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Candide's Character Development In The Novel '

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The protagonist, Candide, goes through suffering over the course of the novel, starting with a childlike, innocent personality, then becoming more mature as he starts traveling throughout the story. The journey in Candide contributes to the protagonist’s character development moreover to themes explored in the novel. Forced into a war, Candide goes through abuse as he is being trained to be in the military, this is an event that represents pessimism. Later, He finds his way to el dorado, which represents blind optimism. Towards the end of the novel, after all his adventures, he finds out Cunegonde is still alive. This event shows Candide is neutral/in the middle of blind optimism and pessimism.

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