The Enlightenment, which usually is described as having taken place during the 18th century, helped to fabricate the momentum which led to so many of today’s modern ideologies. The theme of reform, and individualism greatly led the way through these times, helping the individual spirits of Europe to break free from the medieval customs, but, in an intellectual manner. By becoming solitary individuals in mind, many cerebral Europeans decided to express their innovative ideas through the printed word. Many wrote of the current European government and its fallacies, others wrote about the stars and the data they had collected through observing them, and some wrote about medicine. Voltaire, one of the Enlightenment’s most critical writers, wrote about reform. Candide, greatly portrays the unique manner in which Voltaire wrote to reform. By capitalizing the use of satire, Voltaire displays society’s errors in a point of view unheard of before. Through the eyes of Candide, Voltaire tries to capture his audience cogently to SEE how these errors damage and corrupt society. The book encircles three certain types of satires: the government, the church, and society in general.
Candide undergoes several trials, the primary one being with the government. To begin, the Bulgarians, in just the first couple of pages, coerce him to be enlisted in the army. Against his will, he accepts the demand, only after getting whipped and tortured. This greatly relates to how many armies during the 1700s, forced citizens and inhabitants to fight for their state. For instance, the Russian tsar, Ivan the Terrible, forced the boyars to fight for him, or they would relinquish all their property. Anyways, this wasn’t the only unfairness that Candide encountered with the government. After finally having gotten to safety, Pangloss and Candide endure an earthquake which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Being outsiders, and having stated something that had displeased the officers of Portugal, they were forced to take part in an Auto-da-fe, which led to the death of Pangloss (supposedly) and several whips on the bare back of Candide. Clearly unfair, such events were taking place around Europe during these times. The idea scapegoats, was symbolized by Pangloss and Candide. When there were hard times in Europe, such as the occurring of bad harvests, a group of people, or class, was targeted. In further accounts, the government also displayed its corruption. Martin, one of the few intellectuals Candide meets, exemplifies the corruption of the government by saying, “Imagine all contradictions, all possible incompatibilities-you will find them in the government, in the law-courts, in the church, in the public shows of this droll nation.” As you can see many governments, in the most obvious example being France, corruption was like a disease, slowly polluting the system as it spread. In France, Candide and Martin met a host with which they spend time with going to plays and other sorts of luxurious activities. The Abbe, having seen the money that accompanied these two men, called the corrupt officials upon them, stripping them of nearly all their diamonds. To further clarify the corruption which existed in the government, the men were liberated by bribing the officers with three diamonds.
The church was also a center of attention in this book. The main example of faultiness occurs when Candide arrives at Venice with Martin. Looking upon a couple, Candide wonders how happy they must be, and approaches them. The woman concedes to Candide that she is an old friend of him and suddenly appears solemn. Asking what happen, Candide finds out that she is a prostitute in Italy, and that the man is a catholic friar, who she must have sex with. This event refers to the corruption of the church, which had for the first time began to be taken largely into account during the Italian Renaissance. This satires what was occurring during that time of European history, and continued to happen, even after the Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. Clerks were supposed to be free from sin, which was a bit hypocritical, since most bathed in sexual orgies, which highlights the sin of lust.
Lastly, society’s errs are demonstrated, when Candide goes to utopian, El Dorado. When Candide arrives to El Dorado, he’s surprised with its infallible nature. Voltaire tries to have the reader compare El Dorado, with the European society, which is why such terrible events take place after he leaves El Dorado. This is so the reader can say “Wow! That is one messed up society.” After Candide leaves El Dorado, with riches that could fuel an empire for a millennium, he gets hoodwinked countless times. A sailor, who assures Candide that he will take him to where Cunegonde is located, steals all his sheep, therefore, all his wealth. This shows the greedy nature of all humans.
“All that is very well, but let us cultivate our garden”, is the sentence that concludes this brilliant book. I analyzed this quote, and established, that it represents how a perfect society should act, ignorant of the past, but hopeful for the future. When he says ,”All that is very well”, Voltaire is trying to show that the past is not important, it signifies nothing, while “let us cultivate our garden”, says, that the past is meaningless, and therefore we should focus on what we want to harvest in the future.
Voltaire deftly utilizes satire, to write about the errors of society, in an indirect silent manner, a perfect example of the publishing that took place during the Enlightened times.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Penguin Books, 1947.
