He went against pessimism all the while fighting that tyrant God

Throughout history philosophers have offered their answers to questions which no logical answer exists. Voltaire used his philosophical fiction Candide to highlight his opinions on some of these questions. He uses hyperbolic tragedy and catastrophe to highlight the imperfections of this world. From random bouts of painful illness to natural disasters Voltaire points out many of the events that prove this is not a perfect world. Additionally, Voltaire uses tragedy to question what Marx called the opiate of the masses and the existence and influence of god entirely. The vast amount of severely unfortunate events Voltaire puts the eponymous character through are to show that no loving and involved god would let a disciple suffer so. Voltaire also uses mockery to try and dispute the works of philosophers with differing views from him at the time. Rousseau and Leibniz were two philosophers who worked at the same time as Voltaire and were outspoken advocates of the perfection of this world and the idea that no better world could possibly exist. In Candide Voltaire highlights his opposition to the idea that this is the best possible world, challenges the entire institution of religion, and attempts to dispute the theories of his fellow philosophers Rousseau and Leibniz using mockery.

In Candide Voltaire expresses his belief that this could not be the best possible of all worlds and uses hyperbolic catastrophes and misfortunes to show it. Voltaire shows this idea in a statement by the protagonist when he cries in agony asking how this could be the best of all possible worlds (29). The character has just endured many hardships and watched many of those he cared for die. Voltaire is showing how if this was the best possible world this senseless suffering would not happen. The cruel and unfortunate hardships experienced by man show how this could not be the best of all possible worlds. This world is hard and unforgiving with misfortune waiting around every corner and because of this Voltaire refutes the idea that this is the best world possible. An anonymous critic in The Gentleman’s magazine and Historical Quarterlysaid it best in his article when he called Candide, “an attempt to ridicule the notion that ‘all things are for the best”(322). That is what it was in the most basic and raw sense. Candide is a work of philosophical fiction that Voltaire wrote to show how this world could not possibly be the best of all possible worlds. The hyperbolic catastrophes that the characters endure show the flaws that this world has. Even with that Voltaire did not have a negative outlook on the world. In his essay La Religion de Voltaire Rene Pomeau writes of how Voltaire is actually against a pessimistic outlook on the world (355). Voltaire believed that this world could not possibly be the best possible but he also believed that humans could work to make this world better. Just because this is not the best possible world does not mean people cannot strive to make it the best.Voltaire challenges the common idea of our world being perfection and at the same time tries to instill the idea that people can strive for something better in this world of imperfections.

Voltaire was in avid opposition of the Catholic Church and religion as a whole, and his philosophy and writings reflect this. In Candide Voltaire shows his views on the church through what the inquisition does to Dr. Pangloss and Candide in their passing through Lisbon (26-29). The church does these things without reason in the book and that is how Voltaire viewed the church in real life as an entity that acted cruelly and without any true reason or validation to their cause. Voltaire saw the evils done by the Spanish Inquisition in the real world and transferred what he saw into the book. In his essay La religion de Voltaire Rene Pomeau stated that Voltaire, “had fought the Tyrant God” (355). Voltaire was not atheist and he did believe in a god, but he did not believe in a god who acts and has influence over all of the daily happenings of the world. The outlandish and unfortunate events that Candide experiences throughout the novel are to show that no involved and loving god would deliberately put somebody through such trials. Richard Aldington in his biography Voltaire writes of how in Candide the philosopher uses wit and satire to paint his views on god and the church (345). Voltaire uses the hyperbolic tragedies endured by the eponymous character as satire to show how this world could not have been the perfect work of an all knowing inherently good god. The wit of Voltaire is reflected in the actions of characters who are driven by the teachings of their church. Voltaire humorously tries to show how the church is taking control over the mindless people it serves and using them to further their own agenda. This is where Voltaire found faults in the institution of the church and religion as a whole. Voltaire saw the teachings and actions of the church in the time which he lived as evil. He thought that the church and religion as a whole were promulgating false teachings and preying on the fears of the ignorant. Candide actively portrays these ideas.

There were many philosophers at the time that vastly disagreed with the thinking of Voltaire and in Candide Voltaire uses mockery to try and dispute the ideas of opposing philosophers especially Rousseau and Leibnitz. In his critical essay on Voltaire Andre Maurois quotes Rousseau as saying, “If the Eternal Being has not done better the reason is that he could not”(361). Voltaire uses the entire plot of Candide pointing out different things in this world that could easily be fixed if not by all powerful god than by humans themselves. Natural disasters, disease, senseless killings, and cruel treatment of people are all different aspects that Voltaire uses to challenge Rousseau’s thinking. Later in his essay Maurois talks of Leibnitz’s thinking of everything being for the best and this being the perfect world (361). Voltaire was in very avid opposition of this statement even addressing the statement directly in the book. Voltaire used the same terrible events to challenge Leibnitz as well. Maurois also notes in his essay how Voltaire mocked the ideas of these openly and directly by turning their very philosophy into a character, Dr. Pangloss, who taught these ideas to Candide (361). Voltaire could not have thought any differently compared to Rousseau and Leibnitz and he was not afraid to blatantly call their ideas into question. The teachings of Dr. Pangloss, which were also those of Rousseau and Leibnitz, caused Candide to endure many hardships because of his foolish innocence and optimism of the world he travels through. Candide is at its core a slap in the face of Rousseau and Leibnitz’s way of viewing the world and Voltaire is not trying to hide it.

Voltaire was a philosopher of logical thinking with strong convictions and Candide highlights some of his most adamant beliefs. The idea that this world is perfect is ludicrous to Voltaire and the entire plot of Candide highlights that. He also does not see god as an interfering and controlling being acting on every day events. No god would put his subjects through the trials and tribulations that Voltaire puts Candide through, and yet people go through the same hardships every day. Voltaire disagreed with many of the philosophers that worked at the same time as him and he did not hesitate to tell them that he disagreed with them which he did with Candide. Voltaire put many different parts of his philosophy into Candide and tried to show how he thinks a person is to live which is embodied completely by the last line of the novel, “let us cultivate our garden”.

Works Cited

Aldington, Richard. Voltaire 1925. Rpt. in Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 1991. 342-345. Print.

Doe, John. “Critical Essay.” The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Quarterly (1759). Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 1991. 357-361. Print.

Maurois, Andre. “Critical Essay.” Lecture mon doux Plaisir (1957). Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 1991. 357-361. Print.

Pomeau, Rene. La religion de Voltaire (1956). Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 1991. 354-357. Print.

Voltaire. Candide New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. Print