El Dorado

How does El Dorado and the Flor de la Mar deepen the understanding of the cultural, political, and historical time it was created? During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, exploration and conquest was the main goal of many countries. The world had not yet been explored and some countries hadn’t even been discovered yet. People always seem to want more, more land, more power and more gold. This was the case with both the Flor de la Mar and the lost city of El Dorado. “To possess any amount of gold seems to ignite an insatiable desire to obtain more” (National Geographic, 2014). El Dorado has been sought ever since the Spaniards first hear of its existence. “Lopez described a large city rich in gold, silver and jewels, located in the middle…

Conflict does not exist. In fact, it managed to avoid discovery from the Spaniards and other European countries for hundreds of years. The people of El Dorado established a rule that prohibited inhabitants from leaving the kingdom. It was a self-imposed exile that "preserved [their] innocence and [their] happiness" (Voltaire 40). Moreover, nobody in El Dorado dies because of contending religious ideologies because only one religion rules supreme. El Dorado is the quintessential cultivated…

El Dorado differs from Europe in that they don’t have a religion, have no need for material wealth, and all work together cohesively, instead of warring over pieces of land. 10. What is the significance of the “six kings” (Chap. 26) The six kings were thrown in to the story for Voltair to make a point that power is not definite. All six of the kings were once in power, but in the end, Candide gives the most amount of charity (pg. 76) and the kings remain obscure beggars. 11. What does "We must…

Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God created an accurate portrayal of Lope de Aguirre’s quest for El Dorado in 1561. Using a firsthand account from Aguirre himself, Herzog is able to accurately show what happened. Aguirre, the Wrath of God is a 1972 German film written and directed by Werner Herzog. The plot focuses on a group of conquistadors who are in search of the legendary city of El Dorado. The main protagonist is a Spanish soldier named Lope de Aguirre who, along with others, is…

after leaving Cunegonde and the Old Woman and traveling to meet the Jesuits of Paraguay. Martin was another character that was not promoted in the play as much as in the text. Martin was a significant character who represented a pessimistic attitude similar to the Old Woman’s belief in the text. The Old Woman in the play seemed more focused on using her beauty to gain jewels and her promotions of jealousy when Cunegonde beauty promotes over hers when men do not notice her as much as they do…

One of the topics reoccurring in the story is the association of greed. In Candide’s adventure, he stumbles upon the lost of city of El Dorado, where the city is made entirely out of gold and the people live in utopian society. Sadden that this perfect society lacked his love; he leaves the city to continue his search for Cunegonde and is given rarities from the island to aid him. These rarities consist of gold, diamond, etc. which lead to problems. He was robbed in multiple occasions and he was…

and thus tone on religion. He also brings up the prospect of El Dorado, this Heaven on Earth, leaving us with the question of whether such a place actually could exist.…

acting contrary to evil. Voltaire was strongly concerned with the problem of evil and greed within our world; he explores this through the theme of the corrupting power of money. On Candide’s adventure he comes across a village (El Dorado) which he believes is “possibly [the] part of the globe where everything is right…” (Voltaire 69). This village is taken care of by their government, there is no crime, no religious persecution, and everyone is equal. Despite this, Candide wants to leave…

brought up in a fine castle and was driven out of it just like Adam. Another garden that Voltaire relates to is the paradise of Eldorado. “Here now, said Candide, is a country that’s better than Westphalia,” (33). Voltaire describes the utopian society where the pebbles on the ground are rubies and the dirt is gold, which is what greedy Europeans would kill for. “Please excuse our laughing when you offered us in payment a couple of pebbles from the roadside,” (35). Ethnocentric Candide and…

aspect of the malicious projection of human mind directed towards the female nature through the heroine’s and the Old Women’s stories of sexual assault. When Candide takes another step towards revelation with the help of the woman’s pragmatism the author decides to slow the development of the story by introducing the magical land of El Dorado. Similar to the castle is Westphalia, this country is ruled by calmness and subjected to isolation. Greed, hypocrisy, fanaticism are unknown to its…