Candide to me represents the best kind of satire. It's an easy to follow, sensationalist narrative that moves at a breakneck pace and keeps the reader engaged throughout. The adventures of Candide and Co. and the misfortunes they face are exaggerated to the point of absurdity and the majority of the characters are one dimensional caricatures of human nature. Given all this, it's easy to forget that Candide also has a lot to say.
The philosophy of Pangloss is established early in the narrative and its importance to Candide and Cunegonde is immediately evident. Candide believes his world to be the best of all worlds, that everything happens for a purpose, and that whatever he experiences must be for the best. Once this philosophy is established, the entirety of Candide is devoted to destroying it. Disaster after disaster befall Candide and his companions, and the hatred and brutality that man is capable of is grossly evident at every turn. Pangloss does his best to try and explain away all of these dreadful things, but his stubborn optimism only reinforces for the reader just how shortsighted his philosophy is. Candide also holds out hope for the Panglossian way of looking at things at every juncture, as evident by his words while on the ship to Paraguay: "We are going into another world...and surely is must be there that all is for the best. For I must confess there is reason to complain a little of what passeth in or world in regard to both natural and moral philosophy" (Voltaire). This is significant because even as he admits that not everything has been for the best in his travels, Candide still holds out for the philosophy to be true. This passiveness and blind devotion to optimism is what Voltaire is attacking through Candide.
What I believe Voltaire is trying to say is that one's awareness of the world should not be based on being blindly optimistic and assuming everything that befalls them in life happens for some kind of reason. Live life by continually adjusting yourself to both the good and the bad, not hoping for the best and then making excuses for when it doesn't happen. Being passive and allowing evil to befall you without objection in the name of optimism is no way to lead a fulfilling life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz...some information on Leibniz, the philosopher who Voltaire applied his sharp wit and skilled satire to criticizing in Candide
The philosophy of Pangloss is established early in the narrative and its importance to Candide and Cunegonde is immediately evident. Candide believes his world to be the best of all worlds, that everything happens for a purpose, and that whatever he experiences must be for the best. Once this philosophy is established, the entirety of Candide is devoted to destroying it. Disaster after disaster befall Candide and his companions, and the hatred and brutality that man is capable of is grossly evident at every turn. Pangloss does his best to try and explain away all of these dreadful things, but his stubborn optimism only reinforces for the reader just how shortsighted his philosophy is. Candide also holds out hope for the Panglossian way of looking at things at every juncture, as evident by his words while on the ship to Paraguay: "We are going into another world...and surely is must be there that all is for the best. For I must confess there is reason to complain a little of what passeth in or world in regard to both natural and moral philosophy" (Voltaire). This is significant because even as he admits that not everything has been for the best in his travels, Candide still holds out for the philosophy to be true. This passiveness and blind devotion to optimism is what Voltaire is attacking through Candide.
What I believe Voltaire is trying to say is that one's awareness of the world should not be based on being blindly optimistic and assuming everything that befalls them in life happens for some kind of reason. Live life by continually adjusting yourself to both the good and the bad, not hoping for the best and then making excuses for when it doesn't happen. Being passive and allowing evil to befall you without objection in the name of optimism is no way to lead a fulfilling life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz...some information on Leibniz, the philosopher who Voltaire applied his sharp wit and skilled satire to criticizing in Candide
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