Candide or Optimism: A Novel Criticizing Numerous Ideologies Who is the savant Voltaire and what philosophies did he criticize in his novel Candide or Optimism? François-Marie Arouet otherwise called Voltaire is a French philosopher who composed many articles, books and ballads amid the enlightenment period. A lot of his works were censored by the French because of the way that he besmirched everything and anything that had to do with religious corruption and the justice system.To battle the restrictions placed on him at the time, Voltaire had quite a bit of his works printed abroad, and he distributed them under a shroud of accepted names and nom de plumes. His acclaimed novella
Using that example, he believed that people who 's reality consists of shadows on a wall will at first prefer that reality, even when introduced to a higher reality or deeper understanding. It is only after a period of deep reflection and reasoning that they would begin to accept their new reality. My interpretation of this is that people will gravitate towards what they understand. If they don 't understand something, they will reject it, at least until they come to understand it better. Voltaire had some of the same ideas compared with Socrates.
Voltaire emphasizes the dangers of radical optimism by incorporating tone, themes and utilizing satire in Candide. Naturally, tone is incorporated into any written piece. Voltaire uses utilizes this tool to emphasize his attitudes towards those who are radically optimistic, as well as the concept of radical optimism, creating a dual attitude system. This helps him prove his point by
For that reason, the author, Voltaire, infiltrates Pangloss's viewpoint of optimism by using diction, irony, and symbolism to counteract his belief to unmask his misleading theory on sanguinity. In all the years of Candide's life, he witnessed a handful of gruesome events, therefore Voltaire uses diction to make harsh events appear less wicked. Due to Candide's burden, he shifted from living in the Baron's castle to living in the streets. After a couple days of living in the streets with no food and shelter, he was discovered by a couple of Bulgars. This led to Candide joining their army.
Voltaire was a strong advocate of freedom of speech and believed that all rational human beings were capable of thinking for themselves and therefore did not need any institutions thinking for him. One of the main aspects of his philosophy, was that one should doubt everything until proven otherwise, also known as empiricism. He believed that reason and logic added to science were the key components that would create an Enlightened man. Like most philosophers during the Enlightenment, Voltaire was a strong believer that man was born with three natural rights; life, liberty and right to property. In his major works he explored many themes.
Francois-Marie Arouet, more commonly known as Voltaire, was one of the greatest ambassadors of Enlightenment ideas, and he was able to spread his message using his novel Candide. Voltaire uses satire throughout the story to mock religious fanaticism, intolerance, and superstition and to advocate
Voltaire uses satire, irony and extreme exaggerations to poke fun at many aspects; such as optimism, religion, corruption, and social structures within Europe. Candide begins to realize that life is not always as it seems. The most prevalent use of satire is demonstrated by Pangloss, the optimist. His philosophy is that they are living “the best of all possible worlds” and that everything happens for a reason. Candide and his tutor are a perfect example of blissful ignorance.
Candide denounces many socially accepted practices regarding the church, the weakness of the French monarchy and the social class system – especially the status of women. Though not an atheist, Voltaire was opposed to organized religion. Consequently, Voltaire was highly accusatory of Catholicism and believed the bible was outdated and allegorical. Voltaire exposed hypocrisy in the church by using characters like the Grand Inquisitor who sentenced Candide to be flogged for listening with an air of acceptance (p. 13). As well as, the Pope who has a child even though he took a vow to be celibate (p. 24), along with the Friar who steals jewels (p. 21).
Along these lines, Candide's dissatisfaction with the universe of Optimism is, in reality, reflected in his failure with Cunegonde. Voltaire has relevance to our time period; During his lifetime, trenchant writings attacking church or government were often attributed to him whether he had written them or not. he wrote against tyranny and religious persecution with unmatched audacity. Despite his relentless criticism. Voltaire also believed that as perfect as we try to make the world we live in be a better place there's always something destroying
Perhaps their religious beliefs encourage having alcohol. Although we clearly see the utopian theme in Voltaire’s Novella Candide, it is categorized as a dystopian story. I would say it is a dilemma between utopia and dystopia; we also sense a dystopian theme in the novella that shows a deep meaning in how to be a part of a whole and how to live right as a human being. In Candide Voltaire’s novella, we are taken on a journey to discover and view the world from a dystopian angle. We are also led by Voltaire to wonder about their world.