Satire In Voltaire's Candide

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Candide begins in the German town of Westphalia, where Candide, a young man, lives in the castle of Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh. A noted philosopher, Doctor Pangloss, tutors the baron on philosophical optimism, the idea that "all is for the best . . . in this best of all worlds." Candide, a simple man, first accepts this philosophy, but as he experiences the horrors of war, poverty, the maliciousness of man, and the hypocrisy of the church, he begins to doubt the voracity of Pangloss's theory. Thus, philosophical optimism is the focus of Voltaire’s satire; anti-war and anti-church refrains also run throughout the novel.
In the first chapter, Doctor Pangloss is having an illicit affair with Paquette, a chambermaid. The baron's beautiful daughter, Cunégonde, witnesses the affair and decides to try something similar with Candide. When the baron catches them, Candide is kicked out of the castle. Hungry and cold, Candide makes his way to a neighboring town, where he is aided by two soldiers. He is pressed into service and endures beatings at the hands of his superiors. He runs away, coming across war-torn villages in the process and witnessing the horrors of war firsthand. Candide makes his way to Christian Holland, where he hopes to find charity but finds …show more content…

Candide is heartbroken, but he cannot stay and fight for Cunégonde, because he must flee from police officers who traced Candide to the region. Aided by Cacambo, a valet, Candide escapes and soon meets the Reverend Father Commander, leader of a Jesuit army in Paraguay. The commander turns out to be Cunégonde's brother, who was left for dead when his mother and father were killed in Westphalia. The two catch up until Candide reveals that he is love with Cunégonde and hopes to someday marry her; the baron's son is so enraged by this notion that a fight ensues, and Candide kills the

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