During childhood we are always told to be positive and look on the bright side of problems, but is there a limit to how optimistic one can be? In the novella Candide by Voltaire, satire is used to mock optimistic philosophers like Gottfried Leibniz during the Enlightenment movement. Voltaire uses the experiences of his characters to demonstrate the faults in optimistic philosophies, however he gets his main message across by using their reactions to horrific events. The main characters, Candide and Cunegonde, are educated in philosophy by Pangloss, a representation of Leibniz’s beliefs, and at the beginning fully believe that this is the best of all possible worlds and all is for the better. Although, as the story progresses and they experience
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Candide’s first trial comes after he is kicked out of his childhood home for having a romance with the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. He wanders around “weeping” and “raising his eyes to heaven,” eventually he is taken in by Bulgarian soldiers. The soldiers take him out for dinner and because of their generosity, Candide believes Pangloss’ theory that “all is for the best” (Voltaire 3). Although the soldiers’ kindness does show the benevolence of people, the notion that he is homeless and abandoned outweighs and counters his optimism. After wandering through war-torn villages, and running out of provisions, Candide believes that that in Holland “he should meet with the same treatment from [the Dutch] as he had met with in the Baron’s castle” (Voltaire 5). Candide has endured a full out war and witnessed first-hand its repercussions, but still has hope that Holland will be different and there will be charitable people there. The first man he meets in Holland is a preacher who is talking publicly “on the subject of charity” (Voltaire 6). Unfortunately, this particular preacher is a hypocrite and immediately impugns his belief that life will be better in Holland. Candide is rejected by the preacher because they have conflicting religious beliefs. Later on though he is taken in by the Anabaptist James and forgets all of his …show more content…
Cunegonde grows up in luxury compared to other people in her region, Thunder-ten-Tronckh. She had “a great disposition for the sciences” and “clearly perceived the force of the Doctor’s reasons, the effects, and the causes.” She grew up “filled with the desire to be learned” (Voltaire 2) and adopted Pangloss’ philosophy like Candide did. Cunegonde later endures suffering as well, after Bulgarians attack her castle and she is captured by the Bulgarian Captain. Cunegonde does not discard optimism completely while being the Captain, Don Issachar, and the Grand Inquisitor’s slave but does not practice it as much as Candide did. She finally gives up optimism after the auto-de-fé when she sees Pangloss “hanged by the Grand Inquisitor” and “the beloved Candide” forced to “receive a hundred lashes” (Voltaire 18). She feels that “Pangloss most cruelly deceived [her] when he said that everything in the world is for the best” (Voltaire 18). Cunegonde is quickest to realise that not everything in life is positive. She is not used by Voltaire with the same satire as Candide and Pangloss, instead Cunegonde is a more reasonable character and example for the readers of what an optimist should
Candide’s first trial comes after he is kicked out of his childhood home for having a romance with the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. He wanders around “weeping” and “raising his eyes to heaven,” eventually he is taken in by Bulgarian soldiers. The soldiers take him out for dinner and because of their generosity, Candide believes Pangloss’ theory that “all is for the best” (Voltaire 3). Although the soldiers’ kindness does show the benevolence of people, the notion that he is homeless and abandoned outweighs and counters his optimism. After wandering through war-torn villages, and running out of provisions, Candide believes that that in Holland “he should meet with the same treatment from [the Dutch] as he had met with in the Baron’s castle” (Voltaire 5). Candide has endured a full out war and witnessed first-hand its repercussions, but still has hope that Holland will be different and there will be charitable people there. The first man he meets in Holland is a preacher who is talking publicly “on the subject of charity” (Voltaire 6). Unfortunately, this particular preacher is a hypocrite and immediately impugns his belief that life will be better in Holland. Candide is rejected by the preacher because they have conflicting religious beliefs. Later on though he is taken in by the Anabaptist James and forgets all of his …show more content…
Cunegonde grows up in luxury compared to other people in her region, Thunder-ten-Tronckh. She had “a great disposition for the sciences” and “clearly perceived the force of the Doctor’s reasons, the effects, and the causes.” She grew up “filled with the desire to be learned” (Voltaire 2) and adopted Pangloss’ philosophy like Candide did. Cunegonde later endures suffering as well, after Bulgarians attack her castle and she is captured by the Bulgarian Captain. Cunegonde does not discard optimism completely while being the Captain, Don Issachar, and the Grand Inquisitor’s slave but does not practice it as much as Candide did. She finally gives up optimism after the auto-de-fé when she sees Pangloss “hanged by the Grand Inquisitor” and “the beloved Candide” forced to “receive a hundred lashes” (Voltaire 18). She feels that “Pangloss most cruelly deceived [her] when he said that everything in the world is for the best” (Voltaire 18). Cunegonde is quickest to realise that not everything in life is positive. She is not used by Voltaire with the same satire as Candide and Pangloss, instead Cunegonde is a more reasonable character and example for the readers of what an optimist should