Essay on Satire - Satirizing Optimism in Voltaires Candide :: Candide essays

Satirizing Optimism in Candide Candide is a humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism promoted by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a schoolboyish mans adventures passim the world, where he witnesses evil and cataclysm. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that any is for the best in the best of all likely worlds, (Voltaire 4). Candide is Voltaires answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists. Candide...is a silent fill out on philosophical Optimism and, through it, all philosophical systems that plead falsely to justify the presence of evil in the world, (Mason 1). Candide anatomizes the worlds potential for catastrophe and examines the corresponding human capacity for optimism, (Bell 1). Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to take that what happens is always for the best. The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide varie ty of ideas and advances in the handle of philosophy, science, and medicine. The main feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people bunghole actively work to create a better world. It is customary to demo Candide as the result of Voltaires reaction to Leibniz and Pope,(Wade 1) two of the main philosophers of the enlightenment era. sequence Voltaires Candide is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. It attacks the idea of optimism, which states that logical thought can inhibit the evils perpetrated by human beings. Voltaire did not believe in the power of reason to overcome contemporary social conditions. The attack on the claim that this is the best of all possible worlds is apparent throughout the entire novel. Throughout the story, satirical references to this theme contrast with natural disaster and human wrongdoing. When reunited with the diseased and dying Pangloss, who had co ntracted syphilis, Candide asks if the Devil is at fault. Pangloss apparently responds that the disease was a necessity in this the best of all possible worlds, for it was brought to Europe by Columbus men, who also brought chocolate and cochineal, two greater goods that wellhead offset any negative effects of the disease, (Voltaire 17). The multitudes of disasters, which Candide undergoes, leads to the abandonment of his belief in optimism. When asked Whats optimism? by Cacambo, Candide replies, Alas.