Voltaire Response To Candide

War’s existence has occurred during the rise and falls of innumerable civilizations. People often view war as necessary, profitable, and patriotic. Whereas, on the other end of the spectrum individual’s opinions see war as mundane, wasteful, brutal, and reckless. Voltaire’s attitude through Candide enlightens the reader on the darker aspects of war and portrays his disgusted conceptualizations of it and its treatment of others.
Voltaire’s attitude is evidently sickened by the atrocities of war and depicts the harsh truth of fighting through imagery. The beginning of the book discusses how war spares no one regardless of age, gender, or sex. On page 28 it clearly defines this specific and unfortunate aspect, “the inhabitants put to the sword, neither sex nor age was spared.” This passage condemns warfare in terms of morality, meaning war and civilizations’ paradox each other because it is wrong to kill women in children at any time with the exception of war. Voltaire denounces this specific facet of war as it …show more content…
This is best represented through Cunegonde. The reader is first introduced to Cunegonde’s awful circumstances when a band of men attacks the castle she resides in. At the castle, Cunegonde is raped and describes her volatile situation as a product of warfare, as it is, “the customary way of doing things (Page 23).” In many instances of war, women are subjected to rape, or continuous prostitution/servitude to meet the sexual demands of male soldiers. On page 5 it discusses a scene of girls who perished, “their daughters, disemboweled and breathing their last after having satisfied the natural wants of Bulgarian heroes.” Voltaire’s attitude is illuminated in this passage as it reveals how war brings unnecessary pain, suffering, and death. He believes young, innocent, and pure women should not have to experience the cruelty and savagery of soldiers at the time of