Candide is a novella written by the French philosopher Voltaire during the Enlightenment. The novella is centered on a young man named Candide who lives under his mentor‚ Pangloss. The work takes us through the great hardships of Candide’s adventure‚ where he struggles to settle down and live a peaceful life. The novel concludes with Candide saying that in order to obtain happiness ’We must cultivate our garden’. The meaning of this quote seems to be open to a wide variety of interpretations. This
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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
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Candide Written by Voltaire‚ Candide‚ is a story heavy with political satire. Meant to critique the philosopher Leibniz‚ Candide‚ explores optimism through humor‚ caricature‚ and satire. Candide is the story of a man (Candide) who is exiled from the Baron’s castle for having an affair with Cunegonde. The story follows Candide as he journeys through vastly different geographies interacting with a series of supporting characters. The book ends with the main cast of characters having survived a series
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Pessimism and optimism are generally seen as two major things which drive human emotion. A depressed person is usually associated with pessimism and a happy person with optimism. However‚ that is not always the case. A perfectly happy person could have pessimistic thought and a depressed person usually tries to be optimistic of the future. Pessimism‚ however‚ is much easier to deal with. It is much easier to swallow pride when an event goes wrong just as one predicted. On the contrary‚ one is
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against such optimism‚ and believes that true joy can only be experienced in a world that doesn’t exist. In his book Candide‚ he uses anti-heroism as a satire against the philosophers of the enlightenment. I do not believe that Voltaire intends the reader to see the world with optimism‚ but rather pessimism. I will further explain why I believe the book draws attention to the horrific “ways of the world” throughout this paper. One could not go through the multitude of misfortunes Candide did in this
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Optimism as a Theme for Candide Just as on the title‚ Candide‚ or Optimism‚ Optimism is also used as a major theme. Voltaire’s satire of philosophical optimism is one of the major issues of Candide. Throughout the story‚ satirical references to "the best of all possible worlds" contrast with natural catastrophes and human wrongdoing. According to Wikipedia‚ "optimism‚ the opposite of pessimism‚ is a lifeview where the world is looked upon the as a positive place. Optimists generally believe that
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Optimism as an Ideal Voltaire presents the character of the protagonist called "Candide: or‚ all for the Best" and "Candide: or‚ The Optimist." learns the principles of optimism from his teacher‚ Dr. Pngloss‚ who lives constantly in fools optimism‚ based on abstract philosophical argument rather than intangible evidence or experiment. However‚ In the chaotic world of the novel. Pangloss and his student Candide maintain that “everything is for the
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Candide‚ Or Optimism: Voltaire A rosy outlook on life was the theme of Voltaire’s satire‚ Candide‚ Or Optimism. Rather than embracing a truly pessimistic approach to the world‚ Voltaire seems to argue a realistic and reasonable approach to life. The humorous look at optimism and pessimism‚ as well as politics‚ religion‚ war‚ chivalric but hopeless romance‚ and more‚ provides fuel for his fire. However‚ there was one character that stood out from all the humor and seemingly never-ending optimism
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The Folly of Optimism The Enlightenment period was a time of new ideas and philosophies. One of the philosophies to emerge from this period was Philosophical optimism. The theory revolved around causes and effects and the belief that we live in the “best of all possible worlds” and that everything happens for the best (Voltaire). Voltaire was an enlightenment writer/philosopher and he was largely influenced by both early enlightenment and the current enlightenment philosophers and writers of the
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*Optimism Versus* Reality Between all the texts‚ we have studied so far‚ Candide or optimism was the most interesting. I have to say one reason is because I love the different philosophical views in the text. First of all‚ the text is written during the Age of Enlightment. The main philosophy at that time is that people can work together to make the world a better place. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic‚ versus reality
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