Paraphrase and Unify: Voltaire’s Candide Essay, Research Paper
Voltaire’s most influential work, Candide, is a satirical critique of various aspects of society during the author’s lifetime. The novel can be seen as a dark narrative in which characters compare their life stories to determine whose life is worse. Just when the novel seems to reach its maximum level of morbidity and depression, it surpasses it even further. Although Candide is generally considered a condemnation of universal issues, Voltaire primarily targets optimism. However, there are several other satirical themes in the novel that are worth discussing, such as aristocratic arrogance, religious dogmatism, militarism, and human nature.
During the time Candide was written, Voltaire, who strongly opposed Leibnizian optimism, was deeply frustrated. This optimism, named after Gottfried Leibniz, propagated the idea that reason can explain evil in the world. Leibniz believed that there were truths even God couldn’t change, like basic mathematical equations. So when God created the universe, it already had flaws. Leibniz argued that while a perfect world is impossible, Earth is the best among all possible universes. While Voltaire’s contemporaries embraced this notion of everything happening for the best, he faced personal challenges and witnessed drastic events unfolding in Europe – a devastating earthquake in Lisbon claiming 100,000 lives, the brutal Seven Years War and losing his close friend and lover of 15 years. Surrounded by such tragedies, it’s not surprising that Voltaire struggled to accept “all is for the best”. The pervasive foolish optimism actually had an opposite effect on him which led him to express his dissent through Candide. In this book, Pangloss embodies sarcasm and optimism with flawed logic and foolishness seen in his belief that noses are shaped to fit glasses and his venereal disease being a blessing associated with chocolate discovery.Although Pangloss is seen as absurd, he holds high respect among his peers, which critiques Leibniz and his followers. Voltaire uses this character to dismantle every aspect of Leibniz’s philosophy. The book also portrays a harsh and brutal world, with countless gruesome murders, mentions of cannibalism, rape, greed, imprisonment, and savagery. Voltaire employs bolding to highlight the idea of optimists asserting that “everything is for the best” in the universe he has constructed.
In Candide, Voltaire not only focuses on optimistic sarcasm but also mocks the arrogance of the nobility. This is primarily portrayed through Cunegund’s family and Don Fernando. The story begins when Cunegund’s father, the Baron, throws out Candide for daring to pursue his noble daughter despite being from a lower class. However, the Baron dies in a violent war. Later, Cunegund’s brother, who was presumed dead, reappears and takes over his father’s position. Despite Candide saving Cunegund’s life, her brother still refuses their marriage due to his snobbishness. As a result of vowing to keep them apart like his father did before him, he meets the same fate by Candide’s blade. But later it is revealed that he is alive again. Although Candide saves him from slavery, the brother remains adamant about not allowing the marriage despite all that has been done for him. Voltaire highlights how deeply ingrained noble haughtiness is in the minds of aristocrats; even when they are humbled and indebted to a friend, snobbishness persists.
The resistance to the absurdity of aristocracy is depicted in Candide when he sends the brother back to bondage for refusing to leave his position. This pivotal event demonstrates Voltaire’s belief in the futility and unnecessary presence of nobility in society. Additionally, Voltaire uses the character Don Fernando to highlight the arrogance of lords, as even his extensive and ludicrous name serves as a mockery of aristocracy. Don Fernando, like the baron, is also portrayed as grandiloquent and arrogant.
One of the significant satirical elements in the work is the portrayal of spiritual dogmatism. Various characters in the novel exemplify the hypocrisy within the church. The Grand Inquisitor engages in activities that go against the beliefs of the church, including engaging in promiscuous behavior and ordering the punishment of others. He himself is eventually killed by Candide, ending his reign of terror. Friar Giroflee is another example of the problems within the church. He is always found with a prostitute, wastes money, and never had a genuine desire to be religious; his parents forced him into it for financial reasons. The Anabaptist is also worth noting, as he is the only sympathetic character in the entire novel. Ironically, the Anabaptists were despised during that time period, yet he remains consistently honest throughout the narrative. This serves as a powerful critique of both Protestants and Catholics and highlights the issue of religious intolerance.
Voltaire’s life coincided with the Seven Years War, a violent and controversial conflict. In line with many other philosophers, Voltaire strongly condemned war as a grave and ignorant mistake. Thus, in his work Candide, he uses satire to critique war broadly and specifically targets the Seven Years War and Prussian militarism. The initial clash between the Avars and Bulgars in the novel mirrors the real-life conflict between France and Prussia, serving as an example of war’s brutality and violence. The story commences in Westphalia, depicted as a paradise, but quickly descends into death and sexual assault, highlighting the contrast between an idealized world and the grim reality of warfare. As Candide endures military training, he becomes proficient in combat while undergoing the same torment that Voltaire observed during his time with Frederick of Prussia.
Voltaire finds amusement in the inherent flaws of human beings, such as their selfishness, vanity, and tendency to become easily bored. This fact is effectively highlighted through the portrayal of El Dorado, a city in the story. All the characters in the narrative exhibit negative traits like selfishness, deceitfulness, violence, and greediness. However, it is only when they encounter El Dorado that they truly understand an important aspect of human nature: people seek challenge and diversity to avoid boredom. Senator Seignor Pococurante embodies this point further as he leads what appears to be a perfect life but still feels dissatisfied with his possessions and unhappy.
In El Dorado—a city that many yearn for—Candide decides to leave because he wants to demonstrate his pride and desire for god-like status. In El Dorado, he is just like everyone else. However, by taking the treasure from El Dorado with him when he departs, Candide becomes an ideal figure elsewhere. He isn’t content with mere satisfaction; his desires surpass it.
Voltaire’s main message in the novel is that happiness comes from contentment. Throughout the story, all characters continuously search for happiness but are unsuccessful. However, at the end, Candide comprehends that to be happy, he must be satisfied with what he possesses. This realization is significant as it encompasses Voltaire’s criticisms and reveals societal flaws. The book serves as a scathing critique of society while utilizing humor to convey its viewpoints. Ultimately, Candide’s satirical journey concludes with a profound statement: “Let us cultivate our Garden.” These five words capture Voltaire’s final reflection on the amusing yet profound nature of his work.
