Candide: an Analysis of the Way Candide's Views on Life Changes
The Character Candide changes to become a more sensitive and compassionate person and how he views life, which is important because it shows us how viewpoints and attitude can be affected by experience. Candide is introduced to the story as an acquiescent youth with a simplistic view on life. His perception on reality has been formed from an overly optimistic theory explained by his friend and personal tutor Pangloss. The ultimate vision, which is Pangloss's theory, is extremely provincial in thought but the experience of those he teaches is exceedingly limited. This inexperience allows the hypothesis concerning “the best of all possible worlds” to influence Candide's mannerisms as well as his perceptions ultimately leading to Candide's confusion and dismay in other surroundings. When Candide is in the Castle of Westphalia, he does not have that many opinions because he does not have the experience to make conclusions about life and about how the world works. Instead Candide makes assumptions about life from what he thinks he knows. He was blinded by the optimism which was impregnated in him by Pangloss and therefore he could not comprehend the other obvious flaws which he had experienced but not noticed in the Castle of Westphalia. Candide's “effeminate” innocence, which ended up being the reason that he was kicked out of this perfect Westphalian world, ended up saving his life twice. It directly saved his life when the Bulgarian king spared him even though he fled the battle and it indirectly saved his life because if he had not left Westphalia he would have been most likely slaughtered by the raiders. Panglossian theory was developed by Pangloss, who felt he needed to explain reason and taught metaphysico-theologo-cosmo-nigology which explained a backwards view of existence. Pangloss believed that there can be no effect without a cause and that “things cannot be different from where they are since everything exists for a purpose.” An example of this would be