Candide by Voltaire. Specifically It Term Paper

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If there is a volcano at Lisbon it cannot be elsewhere. It is impossible that things should be other than they are; for everything is right'" (Voltaire 21). Candide seems incapable of coming up with many ideas on his own, but he is quite good a parroting the ideas of others, and Pangloss is his mentor and idol, so he follows his thoughts blindly, never questioning them or developing true reasoning and deduction skills throughout his adventures.

Throughout his experiences, the reader would expect Candide to become bitter and disillusioned with the real world. He is beaten, taken advantage of, conscribed into an army, nearly killed several times, accused of numerous crimes, and generally mistreated and abused wherever he goes. He also meets many unfortunate people who have suffered as much as he has, or even more. Yet he never questions the sanity of all this depravity, or what kind of "God" or other being would allow it all to happen. It simply is "right" because Pangloss has said it is right, and that everything that happens is supposed to happen. Candide has little ability for deductive thinking or rational thought; he simply follows the ideas of others and rarely has any of his own. For this reason, he does not really grow or learn from his experiences. He may have more experiences and seen more horror than many people, but at the end of the story he is still essentially the same Candide he was at the beginning. He may be older, but it is questionable whether he is any wiser or not. He does find happiness at the end of the novel; but it is not through philosophy and thought, but rather, it is the contentment and joy of decent work. Through all his adventures and experiences, all he has learned is to work hard and wait for the reward that will ultimately follow.

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Most people would come away from such varied and violent experiences profoundly changed, but Candide is still basically who he was at the beginning of the story - a naive young man who only sees the good in everything.

In conclusion, Candide does have an epiphany at the end of the story, when he finally dismisses Pangloss' reliance on optimism and philosophy and settles instead into a life of hard labor and the resulting rewards. However, Candide has not come up with this idea on his own. Instead, he takes it from the old farmer, and so, he simply replaces one mentor with another, and still does not have his own original thoughts and ideas. Sadly, Candide is a one-dimensional man who is kind, naive, honorable, and good-hearted, but he is incapable of independent, rational thought, and so, he will always be dependent on others to create his "happiness" and contentment. He can only see the good around him, while ignoring the bad. That may lead to an ultimately fulfilled life, but certainly not a life filled with real accomplishment, stimulation, or understanding......

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