Voltaire Essays (Examples)

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Candide is a satire that is certainly a product of the century it was written in, the eighteenth century, and reflects the larger intellectual movements of the Age of Enlightenment. Discuss how themes of the Enlightenment are clearly illustrated in the various strands of the work, specifically using satirical commentary. How does Voltaire engage with these ideas and what is his ultimate stance about them? You might want to develop a theme connected to ideas of a particular character or characters, and connect them to institutions existing in late early-modern France.
Although Candide is obviously a fictional tale, Voltaire did not write the satire merely to entertain but also to instruct. An Enlightenment era philosopher, Voltaire wished to illustrate the importance of rational thought and expose the errors of superstition. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of this is the novel's disdain for religious hypocrisy, although it also shows similar contempt for….

Voltaire and Dostoyevsky
Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground and Voltaire's Candide are precisely similar works: in attempting to construct a narrative critique of a philosophical system, they slip from harsh satire into a form of sentimentality. I would suggest that comparing the two works' differing approaches to the philosophical problems of optimism, adversity, and violence are indicative of a different attitude altogether toward the philosophical problems presented. Dostoyevsky is passionate but ultimately sees no alternative between traditional religious morality and nihilism; Voltaire, by contrast, sees traditional religious morality as banal and proposes his own alternative. But in my conclusion, I will compare and contrast the role played by comedy in both works -- although each takes a broadly satirical approach toward the philosophical fashions of the present-day, only Candide is the genuinely comic work.

In comparing the role played by optimism in both works, it is important to recall that this was Voltaire's….

This section of the novel opens our eyes to the real monster of the story and, as a result, we feel sympathy for the creature. His desire to learn about life and the world around him is amazing and his encounter with the De Lacey family demonstrates just how much he wants to makes friends and be a part of his "community." He teaches himself to read and attempts to make friends with this family because he is aware of the importance of connecting with others. atching them, he is filled with "sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature" (Shelley 93) and wants to be a part of their world. He is a good creature at first and Shelley does an excellent job of portraying him in this light. He only becomes evil after he suffers rejection and abuse from those that he is trying to connect with on….

Voltaire and Story of a Good Brahmin
According to Merriam-ebster's Collegiate Dictionary, the word "Brahmin" is defined as "a Hindu state of the highest caste traditionally assigned to the priesthood" (Mish, 149). This means that a good Brahmin is at the highest level of enlightenment within the Hindu social system. One would think this state of being would be an accomplishment and would bring about happiness and peace. This paper explores on many levels Voltaire's Story of a Good Brahmin found in many of his collected works.

Upon reading the text, it appears that despite the good Brahmin's path to Nirvana, he also has a dilemma in life. It appears he has spent too many years pondering the big questions in life, with no one to listen to him and he feels this plight has made him miserable. This state of being brings up many questions for the reader. Should he have….

Voltaire's Candide
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Voltaire's "Candide" is several novels rolled into one. (Homer and Hull, 1978), he returns to the life of a commoner. His life has gone full circle. From flights of fancy, he derives pleasure from one of the most basic occupations -- farming. Voltaire's epic works at several levels. His disdain for philosophies at the cost of realism is evident. Pangloss, the "metaphysico-theologo-cosmonolonigolo" ic tutor is not particularly equipped when confronted with life's harsh realities. In the long run, there is a reversal of roles: from Candide's starry eyed wonderment of Pangloss' learning, to Pangloss' life at the pleasure of Candide.
The essay will argue that in keeping with the alternative title for Candide -- Optimism -- throughout the narrative, Candide always looks ahead to the future. His travails would have put paid to most people. ut his optimism and will to survive enables him to use all his abilities to protect….

Voltaire's "Candide" (lake and Kazin, 1976) contain aspects of anti-religious sentiments. oth epics are quasi-historical -- they provide a commentary on the prevailing times; both works also provide a view into lake and Voltaire's personal opinions and leanings. Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits -- priests belonging to the society of Jesuits. Voltaire railed against the prevailing cultural and religious mores that sought to forget socio-economic conditions to satisfy some pre-ordained, religious (mis)interpretations of divine mandates. lake, similarly, was mortified by the dualism practiced by the religious of the time. He did not like or appreciate the way in which every thing was seen from the point of black or white. If the Church deemed something unfit, the practitioner of that aspect of life came under severe remonstrations and even met the ultimate penalty of death. oth authors struggle against the fact that these rules were beneficial to those….

Voltaire wrote Candide, he wrote a masterpiece of satiric literature in which he explored many philosophical questions of the day. Many of those issues intersected with each other, so putting them together in one treatise was a useful way to look at them as they interacted in a fictional story. This paper will look at five of those issues: fate, evil, personal choice, religion, and optimism.
To tell this tale, Voltaire used two main characters: Candide and Pangloss. Neither name seems to be an accident. Candide wants to discover the true nature of the philosophical issues he is grappling with. Pangloss is optimistic to a level of caricature, which suggests his name, glossing over everything, no matter how unpleasant or even evil it seems.

FATE

In Chapter 20 (third paragraph from the end), this conversation takes place about fate:

You see," said Candide to Martin, "that vice is sometimes punished. This villain, the….

Voltaire's Book Candide
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Candide
In his signature work Candide, French author Voltaire offers an extensive criticism of seventeenth and eighteenth-century social, cultural, and political realities. Aiming the brunt of his satirical attack on the elite strata of society, Voltaire simultaneously criticizes some liberal Enlightenment philosophies. Voltaire mocks the authority of both Church and State, showing the corruption inherent in each. Similarly, the novel points out the insipid arrogance of the aristocracy, especially via his relationship with the Baron and his family, all of whom except for his beloved Cunegonde remain farcically nameless throughout the novel. Although Voltaire sympathizes with the core values of Enlightenment thought such as social justice, reason, and egalitarianism, his novel demonstrates disappointment with the distortion of those values. Excess optimism, represented clearly by Pangloss, and excess pessimism, represented by Martin, are portrayed as the two impractical extremes of Enlightenment values in Candide. Furthermore, while Voltaire appreciates the burgeoning rationalism and….

arfare was obviously distasteful for Voltaire as he showed with 'Te deum' or the Christian hymn of thanksgiving. The soldiers of both the parties sing the song even though neither side was in a position to have won the battle. Voltaire showed that the atrocities of war would never be prevented even with international laws. As Voltaire depicted two armies present as a glorious spectacle, he was showing the terrible atmosphere that was created in the music and gunfire. Candide saw that on the battlefield that guns and bayonets would lead to more thirty thousand rogues death and Candide trembled in terror. So when the both kings and their armies sing 'Te Deum' only Candide seems to understand that both sides of the village are ruined. In summary, Voltaire is quite clear when he describes all that Candide saw from the shocking massacre of the community was the soldiers'….

d.).
Hewett (2006) stated Locke believed that merely facts from abstract ideas are eternal "as the existence of things is to be known only from experience," this moreover emphasize his line of reasoning that related to morality for he added that "the truth and certainty of moral discourses abstracts from the lives of men, and the existence of those values in the world, whereof they treat." Locke believed in inquiring everything and denying the authority either of the past or of the clergy for he desired everyone to depend on their own judgment and reasoning which is exactly the he created an contention to defend believing in God, and made sure to rebut the thought that reason is different to faith, saying that faith can never sway us of anything that opposes our knowledge and disagreeing that, apart from in the instance of divine revelation, people must constantly look first….

Even in this moment of supreme individual stupidity and rigidity, which Voltaire plays up with brilliant sarcastic comedy, Pangloss attributes his continued optimism to the intellectual worship of Leibniz. This instance shows that men are generally not stupid individually, in Voltaire's view, but rather that they are dependent on others for this quality.
Other examples of stupidity and other negative human qualities being obtained through association abound. In Paraguay, Candide has an unlikely encounter with the brother of Cungeund, whom he plans to marry. Immediately after embracing him as a brother himself, Candide reveals his intentions to marry Cunegund, and explains his careful reasoning over the brother's angry protestations. After Candide again insist that he will marry Cunegund, her brother responds thusly: "e shall see to that, villain!' said the Jesuit, Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, and struck him across the face with the flat side of his sword" (Voltaire, 36). IThough….

Women in Candide Is a
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he has lived through violence, rape, slavery, and betrayal and seen the ravages of war and greed. The old woman's story also functions as a criticism of religious hypocrisy. he is the daughter of the Pope, the most prominent member of the Catholic Church. The Pope has not only violated his vow of celibacy, but has also proven unable and unwilling to protect his daughter from the misfortunes that befell her.
Candide also displays this sense of hope in light of his many hardships. He honors his commitment to marry Cunegonde at the end of the story despite the physical abnormalities that have plagued her. Cunegonde is a young and beautiful woman at the beginning of Candide. Mirroring Candide's naive optimism, their love plays out in unrealistic romantic cliches: a blush, a dropped handkerchief, a surreptitious kiss behind a screen. However, this romance in the shelter of the Baron's estate….

That the story is real and that we can learn from it becomes an extremely important aspect. Improvement begins with realization.
The old woman reveals one of the most horrific tales in the story. Chapter 11 reveals some of the most heinous treatment of women. The old woman recounts a tale of being taken to Morocco and sold as slaves. On the ship to Morocco, she tells of how she was raped by Prince of Masa Carrara, a "abominable Nergo who yet thought he was doing me much honor" (37). She wraps up her rape story by saying "these things are so common that they are not worth speaking of" (37). Things were not better in Morocco as the Europeans "fought with the fury of the lions, tigers and snakes of the country to see who should have us" (37). All the women were cut and massacred and many were….

Lesson 3 Journal Entry
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Do you disagree with any of Pope's opinions or pronouncements in the Heroic Couplets or "An Essay on Man"?

Pope is critical of individuals who "cry, if man's unhappy, God's unjust," suggesting that the unhappiest people are people who blame God, rather than themselves for all of their troubles, or who curse God because their lives are imperfect. The need to accept life's imperfections while still working to enact positive changes within the limitations of humanity is a positive message still relevant for people today.

Based on what you have read of "The Rape of the Lock," what do you think the poem's theme or central message is? What or who are the objects of his satire? Does the epic, "The Rape of the Lock" apply in any way to society today? Identify two passages that could serve as satiric commentaries on people's behavior today. Your answer should discuss both the passage….

entourage minor characters accompanies Candide assists / hampers journey. Voltaire characters express personal ideas criticisms contemporary French society politics. Discuss minor characters acts a spokesman Voltaire's complaints French politics, society, culture early 18th century.
Martin in Voltaire's Candide

'All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.' So Voltaire's Dr. Pangloss proclaims in the satire Candide. Candide skewers the philosophy of life of the idealistic philosopher Leibnitz, with whom Voltaire disagreed vehemently. Leibnitz believed that the world existed in a state of perfect harmony. The unbridled optimism embodied by Pangloss is constantly undermined by the horrible events in the world around him, including inquisitions, rapes, and murders.

To take issue with the Panglossian philosophy of optimism, Voltaire introduces a man named Martin who functions as Pangloss' antithesis. Martin, like all of the characters of the work, has survived countless horrors, but he seems to see the world clearly, unfiltered….

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4 Pages
Essay

Literature - French

The Enlightenment Philosophy of Voltaire

Words: 1243
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

Candide is a satire that is certainly a product of the century it was written in, the eighteenth century, and reflects the larger intellectual movements of the Age of…

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4 Pages
Thesis

Literature

Voltaire and Dostoyevsky Dostoyevsky's Notes From Underground

Words: 1513
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Thesis

Voltaire and Dostoyevsky Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground and Voltaire's Candide are precisely similar works: in attempting to construct a narrative critique of a philosophical system, they slip from harsh satire…

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4 Pages
Essay

Literature

Voltaire's Candide and Shelley's Frankenstein

Words: 1179
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

This section of the novel opens our eyes to the real monster of the story and, as a result, we feel sympathy for the creature. His desire to…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Voltaire and Story of a Good Brahmin

Words: 1293
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Voltaire and Story of a Good Brahmin According to Merriam-ebster's Collegiate Dictionary, the word "Brahmin" is defined as "a Hindu state of the highest caste traditionally assigned to the priesthood"…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Voltaire's Candide

Words: 1515
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Voltaire's "Candide" is several novels rolled into one. (Homer and Hull, 1978), he returns to the life of a commoner. His life has gone full circle. From flights of…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Mythology - Religion

Voltaire's Candide Blake and Kazin 1976 Contain

Words: 1177
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Voltaire's "Candide" (lake and Kazin, 1976) contain aspects of anti-religious sentiments. oth epics are quasi-historical -- they provide a commentary on the prevailing times; both works also provide…

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image
5 Pages
Term Paper

Mythology - Religion

Voltaire Wrote Candide He Wrote a Masterpiece

Words: 1578
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Voltaire wrote Candide, he wrote a masterpiece of satiric literature in which he explored many philosophical questions of the day. Many of those issues intersected with each other,…

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image
5 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Voltaire's Book Candide

Words: 1514
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Candide In his signature work Candide, French author Voltaire offers an extensive criticism of seventeenth and eighteenth-century social, cultural, and political realities. Aiming the brunt of his satirical attack on…

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image
4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Satiric Themes in Voltaire's Candide

Words: 1134
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

arfare was obviously distasteful for Voltaire as he showed with 'Te deum' or the Christian hymn of thanksgiving. The soldiers of both the parties sing the song even…

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3 Pages
Essay

Mythology - Religion

Human Nature Voltaire Rousseau &

Words: 1167
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Essay

d.). Hewett (2006) stated Locke believed that merely facts from abstract ideas are eternal "as the existence of things is to be known only from experience," this moreover emphasize…

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3 Pages
Book Review

Literature

Seeing Past Cynicism in Candide

Words: 918
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Book Review

Even in this moment of supreme individual stupidity and rigidity, which Voltaire plays up with brilliant sarcastic comedy, Pangloss attributes his continued optimism to the intellectual worship of…

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6 Pages
Thesis

Literature

Women in Candide Is a

Words: 2153
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Thesis

he has lived through violence, rape, slavery, and betrayal and seen the ravages of war and greed. The old woman's story also functions as a criticism of religious…

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4 Pages
Research Paper

Sports - Women

Exploitation of Women in Candide

Words: 1135
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Research Paper

That the story is real and that we can learn from it becomes an extremely important aspect. Improvement begins with realization. The old woman reveals one of the most…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Lesson 3 Journal Entry

Words: 1160
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Do you disagree with any of Pope's opinions or pronouncements in the Heroic Couplets or "An Essay on Man"? Pope is critical of individuals who "cry, if man's unhappy, God's…

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2 Pages
Essay

Literature

Entourage Minor Characters Accompanies Candide Assists

Words: 744
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

entourage minor characters accompanies Candide assists / hampers journey. Voltaire characters express personal ideas criticisms contemporary French society politics. Discuss minor characters acts a spokesman Voltaire's complaints French…

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