng (Voltaire 8). Voltaire made these disasters central topics in the plot of Candide. He included an assortment of other historically relevant events in the novel as well. There are several main themes in the novel, including optimism, religious hypocrisy, corruption and greed caused by the power of money, and the pointlessness of philosophical conjecture. Furthermore, the ideas of rape, resurrection, and oppression are also very central to the novel and assist in the development of the main themes. To
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This motif is presented in the beginning of the novel when the minister asked Candide if he thought the Pope is Antichrist. He was displeased with Candide’s indifference, refused to feed him and then his wife dumped human waste upon him (Voltaire 27). The Anabaptist named James proved to be nicer than the minister even though he was a member of one of the most heavily persecuted groups of people during the 16th and 17th century. He helped Candide without a second thought about his religious affiliation. Another example of religious corruption is the old woman who claimed to be Pope Urban X’s biological daughter. A Pope fathering a child is a clear violation of the promise of celibacy and the religious obligations he made to the Church. Interestingly, Voltaire touches upon the subject of homosexuality as an offense against the Christians and a violation of the law; this is another example of his satirical writing style. Perhaps the most disturbing incident of religious hypocrisy is Cunégonde’s enslavement as a mistress to Don Isaachar and the Inquisitor (Voltaire 42). Both men are thought to have some religious devotion, yet they created a schedule in order to use the unwilling Cunégonde for their sexual
This motif is presented in the beginning of the novel when the minister asked Candide if he thought the Pope is Antichrist. He was displeased with Candide’s indifference, refused to feed him and then his wife dumped human waste upon him (Voltaire 27). The Anabaptist named James proved to be nicer than the minister even though he was a member of one of the most heavily persecuted groups of people during the 16th and 17th century. He helped Candide without a second thought about his religious affiliation. Another example of religious corruption is the old woman who claimed to be Pope Urban X’s biological daughter. A Pope fathering a child is a clear violation of the promise of celibacy and the religious obligations he made to the Church. Interestingly, Voltaire touches upon the subject of homosexuality as an offense against the Christians and a violation of the law; this is another example of his satirical writing style. Perhaps the most disturbing incident of religious hypocrisy is Cunégonde’s enslavement as a mistress to Don Isaachar and the Inquisitor (Voltaire 42). Both men are thought to have some religious devotion, yet they created a schedule in order to use the unwilling Cunégonde for their sexual