Candide

What I like about Candide is that Candide is very adventurous.  The book is very fast paced and there is some sort of action on every page.  Sometimes when I read my mind tends to wander and I realize that I have flipped through a couple pages even though I have not really read them because my mind was somewhere else.  But, with this book it was impossible for my mind to bird walk because there was so much action every second of reading it.  But if I had allowed my mind to bird walk reading this book for even a half of a page, I would have missed a major event. 

Another aspect of the story of Candide that I liked was how you could never be too sure about anything because you could never be sure of anything.  For example towards the end of the story Candide found out that his philosopher Pangloss and his true love’s brother the Baron were not dead even though Candide went almost the whole book thinking they were dead.  Candide saw Pangloss hanged and Candide thought he killed the Baron (Voltaire 86).  Candide ends up finding out that Pangloss was still able to breathe after he was hung and that the Baron was not dead from being stabbed. 

One idea that the narrator tries to convey to the reader throughout this story is that “all is for the best in this world.”  This quote is written a few times throughout the book.  That seems to be the theme throughout this book.  But, it is hard for me to agree with this theme.  I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and that we suffer so we can appreciate what we have more and for the good that is about to come.  But, it is evident that Candide did not end up appreciating what he ended up with at the end of the story.  For example he wanted Cunégonde throughout the whole book, but in the end when he gets her he says that she has become ugly and has a bad temper (Voltaire 90).  Candide wanted to marry Cunégonde throughout the whole book and then at the end his heart does not desire to marry her anymore (Voltaire 89).  So it makes me question the reoccurring theme that everything happens for the best because in the end things do not work out for Candide, because he is not completely happy.

I came accross this image after I did a google search for "voltaire's candide cuture" and this was one of the images that came up.  I would guess thatthis is Cunégonde at the end of the book when she is ugly.  This picture is scary because Cunégonde really does look ugly.  It is hard to imagine that at one time she could have been gorgeous.