While Voltaire's Candid is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. It attacks the strain of optimism that holds that rational can curtail the evils perpetrated by human beings. Like other Enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire believed that society could and should be changed for the better. He wanted to see irrational prejudice and ha

This consistency of character and the fact that Pangloss is thought to have been killed multiple times and kept coming back possibly shows another point Voltaire is attempting to make. That philosophers will always be around, and that while they may be at most times useless, you can't really get rid of them anyway. Pangloss represents optimism to as great a degree as Candide, although he lacks the naivete of his student. Martin represents pessimism and worldliness more than any other character in the novel. He refutes Candide's idea that this is the best of all possible worlds, speaking instead of the harsh realities of the world, one in which men war, rape, pillage, envy, lust, are miserable and just don't seem to get along with each other. In face of the happenings within the novel, Martin is somewhat justified in being a pessimist, and could perhaps be classified as more of a realist. Martin often seems to represent the sentiments of Voltaire, as he is constantly being proven right, as when he predicted the misery of Paquette and Friar Giroflee, and also when he predicted their increased misery by Candide's donation. Similar to Lord Pococurante, Martin was jaded with the world, though not to such an extreme degree. Martin may also represent reason, and it is through this reason he realizes so much about the world, and is disgusted by it. Candide's idolized lover, Cunegonde's character is much less developed than the other main characters. Cunegonde is treated more as an object than a person. She is what Candide is searching for. Candide believes that when he finds his beloved Cunegonde, he will find satisfaction.

Cunegonde's position as a possession is strengthened by her constant change of masters as she is shipped around the world being a slave and/or mistress. Cunegonde's object status is similar to that which the old woman speaks of when recounting her difficult life to Candide and Cunegonde. The old woman was an object passed from man to man for sexual purposes in her youth. Following the teachings of Pangloss closely, Cunegonde seems to have little preference for her fate. Perhaps Voltaire is simply portraying the treatment of women at the time, but it is also possible that Cunegonde is extremely manipulative when dealing with men. To be so desired by various men and held

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1550
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)