Candide

In Candide, we are presented with Voltaire's satire of Europe during the middle of the 18the century. The most famous French writer of the Enlightenment period, Voltaire's work satirizes blind faith and optimism. In Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, we see Pope's belief that the universe was created and is controlled by an all-powerful and benevolent God. As such, the world is perfect and when evil events occur they are only viewed as "evil" by human beings because we have a limited capacity to appreciate the ultimate good that such evils are meant to serve. In Candide Voltaire most satirizes this believe in blind faith and optimism in the character of Pangloss and his misguided views on optimism. As Pangloss asserts, "All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds," (Voltaire 2001).

However, we see that Pangloss' philosophy is quite misguided. When his benefactor Jacques is drowning, Pangloss talks Candide out of rescuing him by providing him with an explanation "proving that the bay of Lisbon had been formed expressly for Jacques to drown in," (Voltaire 2001). We see that Pangloss' theory is not

Related Essays

Candide In Candide, we are presented with Voltaire's satire of Europe during the middle of the 18the century. The most famous French writer .... (759 3 )

Voltaire and Candide Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, in his satirical masterwork Candide, critiques both society and humanity wit little mercy. The .... (1361 5 )

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. .... (744 3 )

Voltaire's Candide This research provides an analysis of Voltaire's Candide from a biographical point of view. What must be understood about Candide .... (2197 9 )

Candide, or Optimism Candide, or Optimism (1759) was and is Voltaire's most popular philosophical novel, in part because of the wickedly clever way in which it satirizes the .... (2255 9 )

Category: Literature -