Candide

A detailed Summary of Candide

After reading the novel Candide, I realized how much of a satire the novel actually was. The actions of the characters and the situations they are put in alone show how satirical it actually is. In the beginning, Candide is exposed to the philosophical teachings of the castle's oracle. His name is Pangloss, and he believed that "Everything is for the best, in this best of all worlds" (p519). Candide struggles repeatedly with these beliefs. Throughout the text, he is constantly subjected to horror after horror, and is always second-guessing his beliefs. Candide goes from believing to not believing over and over again.

I feel that the belief that Pangloss had burned into the mind of Candide is quite ridiculous when I try and put it into context with the situations Candide faces. In the very beginning he is put through horrible events that he is led to believe. One of which deals with the attack of the Bulgars on the castle, and what occurred from this attack.

"She (Cunegonde) was disemboweled by the Bulgar soldiers, after having been raped to the absolute limit of human endurance;

In the end, Cunegonde has become ugly. The reader finally sees that Candide was only planning on marrying her for her looks. At first Cunegonde used her sexual appeal to get what she wanted from Candide, now, she had to manipulate him. She reminded him of the fact that he promised to marry her, but since she was ugly, Candide wasn't sure if it's what he wanted. This proves that Candide did not really love her, and indeed the sexual attraction was what counted.

they smashed the Baron's head when he tried to defend her, cut the Baron to bits, and treated my poor pupil exactly the same as his sister."(p526)

"The Anabaptist was lending a hand in the after part of the ship when a frantic sailor struck him and knocked him to the deck; but just at that moment, the sailor lurched so violently that he fell head first over the side, where he hung, clutching a fragment of the broken mast. The good Jacques ran to his aid, and helped him climb back on board, but in the process was himself thrown into the sea under the very eyes of the sailor, who allowed him to drown

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pangloss Candide, , ran aid, candide goes, jacques ran, beliefs candide,

Approximate Word count = 740
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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Candide

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