Candide-reflection of the society

The purpose of Candide is to criticize philosophies that are blindly optimistic. In the very beginning, Candide never questioned his master, Pangloss’ overly optimistic belief that everything is perfect in the world. However, over time, cruel society smashed his dream when he fell in love with the daughter of the Baron and was kicked out of the house. He began to lead a vagrant life, facing all kinds of difficulties and disasters on his journey. From betrayal, to superstition, he saw the dark side of the world. Despite this, he still believed in the existence of the perfect world until he arrived to El Dorado. Everywhere was gold, rubies, and emeralds. Everyone was equal and free, living happy and wealthy lives.  With this, he finally realized the cruelty of society. He abandoned his philosophy and began to believe people could gain happiness through hard work, since working brings people away from the three main sources of pain: worrying, mistakes, and lust. It is the only way to make life easier.  This book reveals the fault in having an arbitrary monarchy and the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church for its oppression and mockery of its people. The war brought disaster to the people, showing the tragic fate of the people's sympathy, while also exposing their innocent ignorance.

The authors used a third person perspective in this story. The style is surprisingly calm, as everything just goes with the flow. We can’t see the opinion of the author, but he aims for a strong sense of shock. Because the author uses a cold tone, it’s understood that the text is to be taken seriously, causing the reader to look at their life in a different light. With this new perspective, it’s easier to look at everything calmly.

Candide as a character is given a specific connotation. Besides being naturally modest, straightforward, and simple in mind, the author shapes him into a blind believer of the perfection of the world. His behavior is ridiculous and stupid. Candide does not know how to fight, as his life is more about living under the control of others, rendering him unable to control his own destiny. With his pathetic inability to fight, he let the world hurt him. The author shows the cruelty of society through his unfortunate and the incredible journey, which inevitably leads to his broken dream. According to the author, El Dorado is the ideal place, but it conflicts with the reality of life. The two worlds are just like two parallel lines that will never meet.

In my opinion, being honest is different from being candid. The difference is in the way they conduct their way of thinking in areas like how to get along with others, general attitude about the world, and what is required of others. Candide accepted and obeyed everything that happened to him., but honest people will change their attitudes based upon the environment without letting it affect their honesty. The honesty of Voltaire showed through when he arranged a trip to the “ideal country” for Candide. This country is perfect, but the path to get there is deadly and hard, even considered impossible. With this, he admits the existence of darkness. His ironic way of writing is penetrating and meaningful.