Candide
I chose to read the novel, Candide, by the great eighteenth century author, Voltaire. The first time I read this book I was in the eighth grade and it was recommended to me by my English teacher who understood my passion to read. I have to admit that I did not appreciate the satire and the universal themes that encompass this novel as much the first time as I did when I read it again for a class project my junior year in high school. This book tells the tell of a man brought up to believe that he lives in the "best of all possible worldsaE? (Voltaire 123) even though he faces every possible misfortune known to man. As Candide, the lead character in the piece, journeys through life he encounters obstacle after obstacle, and not once does he surrender his belief that everything happens for a reason. To Candide he truly lives the greatest life despite all his tragedies. I really enjoyed this novel because I like the way that Voltaire uses satire to poke fun at the philosophy that suffering is part of the human plan. I also liked how Voltaire describes all of the scenes in his book with such great detail. Lastly I had great appreciation for the universal theme present in this piece that proclaims that you may go thro
I am thankful for the opportunity to break this book out and read it again. To me it seems that literature written today will never reach the grandeur that it did during the seventeenth and eighteenth century when authors, with one swoop of the pen could make some of the most convincing and well thought out points ever read. There are many other points made by Voltaire that I really enjoyed that helped to make it one of my favorite books, but the satire, description used, and the theme that states that "all truly is not always for the bestaE? (Voltaire 123) are the main reasons that I think that the book Candide and the author Voltaire have withstood the test of time and the reason why Candide is still a treasured literary favorite among many today. The next reason that I enjoyed this novel was for the way that Voltaire uses such immense detail in describing the characters and places in the book. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Voltaire is describing the land in the New World (somewhere in South America) known as Eldorado. The author, in an attempt to make the readers believe that maybe Candide has actually found "the best of all worlds,aE? (Voltaire 123) brings him to this place of beauty with dirt made of gold and rocks made of rubies. In Eldorado there are feasts all day and no crime. Voltaire does such a good job of describing this scene to his readers that they can almost see and smell the "public squares that are paved with a kind of precious stone that gave off an odor of cinnamon and cloveaE? (Voltaire 70). In another scene the author describes Candide and his companions journey away from the magical land o
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Approximate Word count = 1111
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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