In Sir Thomas More’s magnum opus, Utopia, More coins the term “utopia” which is “an ideal or perfect place or state, or any visionary system of political or social perfection” (Mastin). A utopian society is an idyllic community where there are egalitarian values relating to the political, economic and social structures of a society, or in other words, a paradise on Earth. Voltaire, a sardonic polemicist, includes in his satire Candide, published in 1759, a hiatus in Candide’s hardships. Candide and his valet Cacambo serendipitously land in Eldorado, a geographically isolated utopia. For approximately a month, Candide and Cacambo live without suffering in Eldorado with Candide even remarking, “This is quite different from Westphalia and the …show more content…
Candide and Cacambo, only after an arduous and extensive journey, luckily arrive at Eldorado. Voltaire describes Candide and Cacambo’s journey writing: “They drifted for several miles between banks… After twenty-four hours they saw daylight again, but their boat was smashed against a reef. They had to crawl from rock to rock for nearly three miles, until finally they saw a vast horizon bordered by unscalable mountains” (59). Eldorado’s accessibility is exaggerated in order to demonstrate the literal remoteness the society has from the rest of the world. Because Voltaire describes Eldorado with such great alienation due to its geography and lack of external connections with other civilizations, Eldorado can be viewed as a society that is not able to function practically with the real world. However, Donna Isaacs Dalnekoff argues in her text The Meaning of Eldorado: Utopia and Satire in Candide that “it is a basic characteristic of a utopian community that it be radically cut off from the world outside… it is thus that the utopia preserves its integrity which would otherwise continually be subject to corrosion” (64). Ultimately though, the natural characteristic of utopian societies to isolate themselves from the outside world only creates an equivocal reality for utopian societies rather than preserving them from the faults of the outside world. Thus, Eldorado’s …show more content…
When Candide and Cacambo first land to Eldorado, they spot a group of kids playing a typical childlike game. However, upon further inspection, Candide and Cacambo are amazed when they see that the quoits “were rather large round objects, yellow, red, or green, which shone with extraordinary brilliance” (59). Additionally, they “picked up a few of them and found that some were made of gold, while others were emeralds or rubies; the smallest one of them would have been the greatest ornament of a Mogul’s throne” (59). The children treat the golds and emeralds as if they are mere pebbles and of no value. Furthermore, when Candide and Cacambo are departing Eldorado and ask for some of the gold, the king asks with bewilderment: “I can 't understand why you people from Europe are so fond of our yellow mud, but take as much as you like, you’re welcome to it” (66). Just like the children, the king believes that the gold is of no value whatsoever and even compares it to “mud”, a matter that holds no value. By comparing the gold to mud, the king overemphasizes the worthlessness of gold in Eldorado’s society. Dalnekoff in her aforementioned text contends that, “It is a characteristic of utopian literature to satirize the economic systems of real society and the lust for gold and silver. ... While in the real world of Europe gold and silver are associated with what is noble and exalted, in Utopia they are
Utopia is a term invented by Sir Thomas More in 1515. However, he traces the root two Greek words outopia and eutopia which means a place does not exist and a fantasy, invention. It is widely accepted that Plato was to first to picture a utopian order. In his masterpiece, “Republic”, he formed the principles of ideal commonsense and his utopia (Hertzler, 1922:7). After the classical age, Sir Thomas More assumed to be the first of the utopian writers in early modern period. As a humanist, he gave the world in his “Utopia” a vision of a perfect communistic commonwealth (the history of utopian thought). Utopia’s influence on contemporary and rival scholars is so deep that it has given its name to whole class of literature. Following the appearance of More’s Utopia, there was a lack of Utopian literature for nearly a century (Hertzler, 1922:7). This period ended with the works of Francis Bacon, Campanelle and Harrington. These early modern utopians, being the children of Renaissance, filled with a love of knowledge and high respect for the newly truths of science. Thus, they believed that the common attainment of knowledge means the largest participation of all members of society in its joys and benefits. After the period of early Utopians, continuation of a sprit of French Revolution and initial signs of industrial revolution resulted in the emergence of a new group of Utopians called Socialist Utopians (Hertzler, 1922: 181). The word “Socialism” seems to have been first used by one of the leading Utopian Socialists, St Simon. In politics utopia is a desire that never come true neither now nor afterwards, a wish that is not based on social forces (material conditions and production) and is not supported by the growth and development of political, class forces. This paper discusses the validity of this claim, tries to present and evaluate the political reforms, if any, offered by Socialist Utopians.
At the beginning of the 17th chapter of Candide, we come to find that Candide and Cacambo are stranded after their horses die and they run out of supplies. They eventually come to the bank of a river where they find and take a canoe down the river searching for civilization. They end up on the shores of a village that is surrounded by unclimbable mountains. This village is known as El Dorado and it is unique for this time for multiple reasons. Since it is surrounded by these mountains, no outsiders can really enter or leave. This has made El Dorado into a utopian village. This means that everything is perfect in society and that there is hardly any controversy. This is shown when Candide and Cacambo speak with the old man and also when they speak to the king of El Dorado. When Candide and Cocambo speak with the old man, that is when they learn what El Dorado is truly like. They are fascinated over the fact that everyone concurs...
Of course, because it is a satire, Candide continues to have a badly founded and overly optimistic view on the world, even though there are piles of evidence that would point to the contrary. Candide’s complete inability to form his own philosophies and views without adopting others’ is an element of the text because again, it is a satire, but also to highlight the absurdity of thinking that everything happens in order to maintain balance and keep things for the best. Candide’s naivety and almost painfully deliberate simplemindedness is used to represent mankind. At the time this was written, many people displayed similar much less exaggerated traits. By highlighting the complete absurdity of this way of thinking through Candide’s childlike repetition of other characters’ values and ideas, Voltaire illustrated that everything is not for the best in this not best of all possible worlds. He stated that one cannot simply float through life expecting good things to happen to him, not making any decisions for himself and relying on others for his ideas. It is crucial that we work for our happiness in life, that we cultivate our
The so-called Utopia – the quasi-perfect society – flourishes in Margaret Cavendish’s “The Description of a New World, Called a Blazing World” and Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. While the former is a dreamlike account of fantasy rule and the latter a pseudo-realistic travelogue, both works paint a picture of worlds that are not so perfect after all. These imperfections glitter like false gemstones in the paths of these Utopians’ religious beliefs, political systems, and philosophical viewpoints.
Candide is an outlandishly humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man’s adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses much evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." Candide is Voltaire’s answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists - an easy way to rationalize evil and suffering. Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best.The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. The primary feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people can actively work to create a better world. A spirit of social reform characterized the political ideology of Enlightenment philosophers. While Voltaire’s Candide is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. It attacks the idea that optimism, which holds that rational thought can inhibit the evils perpetrated by human beings.
During the age of Enlightenment, the philosophes believed that reason could be used to explain everything. The philosophes believed that people could make the world a better place to live in. Voltaire is against such optimism. Ian Bell Says "The 'optimist' argument then, was complex and sophisticated, but like all ironists Voltaire chose to simplify it to the extent that it seemed complacent and absurd, and he went on to cast doubt on our chances of ever securing 'eternal happiness'"(1-2). According to Voltaire true happiness can only be experienced in an unreal world. The multitudes of disasters that Candide endures after leaving Eldorado culminate in his eventual abandonment of optimism. Candide loses four of his sheep laden with priceless jewels due to natural causes, and then sees his two remaining sheep stolen, and the local magistrate indifferent to the theft. "Certainly, [says Candide,] if everything goes well, it is in Eldorado and not in the rest of the world" (42). Candide goes a step further, "Oh Pangloss, cried Candide, you have no notion of these abominations! I'm through, I must give up your optimism after all. What's optimism? said Cacambo. Alas, said Candide, it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell" (40). Candide's enthusiastic view of life is contrasted with, and challenged by suffering that he endures throughout the book. Hence, Voltaire uses the book to satirize the foolishness of optimism.
Through the steady adversity faced by Candide, Voltaire brings up important questions about how the nature of optimism appears to commoners. Pangloss's philosophy of "the best of all possible worlds" - an example of the misleading optimistic theory advocated by the philosophers of the Enlightenment which Voltaire deems absurd, - is "listened to attentively and believed innocently" (2) by the young and naive Candide at the beginning of the novel. However, as the novel progresses Candide begins to balks at this optimist idea, in the end suggesting to his comrades to "cultivate our garden" (87). This, his own conclusion, can be interpreted as humble work is the only answer to a life continuously plagued with bad luck. Through the actions of his silly characters, Voltaire preaches that man is unable to understanding the evils in this world and concludes that the basic goal of life is not to seek pure and trivial happiness, rather it is to learn to survive.
Before reading Utopia, it is essential that the reader understand that like Jonathan Swift’s, A Modest Proposal, Utopia is satirical. More creates a frame narrative in which Raphael Hythloday, the novel’s main character, recollects his observations of Utopia during his five-year stay. Hythloday spares no detail in his descriptions of Utopia, as he discusses everything from their military practices, foreign relations, religion, philosophy, and marriage customs. Interestingly enough, everything Hythloday discusses in Book II seems to be a direct response to of all of t...
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
In Thomas More’s Utopia, an ideal society is presented, and several of this society’s different institutions are detailed. I will compare More’s version of an ideal society with Marx’s vision of what a conflict free communist society would be. I will examine the societal system as a whole focusing on the hierarchy of Utopia, the process of production, distribution of resources, and money.
Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He studied at Oxford where he took a profound love of classical literature. In Utopia, More shows his own skills in humanism. In this story, modeled after Plato's Republic, More examines his culture against a hypothetical culture he invents. His Utopia varies greatly from both his society and our society today. Four ways Utopia differs from our society are social system, attitude towards jewelry, marriage customs, and religion.
The true meaning of “Eldorado” in Voltaire’s Candide has been debated for some time. The scene of Eldorado is the visual philosophy of Voltaire’s thoughts of what an ideal society would be. It is a land of richness and where there is a state of being equal in status, rights, belief, and opportunity; it is free of greed, claiming titles or importance, religious strife or contention, and there is no suffering (Mason 55). Eldorado also brings the reader’s attention in its scene to show the bad fortune of realities of cultures beyond its land. If this land is the ideal society one would wonder why did Candide and Cacambo who had traveled different countries and experience many test and trails would want to leave. Voltaire visual scene in Eldorado and the characters makes the readers think that being too optimistic can cause a misrepresentation of what reality really is. The method and visual thoughts of Voltaire’s have some authors and critics expressing their opinion on religion, science, governments, utopia, and wealth; that the land of Eldorado is one that is too good to be true, and come off as unreal. Eldorado is the vision of Voltaire’s utopia where the land is desirable amongst the inhabitants and consists of what the readers are to believe the perfect society. The land is clearly the best of the worlds that Candide traveled which is a reflection of Pangloss when he said, “in this the best of all possible worlds” (Voltaire’s 101).
The story of Candide, “Eldorado” and what the meaning is, has been one of debate as to what Voltaire was interpreting in the story by some authors. The scene of Eldorado is the visual philosophy of Voltaire’s thoughts of what an ideal society would be. It is a land of richness and where there is a state of being equal in status, rights, belief, and opportunity; it is free of greed, claiming titles or importance, religious strife or contention, and there is no suffering (Mason 55). Eldorado also brings the reader’s attention in its scene to show the bad fortune of realities of cultures beyond its land. If this land is the ideal society one would wonder why did Candide and Cacambo who had traveled different countries and experience many test and trails would want to leave. Voltaire visual scene in Eldorado and the characters makes the readers think that being too optimistic can cause a misrepresentation of what reality really is. The method and visual thoughts of Voltaire’s have some authors and critics expressing their opinion on religion, science, governments, utopia, and wealth; that the land of Eldorado is one that is too good to be true, and come off as unreal. Eldorado is the vision of Voltaire’s utopia where the land is desirable amongst the inhabitants and consists of what the readers are to believe the perfect society. The land is clearly the best of the worlds that Candide traveled which is a reflection of Pangloss when he said, “in this the best of all possible worlds” (Voltaire’s 101).
In the novels Utopia, written by Thomas More and Ecotopia, written by Ernest Callenbach there are many similarities between the themes in these two utopian societies. One theme mentioned in both novels is the status of women; women are viewed as slightly differently in the Utopian verse Ecotiapian society. Another theme with similar features is happiness; the two societies portray happiness for those who live there. The citizens in both societies are productive members, working towards sustainability. They respect agriculture, growing crops from season to season, allowing all to be fed.
Because they are described in a detailed manner, Utopia book itself seems to be enough to be a blueprint for the future. However, Thomas More clearly stated that he just wishes Europeans to follow some good qualities of the Utopian society—“there are many things in the Utopian commonwealth that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (97)—because he himself knows that it is impossible for any country to be like Utopia. This is apparent, because Utopia is possible on the premise that if every factors comes perfectly to create this ideal society. Even the geography has to contribute to this premise as Hythloday explains the geography of Utopia as the place where stranger cannot enter without one of them (39). Moreover, from diligent and compassionate Utopians’ characteristics and their ways of life, they seem to be successful in reaching the fullest of every aspects of their life including physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, and emotional, when it is hardly possible to even have one person like that in real