FREE ESSAY ON VOLTAIRE'S CANDIDE

VOLTAIRE'S CANDIDE

VOLTAIRE'S CANDIDE
The beginning of the 17th century marked many changes for Europe. These changes were both
physical and philosophical in nature. Common citizens were tired of being abused,
mistreated and most of all labeled as peasants and commoners by the aristocracy. They
were fed up with the hypocrisy of the church and the abuse of power by its leaders in the
name of God. One man stood tall above the rest. Francois Marie Arouet was born November
21, 1694 to a middle class family in Paris. At that time, Louis the XIV was king of
France and the overwhelming majority lived in harsh conditions. The aristocracy of France
ruled with an iron fist and poverty was widespread throughout the land. Francois attended
the College Louis le Grand, where he got his Jesuit education. His deep-rooted satirical
views were prevalent even as a child. After college, Francois worked as a secretary for
the French Ambassador to Holland, but left that position to pursue his writing career.
Francois' writings soon became famous in France. His quick tongue and fast pen soon got
him into trouble with the French government and he got exiled to Sully. Using his fame,
Voltaire quickly got those in power to allow him back into France. Shortly after he
returned he was blamed for a piece of writing that opposed the government, which sent him
to prison. While in prison, Francois assumed the pen name "Voltaire" and wrote his first
play, "Oedipe". Shortly after is release, the 24-year-old Voltaire's Oedipe was produced
in Paris and became an instant success. After being exiled to England, Voltaire became
familiar with the English language and in 1979, published Candide. Candide was by far his
most famous work. In it he satirizes and criticizes Leibnizian optimism, aristocratic
snobbery, the Protestant and Catholic Church and human nature.
Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician of Voltaire's time, developed the idea
that the world they were living in at that time was the best of all possible worlds.
Leibniz's optimism displays the philosophical system that believed everything already was
for the best, no matter how terrible the circumstances seemed. Through Candide, Voltaire
showed the world full of natural disasters and brutality. Voltaire also used contrast in
the personalities of the characters to convey the message that Leibniz's philosophy was
incorrect. Leibniz's philosophies were based on the idea that everything in the world was
determined by fate, theorized that God, having the ability to pick from an infinite
number of worlds, chose this world, the best of all possible worlds. Although Voltaire
chose that simple quality of Leibniz's philosophy to satirize, Leibniz meant a little
more than just that. His philosophy stated that God chose the best of all possible
worlds, he also meant that God, being the perfection He is, chose the best world
available to him, unfortunately it was a world containing evil. Voltaire satirized this
literal meaning of Leibniz's philosophy by creating the character Dr. Pangloss, an
unconditional follower of Leibniz's philosophy. Voltaire shows this early in the novel by
stating, He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause and that, in this
best of all possible worlds.... (16) Pangloss goes on to say that everything had its
purpose and things were made for the best. For example, the nose was created for the
purpose of wearing spectacles (Voltaire 16). Because of his great knowledge, Candide, at
this point a very naive and impressionable youth, regards Pangloss as the greatest
philosopher in the world, a reverence that will soon be contradicted by contact with
reality. The name Pangloss is translated as all tongue and windbag. The colloquialism
windbag implies that a person is all talk, and he takes no action. 
The upper class in Europe at the time of Voltaire was infused with the idea that they
were divinely superior to common people. Voltaire attacks this belief in stating in
Candide that birth is an accident and every man is the same. In Candide, Voltaire attacks
this school of thought using the baron, Cunegund's brother as an example. When Cacambo
and Candide flee Buenos Ayres, they come to join the rebellion. The Baron and Candide are
joyfully reunited, but when Candide announces his intention to marry Cunegund the Baron
becomes furious and attacks him. He refuses to see his sister marry below her station.
The Baron remembers not that Candide saved his life. He tries to kill him at the very
mention of marrying his sister based solely on the fact that she has 72 lineages and
Candide has only 71. Voltaire criticizes the nobility's belief in its "natural
superiority" over common people.
The history of the Catholic Church in Europe has been laced with corruption and misuse of
power for hundreds of years. Church members use the name of God to enforce laws and
oftentimes were more feared and respected than kings. Voltaire's view of the church and
how it was operated is demonstrated through two characters in Candide. Voltaire uses
Father Giroflee in Candide to demonstrate what is wrong with the Catholic Church. His
parents force him into the monastery in order to increase his brother's fortune. At the
time of Voltaire, a lot of parents forced their children into the church system
oftentimes against their will. Father Giroflee pays a prostitute named Pacquette for her
services, thus totally going against all church values and restrictions. Another example
of what's wrong with the church is the Grand Inquisitor. He orders that Don Issachar, the
Jew share Cunegund with him and when he refuses; the Grand Inquisitor threatens the use
of auto-de-fe, which means, "act of faith". When Pangloss expressed his views about the
church, the Grand Inquisitor orders that he be hanged and Candide whipped because he
agreed with Panglosse's views. These events show barbarism and superstition of the
Inquisition. After the earthquake, the Inquisitor ordered that a few people be hanged and
burned believing that it would prevent future earthquakes. A few days later another
earthquake ripped through the city proving that burning the innocent people was in vain.
Voltaire had a way of directly attacking every act of any individual that he chose to
satirize in an obvious way. Throughout the Middle Ages, the officials of the Inquisition
systematically tortured and murdered tens of thousands of people on the barest
accusations of heresy against orthodox Christian doctrine. Jews, witches, and Muslims
were victims of this organized campaign of violence. Religious bigotry was widespread
throughout this time.
Women have been oppressed since the beginning of time and it wasn't until the
Enlightenment period that people began to see and speak about this mistreatment.
Industrialized nations like the US didn't even recognize women as equals until the civil
rights act in the early 20th century. Even today, men are paid more than women are for
the same jobs in the same industries. In Candide, Cunegund represents the oppressed women
of the time. The Bulgarian army murdered her family and she was raped and passed from one
man to another like livestock. Sometimes two men shared her at once. She sometimes used
her beauty to manipulate her men to set her free. Don Fernando, the governor of Buenos
Aires, after Candide tells him that he and her are engaged Don arranges to be alone with
her and asks for her hand in marriage. It is unclear if she loves Candide or not but the
fact that she considers his proposal adds complexity to her character. Perhaps Voltaire
wanted to portray her as not only a victim of society at that time but also a person who
knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted. Her beauty was her only weapon
against the normal mistreatment of women and she used it to the best of her ability.
Throughout the novel "Candide", Voltaire satirizes religion, social inequality and
especially human nature. During Candide's journeys, he and Cacambo accidentally find the
hidden city when they set off for Cayenne and get lost. When they first arrive there,
they see children playing with rubies, diamonds and emeralds and immediately believe that
they are children of kings. They gather the precious stones and proceed to the village,
which upon arrival looks like a European palace. After they are treated to a delicious
feast, they try to pay for it with the stones they found but the king tells them that
those stones are common there and that they are of no value. Candide and Cacambo load 102
sheep with the jewels and proceed to leave the city. During their rough journey, the 102
sheep are reduced to two. They meet a partially assembled beggar and end up buying his
freedom with the two remaining sheep, leaving them only enough money to board a ship to
Venice. The hidden kingdom is a utopia and represents nothing that the outside world can
offer. There is no organized or forced religion. None of the inhabitants attempt to force
religion on one another and there are no religious arguments. Also, there are no petty
squabbles and no lawsuits because everyone lives in perfect harmony. No one bows in the
presence of the king and there are no prisons because no one commits crime there.
Visitors greet the king as his equals and they are not looked down upon. The kingdom has
an advanced educational system that teaches science and philosophy, and poverty is
non-existent. This world is clearly the best of the worlds represented in Candide.
Candide has traveled through Europe, Asia, and the New World, and has found the same
misery and suffering everywhere. This city is the sole exception. Throughout Candide,
Voltaire's deep pessimism about human nature is strongly evident through the portrait of
the harmonious, utopian society. This world is almost completely inaccessible from the
outside. Candide and Cacambo are extremely lucky to ever have found it at all. The
utopian kingdom is a world that cannot be found; yet Candide wants to return immediately
to the immensely flawed world outside. He wants to gather the common pebbles of the
utopian kingdom so that he can return a hero. Candide and Cacambo succumb to the selfish
greed of their own society. They choose a chance at power and influence over others
rather than a chance to live in a perfect society. Voltaire demonstrates that achieving a
good society requires overcoming the drawbacks in human nature and that one must give up
certain things in order to achieve happiness. 
The European world was in a state of philosophical and moral darkness for hundreds of
years until a few brave visionaries spoke their mind and thus the Enlightenment period
was born. It was philosophers like Voltaire who were not afraid to speak their minds that
caused people to question how things were done and how norms were changed. The Catholic
Church was considered the highest establishment in Europe at the time and Voltaire
ridiculed it's leaders and beliefs with no fear of being imprisoned and possibly killed.
It was his unique satirical style that got people's attention. He was speaking on very
controversial topics such as innate human nature, religious practices and aristocratic
bigotry among others that many were afraid and ignorant at the same time to speak of. He
used Candide to ridicule and teach at the same time. Every character, event and tragedy
that happened in the novel "Candide" had significant relevance to his views and the
mockery that it portrayed was what made him famous and hated at the same time.