Candide
Candide is a humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism promoted by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man's adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds," (Voltaire 4). Candide is Voltaire's answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists. "Candide...is a profound attack on philosophical Optimism and, through it, all philosophical systems that claim falsely to justify the presence of evil in the world," (Mason 1). "Candide anatomizes the world's potential for disaster and examines the corresponding human capacity for optimism," (Bell 1). Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best. The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, scienc
Candide and his band of followers consider these words and decide that they "must cultivate their garden. Candide eventually learns how to achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. His use of satire throughout the story has a serious purpose. He learns that in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of society where there is collective effort and work. Voltaire always has a serious intention behind the laughter in Candide. The multitudes of disasters, which Candide undergoes, leads to the abandonment of his belief in optimism. Voltaire did not believe in the power of reason to overcome contemporary social conditions. Throughout the story, satirical references to this theme contrast with natural disaster and human wrongdoing. When reunited with the diseased and dying Pangloss, who had contracted syphilis, Candide asks if the Devil is at fault. it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell," (Voltaire 130). the work keeps us from three great evils, boredom, vice and need," (Voltaire 148). The main feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people can actively work to create a better world. Candide finally begins to be aware of the hopelessness of Pangloss' philosophy.
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