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Nugroho Nugroho Ms. Diana Saprikina ENG 2135 September 30th, 2011 CANDIDE: Optimism and Realism Optimism is a way of life that many people use in their lives. In the novel, Candide, Voltaire opposes the optimistic point of view and uses his novel to satirize the illogicality and stupidity of optimism. He believes that optimism is an ideal point of view and not realistic at all. In his story, Candide, the main character, Candide, has an internal struggle of beliefs. He starts out as an optimist and transition into the realistic point of view. Throughout the story, Voltaire is mocking optimism by creating scenarios to challenge Candides optimistic beliefs. Toward the end, Candides optimism is replaced with realism. Voltaire shows the reader the frailty of optimism. Candide, the main character of the novel, is an optimist who faces the two extremists who have completely different philosophies. On one side, Dr. Panglos is an extremely optimistic person and keeps believing that everything is for the best until the end of the story. On the other side, Martin is someone who has contempt for the optimist viewpoint and says that the world is evil. These two extremists have shaken Candides philosophy and beliefs. Even though Candide has been taught intensively by the most respectful philosopher of optimism, he finds himself in the middle of his own conflict between realism and optimism. His internal conflict is shown in one conversation with Martin, Well, said Martin, if hawks have always had the same character, why do you suppose that men have changed? Oh, said Candide, there is a great deal of difference, because the freedom of the will (Chapter 21). As his struggles continue, he begins

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to shift towards a realistic point of view, but still has some respects to the teaching of his optimistic master as they reunite and live together at the end of the story. For those who believe in optimism, they justify that everything will get better as the time passes by, and everything is only for the best. Voltaire mocks this philosophy by creating a story of Candide killing Cunegondes brother. Candide does not think that it is for the best end and is skeptical of how this murder can benefit him in the long run. Luckily, the murder benefits him on his next journey with Cacambo, the most believable and rational of any character. Cacambo successfully convinces the Biglugs, To prove that I am telling the truth, take his (Candides) robe and bring it to the nearest frontier of the kingdom of Los Padres; find out for yourselves if my master didnt kill a Jesuit officer, (Chapter 16) and they are freed. Then Candide justifies, What a people! He said. What men! What customs! If I had not had the good luck to run a sword through the body of Miss Cunegondes brother, I would have been eaten on the spot! (Chapter 16). Does a murder really give a future benefit or does to be optimistic mean that it is okay to kill somebody because a murder will eventually lead to the best end? These two questions are what Voltaire is trying to pass along to the readers. After Candide and Cacambo leave the land of Biglugs, they set a journey to the Country of Eldorado. Voltaire implicitly defines what happiness is. Eldorado is filled with gold and jewels for which its citizens have a little or no use of those valuable properties, because the government has fulfilled their needs. Eldorado also does not have court rooms or jailhouse, because none of its citizens breaks the law and they treat each other with respect and fairness. In addition, the citizens of Eldorado believe in God, but they neither pray, nor do any religious celebrations at all. They only thank God just because they think they have all they need for life. Eldorado is a utopia place of Voltaires imagination. Voltaire makes the reader think that in the

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real world, there is only hatred, war, misfortunes, and chaos. Happiness can only be found in an imaginative world, because in the real world, the imaginative world of happiness never exists. As the travelers leave Eldorado, multiple disasters and misfortunes strike them. Candides enthusiastic in viewing the world is challenged by the amount of sufferings he endures. This is the point when Candides belief of optimism is strongly shaken. He eventually surrenders the optimism when he says, Oh Pangloss! Cried Candide, you had no notion of these abominations! Im through; I must give up your optimism after all. Whats Optimism? Said Cacambo. Alas, it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell. (Chapter 19) Thus, Voltaire makes Candide an interesting and entertaining novel. It can also be served as valuable lessons for the readers. His messages are very essential and still applicable in todays world. He gets the readers to keep trying, to accept life and make it better, and to have a belief that everything is not always for the best in the end. In Candides last statement, That is very well put, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden (Chapter 30), he symbolizes his surrendering of optimism and his proof of acceptance to the reality as the crops of his long journey. He also means that each individual is responsible to him/herself and the livelihood. The Garden is a symbol of ones life that can be manipulated and harvested by the gardeners; and the garden can be anything the gardeners are willing to make it to be. Individuals, as the gardeners of their own garden, should plant the seeds and nurture the seeds in the way they understand and are familiar with to profess their personal beliefs. However, individuals need to be aware of the potential outcomes or crops and the phenomena that are happening in the world. Since true happiness is hard to find, hard work and endurance are the qualities that one needs to live with to be successful.