Candide

A detailed Summary of Candide

In Candide, Voltaire sought to point out the flaws of Gottfried William von Leibniz's theory of optimism and the hardships brought on by the inaction toward the evils of the world. Voltaire's use of satire, and its techniques of exaggeration and contrast highlight the evil and brutality of war and the world in general when men are meekly accepting their fate. Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician of Voltaire's time, developed the idea that the world they were living in at that time was "the best of all possible worlds." This systematic optimism shown by Leibniz is the philosophical system that believed everything already was for the best, no matter how terrible it seemed. In this satire, Voltaire showed the world was full of natural disasters and brutality. Voltaire also used contrast in the personalities of the characters to convey the message that Leibniz's philosophy should not be dealt with any seriousness.

Leibniz theorized that G-d, having the ability to pick from an infinite number of worlds, chose this world, "the best of all possible worlds. (http://www-personal.umich.edu/leibniz.htm)" Although Voltaire chose that simple quality of Leibniz's philosophy to satirize, Leibniz meant a little more than just

A contrast to the views of Pangloss is Martin, a pessimist. He is a friend and advisor to Candide after they meet during Candide's journey. Martin continuously tries to prove to Candide that there is little virtue, morality, and happiness in the world. When a cheerful couple is seen walking and singing, Candide tells Martin, "At least you must admit that these people are happy." Martin answers Candide's comment with the reply, "I wager they are not." Martin suggests that Candide invite the couple to dine at his hotel. As the young girl, named Paquette, tells her story, Martin takes pleasure in knowing he has won the wager.

To get his point across in Candide, Voltaire created the character Dr. Pangloss, an unconditional follower of Leibniz's philosophy. Voltaire shows this early in the novella by stating, "He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause and that, in this best of all possible worlds" Pangloss goes on to say that everything had its purpose and things were made for the best. For example, the nose was created for the purpose of wearing spectacles. Because of his "great knowledge," Candide, at this point a very naive and impressionable youth, regards Pangloss as the greatest philosopher in the world; a reverence that will soon be contradicted by contact with reality. The name Pangloss is translated as "all tongue" or "windbag." As the story progresses, though, Pangloss loses faith in the philosophy. Although Pangloss suffered many hardships, he still sticks to the philosophy to avoid contradicting himself. Voltaire uses Pangloss and a con

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Approximate Word count = 1069
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics