Throughout the novel Candide Voltaire employs satire as a method of criticizing organized religion and to mock and dispel the popular philosophical thoughts of the time. As Candide traveled across the world in search for his true love, he meets characters that have different religions and belong to different philosophical systems of thoughts. The religious characters are hypocritical and commit detestable sins ranging from sexual brutality to greed and theft and are the most intolerant characters in the novel. As Candide’s journey continues, two of the characters he meets that are led through the thought systems of pessimism and optimism influence Candide but ultimately he is unable to keep interest in the systems and dismisses their relevance
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The ideal religious character is Jacques the Anabapist. After the hypocritical character that was preaching about charity turns Candide away, he runs into Jacques. Jacques offers a helping hand, provided Candide with shelter and food and provided him with a job. Later, Jacques helps Pangloss with the medical treatment he needed to cure him of his sexually transmitted disease and provides him with a job as well (page 7-8). Both of these men were perfect strangers to Jacques but that did not prevent him from helping out two people in need. Jacques, though an Anabapist was a still a religious person. He encompassed all that Voltaire thought was ideal in a religious character, kind, compassionate and tolerant of those different from him religiously. He presented a helping hand without demanding anything in …show more content…
Throughout the novel, he criticizes religion through his portrayal of hypocritical religious characters that often partake in the most atrocious acts while claiming to be “saintly”. His criticism of religious characters isn’t bound to just Christians, but he criticizes Jews, and Muslims alike. Throughout the novel, Voltaire presents his ideal religion or religious behavior of tolerance and acceptance through the character Jacques, and through the visiting of Eldorado and the Turkish garden. Voltaire does not criticize religion because he thinks it should end, but believes that with tolerance, all religious views can be
The ideal religious character is Jacques the Anabapist. After the hypocritical character that was preaching about charity turns Candide away, he runs into Jacques. Jacques offers a helping hand, provided Candide with shelter and food and provided him with a job. Later, Jacques helps Pangloss with the medical treatment he needed to cure him of his sexually transmitted disease and provides him with a job as well (page 7-8). Both of these men were perfect strangers to Jacques but that did not prevent him from helping out two people in need. Jacques, though an Anabapist was a still a religious person. He encompassed all that Voltaire thought was ideal in a religious character, kind, compassionate and tolerant of those different from him religiously. He presented a helping hand without demanding anything in …show more content…
Throughout the novel, he criticizes religion through his portrayal of hypocritical religious characters that often partake in the most atrocious acts while claiming to be “saintly”. His criticism of religious characters isn’t bound to just Christians, but he criticizes Jews, and Muslims alike. Throughout the novel, Voltaire presents his ideal religion or religious behavior of tolerance and acceptance through the character Jacques, and through the visiting of Eldorado and the Turkish garden. Voltaire does not criticize religion because he thinks it should end, but believes that with tolerance, all religious views can be