Optimism

In K Billy’s Super Sounds of the 70’s a certain blogger mentioned that Candide had taken a turn for the worst.  The opposite is true in the part of the novel that I have just analyzed.  Voltaire has finally decided to take a leap of faith, as did Candide and Cacambo, to vary from the structure he had been using.  He has switched to a form of adventurous narratives that not only entertain the reader, they show a new, more direct satirical style.  

Of course, Voltaire never misses a chance to lash out at religion.  “A Jesuit sprinkled holy water on us.  It was salt water, and a few drops of the disgusting stuff got into my eyes.” Pg. 65   The irony lies in the fact that it is a Jesuit telling the story.  Yet, he refers to holy water as “the disgusting stuff”.  Furthermore, Voltaire added a hint of sweetness to the salty tale that engulfs Cunegonde’s family.  The Jesuits took the bullet in this part of the novel, as Voltaire uses the story to depict them as horrible creatures that everybody hates and some want to eat.

The adventure: Candide and Cacambo are forced to run away from the Jesuits’ territory after the killing of Cunegonde’s brother.  After that, they embark upon a quest towards Cayenne, where they supposedly will find honorable Frenchmen.  “They had a rough idea which direction to take, but they found formidable obstacles everywhere in the shape of mountains, rivers, precipices, brigands, and savages.”  Pg. 73   Candide and Cacambo are forced to go through horrible endeavors in order to find shelter.  An annex to this excerpt would say some thing along the lines of: ever since Candide was born, he had trudged along only to finally arrive at the ideal place.  Is that what Voltaire would say?  No.  My proposed annexation doesn’t go along with the author’s approach towards writing.  It does however, go along with the plot and the pitiable life that Candide has had.

Finally, when the adventure is arriving at its climax, Voltaire lets fly an idea that I have suspected for some time now. 

“’What Country can this be?’ said one to the other.  ‘It must be unknown to the rest of the world, because everything is so different from what we are used to.  It is probably the country where all goes well: for there must obviously be some such place.  And whatever professor Pangloss might say, I often noticed that all went badly in all Westphalia.’”  Pg. 77  

Voltaire used sixteen chapters to focus on the worst places in the world, and the despicable aristocracy and religious institutions.  In Chapter seventeen he describes the country of Eldorado. He surprises the readers with a utopia.  Voltaire takes power as Candide and describes the perfect place.  It is pleasing to see that Voltaire/Candide sounds optimistic when he says that there must be a place where all goes well.  I hope this isn’t just a period of respite for Candide/Voltaire, as I hope that the book ends on a positive note.