The Candide
(Voltaire)

Satire

Voltaire's Candide is a perfectly satiric piece, mocking everything, including European aristocracy, philosophers, science, religion, colonization, and human nature itself. Voltaire's satire is employed using extreme, often unrealistic situations such as Candide's journey to the mythical kingdom El Dorado, illogical characters such as Pangloss, who holds to his optimism even though the world is full of hardship and biting wit that at times gently pokes fun at ideas and at other times stabs them repeatedly. Although he brings up many ideas and problems with the world, in the end, however, he does give a sort of solution.

Philosophy

The main character and namesake, Candide, is obsessed with philosophy. Taught at a young age the philosophy of optimism by Pangloss, Candide begins his tale firmly believing his professor's teachings. As he experiences more and more hardships, however, he slowly begins to give up this philosophy and seek new ones. His search for philosophy, and the other characters as well, often borders on ridiculous. Instead of spending time being productive, they instead waste days philosophizing with no end. Their philosophizing often hinders their efforts, and in the end Candide gives up philosophy for a life of meaningful work.

Optimism

Candide's first professor, Pangloss, believes in the philosophy of optimism above all else. He holds that this world is the best of all worlds (a popular belief in Voltaire's time used to explain the existence of evil in a world created by a perfect God), and also that everything happens for a reason. He is optimistic to where he cannot easily interact with the world around him. For instance, after the earthquake in Lisbon he told survivors that it was for the best. While Candide holds these beliefs to be true in the beginning of the novel, he finds himself questioning, and ultimately relinquishing, this philosophy.

Pessimism

The exact opposite of Candide's initial introduction in optimism, pessimism is the belief that nothing in the world is good and that no one is ever happy. Just as optimism was represented through the character of Pangloss, pessimism is represented through Martin, the unfortunate philosopher whose ills have made him negative towards everything. While pessimism is more based in logic than optimism, Martin's character still embodies the philosophy to such a ridiculous degree that it becomes debilitating. In the end, Candide rejects pessimism.

The Exploration of Evil

Much of the book's philosophy centers on explaining and identifying evil in the world. All sorts of evil are brought up throughout the journey, from slavery and objectification of women to warfare and tyrannical rulers. Optimism explains these evils by holding that, since it is the best of all possible worlds, the evils must be necessary or for a reason. Pessimism, on the other hand, copes with the hardships of the world by expecting the worst out of everyone and everything.

Utopia and "Gardens"

The harshness of reality is starkly contrasted by the existence of conflict-free metaphorical "Garden of Edens" throughout Candide. The place where Candide grew up, for instance, the Baron's castle, is an idyllic place where there are no worries or strife. All Candide worries about is learning Pangloss's teachings and whether or not Cunegonde loves him; it is only upon being kicked out of the castle that he even realizes another way of living exists. The mythical land of El Dorado also functions as a perfect society. Everyone is wealthy, there is no crime, and the state is ruled by science instead of religion. On some level, however, Candide realizes that even the "perfect" society of El Dorado is flawed and returns to the real world.

The Treatment of Women

Throughout the story of Candide, beautiful women are objectified and subjugated, in the end becoming the unwilling mistresses of powerful men. Voltaire criticizes this way of looking at women by using his signature trademark of relaying ridiculous situations in a calm, straightforward manner. When Cunegonde is telling her story to Candide, for instance, she talks about being sold to numerous men for their pleasure in a detached and calm way, as if it were perfectly normal. By having Cunegonde, a woman, take this attitude, Voltaire stresses that it is not normal and emphasizes how wrong that way of thinking is.

Comedy and Tragedy

Not many works manage to be both a comedy and a tragedy; however, Voltaire seamlessly merges these two genres together in order to create the sarcastic and often jarring tone of Candide. By juxtaposing extremely horrible situations and comic relief, many credit Voltaire with creating the "black humor" genre of literature. This approach allows Voltaire to expose serious evils in the world, such as slavery and the treatment of women, and criticizing them while writing it off as a joke.

Historical Events

Candide was profoundly influenced by Voltaire's emotional reactions to real events that happened in Europe during the 1750's. Many of these events made appearances throughout Candide, and doubtless Voltaire's readers knew exactly what the references referred to. Many of the more prominent historical events inserted were the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, the Seven Year German war, slavery on the sugar cane plantations, and the unjust execution of an admiral Voltaire witnessed. By not so subtly alluding to real life events, Voltaire forced his audience to connect the world of the book with the real world.

Human Nature

At its heart, Candide is an exploration of human nature. By exploring the extremes of good and evil through his journey, Candide is forced to think about and examine many aspects of life. At the end of his journey, when there is nothing to do but philosophize, Candide is forced to come up with his own way of explaining human nature. Instead of focusing on good, evil, or philosophy, he turns his attention towards living a simple life and doing meaningful work, in other words, "cultivating his garden". Voltaire does not imply that this is the right way to live, but acknowledges that keeping life simple and focusing on rewarding work might be the only way to gain contentment.