Candide And The Enlightenment Essay Research Paper

Candide And The Enlightenment Essay, Research Paper

Many of the ideals of “The Enlightenment” can be read and seen in Voltaire’s Candide. The

Enlightenment was a new view of investigation that tried to improve the conditions of humanity

by applying rational thought to natural happenings. Voltaire depicted these ideas and his personal

thoughts on the Enlightenment within the pages of his most famous novel Candide. Candide is

the story of a man who lives life under all possible conditions and learns that not everything is the

best of all possible worlds as he was once told. Candide’s teacher, Pangloss, stood firm that

everything that happened was for the best of all worlds. The Christian church was against the

Enlightenment and therefore Voltaire, along with other “philosophes” of the Enlightenment, were

against the church because of its beliefs. Unlike the European beliefs, the people of Eldorado had

a different view of God.

The author of Candide and supporter of the Enlightenment was Francois Marie Arouet, or

more commonly known as Voltaire. Francois was born to a middle class family in Paris on

November 21, 1694. During this time period, the king of France was Louis the XIV and most of

the population lived in poverty. Francois was educated at the College Louis-le-Grand. His witty

intelligence many times infuriated his teachers thus setting the stage for his controversial writing

career.

The witty epigrams written by Francois became famous in France. With this fame also

came trouble and Francois was exiled to Sully. Using his people skills, Francois was able to

convince those in power to end his exile. He returned to Paris but was accused of writing an

article that attacked the government and shortly thereafter was sent to the Bastille. This is when

Francois took the pen name Voltaire. Voltaire continued to write during his prison term and he

was finally released in 1718.

Oedipe was Voltaire’s first play and shortly after he left the Bastille, this play was produced in

Paris. The success was overwhelming and Voltaire was only twenty-four.

Traveling in the circles of the rich and powerful, Voltaire still continued to flatter and criticize

those around him. This criticism eventually sent him back to prison in the Bastille in 1726. After

agreeing to move to England, he was released from prison. Upon arriving in England, he was

received with open arms by a group of English literati. He became fluent in English after staying

in England a few months. All through his life English philosophy and society continued to interest

him. After three years, Voltaire was permitted to return to France. Throughout his lifetime any

witty writings that attacked the church or the state were credited to Voltaire whether he wrote

them or not. He spent most of his life dodging punishment for his writings.

In 1759, Candide was published and was looked at as Voltaire’s signature work. In this book

Voltaire aimed the strongest criticism against philosophy, nobility, the church, and inhumane

cruelty. The book also challenged different Enlightenment philosophies and showed that the

Enlightenment was far from a monolithic movement. When Voltaire was eighty-three he returned

to Paris, but the trip was too much for him and he died in May of 1778. Shortly after his burial at

Romilly-on-Seine, the church circulated a mandate prohibiting an honorable burial. The National

Assembly ordered that Voltaire’s body be entombed at the Pantheon in Paris beside other French

greats in 1791. However, his remains were stolen by religious fundamentalists in 1814 and

dumped into a pit of quicklime. This type of burial was for individuals who were condemned and

hated by the church.

“The Enlightenment” was a phrase given to a wide variety of ideas and developments in the

fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. One of the main features of the Enlightenment

philosophy was faith in the power of reason and rationale which many felt led human beings to a

better social structure. Voltaire, like many other Enlightenment intellectuals, believed that society

could and should be changed for the better. He felt that absurd prejudice and hatred should be

eliminated. However, Voltaire did not anguish from a naive optimism regarding human nature.

Instead, he observed his fellow beings with deep pessimism. The villains in Candide certainly

showed this pessimism. This book was also heavily distinguished with the primary concerns of

the Enlightenment, however, it also criticized many aspects of the movement. Voltaire did not

believe in the power of reason to overcome contemporary social conditions.

The supporters of the Enlightenment called for rebellion against superstition, fear, and

prejudice. However, the Enlightenment did not bring a halt to the ravages of fear and

superstition. This fact was illustrated in Candide when the figure of the Grand Inquisitor ordered

an auto-da-fe to ward off an earthquake.