Heroism in Voltaire's Candide

At the onset of Voltaire's (520) Candide, we are introduced to the hero "whom nature had endowed with the gentlest of characters. His face bespoke his soul. His judgment was rather sound and his mind of the simplest." This characterization of Candide, the hero and protagonist of Voltaire's story, depicts a relatively innocent young man who encounters a world that is ultimately absurd and which challenges the philosophy of the tutor Pangloss, "who proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause" in "this best of all possible worlds (Voltaire 521)."

The thesis addressed herein is that heroism ultimately consists of tending one's own garden and cultivating that garden (Voltaire 579-580). Certain conditions must be fulfilled in order to live the heroic life. As literary critic Payton Richter (138) has put it, "man must love his fellow man and be just, for individual morality is the basis of every human society worthy of the name." Candide's own heroism is amply demonstrated throughout the story. For example, Candide convinces Jacques the Anabaptist to

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Category: Literature - H