Candide Essay -- essays research papers

Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaires novella, Candide, incorporates many understructures, yet concentrates a direct assault on the ideas of Leibniz and Pope. These ii well-known philosophers both held the view argue that the world created by idol was the shell of on the whole possibilities, a world of perfect order and reason. Pope specifically entangle that each human being is a part of Gods great and all knowing plan or use for the world.Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needless pain and suffering all around him. Voltaire, a deist, believed that God created the world, yet he felt that the wad were living in a situation that was anything still perfect. Thus, the major theme of Candide is one of the world non being the best of all possibilities, right of actions definitely not determined by reason or order, tho by chance and coincidence.To prove his point, Voltaire uses pointed satire directed at motley organizations and groups prevalen t in his time period. In particular, Voltaire takes aim at nonionized religion, in particular Catholicism, as well as aristocratic hauteur and war. All of Voltaires comments are precisely chosen to convey his point that those in power were completely corrupt in all their thoughts and actions.throughout the entire book, Voltaire portrays religious men, such as monks and priests, as hypocrites who do not live up to the religious standards that they set upon others. Voltaire first attacks the men of the church service and their hypocrisy in chapter three. After escaping from the Bulgars, Candide was obviously in need of pabulum and possibly medical attention, but could find no help. When he came upon a look who had just spoken of charity, Candide asked for some food to eat, but was harshly turned extraneous. After speaking of charity to others, the minister turned Candide away just because they didnt share the same view of the Pope. To make matters worse, the ministers wife proc eeded to throw a pot of urine over Candides head. Voltaire used these rather repulsive acts to show the hypocrisy ground in many church affiliated men of his time. One arcminute the minister was talking to the townspeople of charity and brotherly love, while the nigh minute he rudely dismissed a man in need of that very Christian ideal. While I dont completely agree with Voltaire that the religious men of that time were so blatantly hypocritical, ... ... as it should be.Even after Candide traveled to England, he saw malign acts of cruelty surrounding him. One example is the final stage of an admiral that did not have enough dead men to his credit, (111). Voltaire used this brutal death to show that the people of the times were more concerned with numbers than lives. A man was killed merely because he did not kill enough indigent victims. In Voltaires eyes, this was the worst form of brutality he could imagine. In a world where everything has a purpose, Voltaire could not see where unreasonable deaths run across in. Although the novella, Candide, was partially written for entertainment purposes, it was primarily written to discredit the views of Leibniz and Pope. These philosophers felt that the world around them was just as God would have it, but Voltaire adamantly disagreed. He presented his point of view by satirizing the Church, the arrogance of aristocrats, and war and violence. Voltaire looked at the world with the idea that there could be something done about all the evil in the world. Although he knew the world would never be perfect, he wanted people to see that the world they were living in was one that could be improved upon.