Philosophies in "Candide" by Voltaire: Perspectives from Pangloss, Martin and Cacambo
The novel "Candide" by Voltaire centers on the life of Candide, who was characterized as the eternally hopeful individual, owing his hopefulness to his belief that people are inherently good and great sacrifices will be rewarded with their just rewards. In the novel, Voltaire depicted Candide's optimism, hopefulness, and naivete as negative qualities that led to his numerous misfortunes and mistakes in life. Because of his gullibility and tendency to trust other people, he failed to live up to his dreams as a young man, and lived life according to his and his family's means, with less satisfaction, comfort, and contentment in life. Candide's life was influenced by three important people whom he met at different points in his life: Pangloss, Cacambo, and Mart
This paper, then, posits that Pangloss's subsistence to the idealistic philosophy in life brought Candide to numerous misfortunes, while Martin's and Cacambo's outlook in life helped him survive the suffering and bear the cruelty of society's discriminating wealthy/elite class. In effect, Voltaire's approval of Cacambo and Martin's philosophies demonstrate how the author believed in a realistic, albeit pessimistic, view of life, than considering it as an eternal cycle of sacrifice-giving and reward-hoping. in. Each individual carries with him personal philosophies, which they have influenced Candide with, affecting the decisions he made in his life. Looking into each individual's personality, it was noticeable that each represents a philosophy that prevailed
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Approximate Word count = 517
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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