Discuss Voltaire's Writing Of "The Candide"

863 words - 3 pages

Hope Floats without CorruptionThe thesis of this paper is that organized religion is corrupt and through El Dorado only hope can be achieved. This is story Voltaire uses examples form the Catholic Church, other religious clergy to get the point across that any type of religion is corrupt. In addition the only means of hope is El Dorado.The Catholic Church during this era was supposed to give people hope by prayer and belief in true religion. The author focuses on how corrupt the Catholic Church was. Church priests and clergy, instead of teaching the word of god and living by it, are nothing but fake shadows in their beliefs and religion. A great example of this corruption is authorities burning heretics alive because they don't believe in Catholicism. Voltaire's sharpest criticism was directed at the Catholic Church. His relationship with the Church "was one of uninterrupted hostility" (Ch2), and in "Candide", he attacks all aspects of its social structure and doctrines. Another example of Catholic corruption is when Pangloss explains how he contracted syphilis, he states that Paquette, "received this present from a very learned Franciscan monk...who owed it to a marquise...who caught it from a Jesuit" (Ch5). This passage illustrates the lack of celibacy of respectable Church members. This contradicts what the church members believe. Voltaire makes several mentions of Catholic officials who should have been celibate but hypocritically kept mistresses," Not only did Voltaire show us that during this era the Catholic Church was corrupt, but he also shows us that every other religion has just as much corruption as Catholicism. Candide referred to non-Christians - most importantly, to Jews and Muslims that corruption existed within their Church's walls as well. Cunegonde's master, is described as a "hot-tempered...Jew...who had a passionate taste for women" (Ch 8). Voltaire shows other corruption of the Catholic clergy in several other instances, such as through the Grand Inquisitor who ironically has a mistress, Cunegonde. In Chapter Ten, Cunegonde's jewels are stolen by, "a venerable Franciscan who slept at the same inn with us" (Ch10), although Franciscans take a vow of poverty. This example leans away from sexual tension in the Church and more towards economical issues. Voltaire also shows us the corruption of the Jesuits through Cacambo, who is talking about Paraguay (Ch14.) "The government of the Padres...is marvelous. The Padres have everything, the people nothing. It's a masterpiece of reason and justice." Voltaire v viewed the Church as,...

The Search for Truth in Voltaire's "Candide"

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Satire of Philosophy In Voltaire's Candide

1160 words - 5 pages In the novel Candide Voltaire chooses to satirize several aspects of his society in order to point out the flaws in much of the philosophy which was popular throughout "The Enlightenment." One way in which Voltaire accomplishes this is through his use of Pangloss, who represents G.W. von Liebniz and the philosophy of optimism, as a constantly useless and ignorant character, and through his use of Pangloss's foil Martin, who despite being

Prompt 1 of Voltaire's Candide - English - Summary

187 words - 1 page Chapter 1-3 Prompt 1 The story is very interesting in the fact that someone can be punished so severely for experiencing true love. Poor Candide was banished and tortured for sharing a true love’s kiss with Lady Cunegonde. I did not understand why that particular time had so many barbaric ways of hurting someone who has “broken their laws”. None the less Candide became a Buglar by accident when he drank to the health of that king. I don’t

Movie Essay - A Comparison of Satire in Voltaire's Candide and the Film Lexx

1176 words - 5 pages Satire in Candide and Lexx Voltaire's Candide is a story about a young man learning about the realities of the world; realities he never could have believed to happen in life because his education heavily involves the idea that this is the "best of all worlds." Salter Street Films' Lexx is a story about a group of misfit adventurers and the calamity that befalls them after they steal the Lexx, a Manhattan-sized insect with the ability

A COMMENTARY OF CHAPTER VI OF VOLTAIRE'S CANDIDE

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Use of Satire to Attack Optimism in Voltaire's Candide

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Essay on Voltaire's Candide - Fallacy of Optimism Exposed

793 words - 3 pages noble ancestry. Though greatly disappointed with their outcome all but Candide insist on claiming that all is for the best. The complete absurdity that one could go through as much and end up in the place where they end up and still claim that all was for the best furthers Voltaire's belief in the fallacy of systematic optimism. Works Cited and Consulted: Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998. Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1996.

A Comparison of Satire in Voltaire's Candide and Gulliver's Travels

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Voltaire's Candide Look at the Spanish (Holy) Inquisition

2156 words - 9 pages killed or harmed all because they did not follow the Catholic belief system. Voltaire is a famous enlightenment writer who wrote many well known poems, plays, and books. One of his most famous literary works is Candide. Candide is written by Voltaire to criticise the events that took place during the Spanish Inquisition. The fictional characters in the book make real life decisions and were stuck in realistic life situations. Voltaire wrote

The Amazing Journeys of Candide

1106 words - 5 pages In Voltaire's satire Candide the reader follows the travel of the main character Candide. Candide dynamically develops through the book by adsorbing multiple philosophies,and eventually concluding his own design. Throughout his journeys he encounters three major philosophies: optimism, pessimism and realism. The first philosopher is Pangloss and he teaches about optimism. The second philosopher that he meets is cacambo, and he is a person who

Voltaire's Candide: The Transformation Of Candide

1076 words - 4 pages Voltaire's Candide: The Transformation of Candide Candide (1991), which is another version of "Voltaire" by French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, is a short but diverse story that tells of a young man's journey for love and the hardships he faces all the while keeping a very strong, positive and philosophical outlook on life. The book starts in an unknown year, hinted sometime around the Renaissance, with a young man named Candide

Use Of Satire In Voltaire's Candide

1578 words - 6 pages Successful Use of Satire in Voltaire's Candide Voltaire's Candide is the story of how one man's adventures affect his philosophy on life. Candide begins his journey full of optimism that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds," but he learns that it is naïve to say that good will eventually come of any evil. Voltaire successfully uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the

Analysis Of Voltaire's Philosophy In Candide

1213 words - 5 pages have, and the more accurate that knowledge will be. These principles can still be applied to life today, because what good are beliefs if they are never exercised?In the beginning of the novel, we see Voltaire's beliefs expressed through Candide, a young, naïve man whose sole knowledge comes from that of Dr. Pangloss. Pangloss is a philosopher who believes that "everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds" (319). Without

A Freudian Analysis Of Voltaire's Candide

1663 words - 7 pages A Freudian Analysis of Voltaire's Candide In Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud refers to the important role that love plays in the world of Man. Love certainly plays an important role in Voltaire's Candide; throughout Candide's journeys, a constant factor is his love for Lady Cunegonde and his desire to be with her. Freud writes "the way of life which makes love the centre of everything [...] comes naturally to