Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire - Candide & L'Ingenu
Summary 1 and 2: Did Candide have parents by the time Cunegonde entered the scene? Decent summaries. The second one is a little long considering the number of pages. Make sure your next summary is of an assessment of one of the books rather than of Voltaire's life. If you write your paper on the life, you will be relying entirely on others' findings rather than your own thinking. You will use the information about his life to help justify your own findingings. 10/10 for each.
Summary 3: Also when one considers the biblical implications of garden, the Deism argument stands even more true. 10/10 Article Title: Voltaire vs Tolerance
by: Wendy McElory
Pages: 4 Article Analysis: Voltaire vs. Intolerance
“However, Candide could not refrain from making many more inquiries of the old man; he wanted to know in what manner they prayed to God in El Dorado.
‘We do not pray to Him at all,’ said the reverend sage; ‘we have nothing to ask of Him, He has given us all we want, and we give Him thanks incessantly.’” -Candide, Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire
Yes. And that is exactly the religious belief of Voltaire reflected upon his book. Although born and raised under a Jesuit house, Voltaire grew up to be a deist believing in an impersonal, possibly amoral, God. In 1733, Voltaire was credited with initiating the French Enlightenment.
The movement was started when Voltaire was banished from Paris and moved to England. From there, he wrote twenty-four ‘letters’ that was later published that contained vital ideas about religion that Voltaire observed in England. He made a bold statement in his Philosophical Dictionary: “Of all religions, the Christian is without doubt the one which should inspire tolerance most, although up to now the Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.”
It is interesting that he found this out by watching the commerce at England. He noticed that the London stock exchange or the free market is synonymous to peace. There, people did not care about other people’s religion, they just treated each other for economic benefit. From this, Voltaire derived the importance of freedom.
In the novel, Candide, by Voltaire, he emphasizes emancipation from the start when Candide refuses to listen to his parents and tries to marry Cunegedon. But that is not what Voltaire wanted to emphasize throughout the book. But rather, taking a look at the quote above, he wanted to stress the uselessness of many of the practices in France at the time. The Catholic Church, which dominated the French society, used its powers to discriminate and torture certain groups. Therefore in the novel, Voltaire mocks the society by making a civilization where God is not praised in a specific way yet the people of the civilization is the happiest, most prosperous and etc.
Similarly, in the novel L’Ingenu, Voltaire introduces a character named Ingenu, which means the ‘naïve one.’ He is naïve because he is uncontaminated the society norms since he is a Huron from the New Worlds. As soon as he arrives in France, all the people try to adopt Huron to follow their rigid religious procedures. Although confused and irritated, Ingenu follows the norms but Voltaire mocks the religion by saying that the people say to follow the Bible. However, there are so many exceptions and ways that they do not follow.
There is one point, unfortunately, that I disagree with the author of the article. She stated that people of England lived “happily together” in England because of business. But it is hard to say that the people lived happily together, rather the people ignored each other. Ignorance does not equal happiness. In order to gain true happiness, I believe just like the people of Eldorado in Candide, they need to learn how to live in harmony with each other. Article Title: The Infamous Philosophe
by: Mark Molesky
Pages: 3 Article Analysis: The Infamous Philosophe “By contrast, Pearson presents his subject living, thinking, and dying within the multifarious—and often paradoxical—universe of the ancient regime” (Molesky).
It is not a surprise that many find Voltaire to be a deist-a believer in existence of God from his numerous religion-satirizing novels. However, what the author presents in the article is hard to believe. Voltaire was actually a man of faith.
Could it be true? Molesky presents several facts to convince the readers He presents the incident in the spring of 1761—about twenty years before the death of the philosopher—when Voltaire renovated a small church. Why would a deist make such a move? And Voltaire proved himself to be religious by regularly attending the Sunday Mass and even received communion on the Easter.
But his relationship with the church was not always on the good side. Voltaire constantly challenged the limits of doctrinal acceptability but he never went as far to get excommunicated. The two novels of Candide and L’Ingenu also satirize the religious practices in France.
Even though Voltaire constantly challenged the authority of the religion, he was not an atheist. As a philosopher, he knew that certain aspects of life could not be explained by science. However, Voltaire strongly disagreed with the practices, in consequence, declared himself a deist.
Interestingly enough, it seems that his background influenced his belief. Born into a bourgeoisie, Voltaire became rich not by writing but through his investments. He took the advantage of free market and defended it with his reputation. As seen from the previous article, he praised the free market in England. And the point is also emphasized in this article by saying that Voltaire abhorred the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes because it was bad for business.
The idea of capitalism is portrayed explicitly in Candide. Eldorado is a Utopia, however, Candide chooses to leave the society because of a reason. Why? Because the society is free of any economical crisis—free market. So, he takes some money then exchanges money for his friends and spends a quite time for the rest of his life, tending to his garden.
What? Tend to his garden? Well, at least that’s what the author claimed that Voltaire believed in: to turn away from society and tend to one’s own problems. That is, however, certainly not true. As we know from the history of Voltaire, he is spontaneous. He is constantly in conflict with the church and even gets thrown into Bastille twice. And is banished from Paris, forever. Can he really be considered to be tending to his gardens? No, he is fighting for what he believes is good: free market. Article Title: The pursuit of happiness
by: Robert Darnton
Pages: 8 Article Analysis: The pursuit of happiness
“He becomes a philosophe – not a false philosopher, like his tutor Pangloss, but a true one, who opts for engagement instead of withdrawal. His pursuit of happiness, in the person of Cunegonde, does not lead to a happy ending. When he finally marries her, she has become ugly and disagreeable. But the pursuit has taught him to commit himself to something more substantial: polite society, or the process of civilization.” -The pursuit of happiness, Robert Darnton Who knew that both the novel, Candide, written by Voltaire and The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson are talking about the pursuit of happiness? Well, only to a certain level. But what does “happiness” mean to Voltaire? The answer lies in the statement, “we must cultivate our garden,” the final remark in Candide. Happiness lies in shutting off politics, capitalism, boredom, and isolation. Although a deist, Voltaire firmly believed that happiness existed on the surface of the Earth, not in heaven. Voltaire believed in two parts to happiness: hospitality and politeness. The American standard is much simply put—money.
Skimming over and analyzing different articles about Voltaire and his works, it was obvious that he had been in a lot of trouble but none talked explicitly about what he got into trouble for. Breaking down one of Voltaire’s most famous work, Candide, I saw why he was banished from Paris. In the novel, Voltaire depicts Eldorado—a utopia. There the philosopher-king of Eldorado provided hospitality that was beyond Candide’s thoughts. The king did not hesitate to provide large sum of gold. But he received the same hospitality by the Turk, whom Candide bought the farm from. What is Voltaire stating? He is saying that a ‘heaven’ like Eldorado is not comparably better than the world we are living in right now. Such is view is what kept him under the watch of the church.
Definitely, just like Darnton mentioned, Voltaire’s religious views are plainly stated in Candide. From the beginning of the novel, he openly criticizes other religions by creating a conflict within the manor. But probably the most controversial line is the last in the novel. Voltaire advises the readers to tend to one’s own gardens. What does that mean? It means to turn our backs to everything, including religion. Voltaire believed that religion only created problems. From religion, people are supposed to learn “politeness.” However, Darnton states that Voltaire did not believe so and it can be seen from Voltaire claims made in the novel.
Darnton mainly argues from a side where he believes that Voltaire is a atheist. But I disagree strongly about the claim. Voltaire’s work shows that he is—like many believe—a deist. Without a belief of God’s existence, Voltaire would have never created a society like Eldorado. Voltaire believes that a heaven exists and that is why he also cared much to have his body buried within church grounds.
The other part of the analytical essay, about The Declaration of Independence, is an interesting read, however, I focused on the author’s argument for Candide. The claims of the author stating that Voltaire believed life on Earth is equal to that of heaven is fascinating since Voltaire was a deist. 1) summary of main arguments
2) something surprising or interesting learned
3) agree/disagree with the ideas and then apply this to a scene or example from the book (one not mentioned by the critic).
Please try to disagree at least once with a critic.
Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire - Candide & L'Ingenu
Summary 1 and 2: Did Candide have parents by the time Cunegonde entered the scene? Decent summaries. The second one is a little long considering the number of pages. Make sure your next summary is of an assessment of one of the books rather than of Voltaire's life. If you write your paper on the life, you will be relying entirely on others' findings rather than your own thinking. You will use the information about his life to help justify your own findingings. 10/10 for each.
Summary 3: Also when one considers the biblical implications of garden, the Deism argument stands even more true. 10/10
Article Title: Voltaire vs Tolerance
by: Wendy McElory
Pages: 4
Article Analysis: Voltaire vs. Intolerance
“However, Candide could not refrain from making many more inquiries of the old man; he wanted to know in what manner they prayed to God in El Dorado.
‘We do not pray to Him at all,’ said the reverend sage; ‘we have nothing to ask of Him, He has given us all we want, and we give Him thanks incessantly.’”
-Candide, Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire
Yes. And that is exactly the religious belief of Voltaire reflected upon his book. Although born and raised under a Jesuit house, Voltaire grew up to be a deist believing in an impersonal, possibly amoral, God. In 1733, Voltaire was credited with initiating the French Enlightenment.
The movement was started when Voltaire was banished from Paris and moved to England. From there, he wrote twenty-four ‘letters’ that was later published that contained vital ideas about religion that Voltaire observed in England. He made a bold statement in his Philosophical Dictionary: “Of all religions, the Christian is without doubt the one which should inspire tolerance most, although up to now the Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.”
It is interesting that he found this out by watching the commerce at England. He noticed that the London stock exchange or the free market is synonymous to peace. There, people did not care about other people’s religion, they just treated each other for economic benefit. From this, Voltaire derived the importance of freedom.
In the novel, Candide, by Voltaire, he emphasizes emancipation from the start when Candide refuses to listen to his parents and tries to marry Cunegedon. But that is not what Voltaire wanted to emphasize throughout the book. But rather, taking a look at the quote above, he wanted to stress the uselessness of many of the practices in France at the time. The Catholic Church, which dominated the French society, used its powers to discriminate and torture certain groups. Therefore in the novel, Voltaire mocks the society by making a civilization where God is not praised in a specific way yet the people of the civilization is the happiest, most prosperous and etc.
Similarly, in the novel L’Ingenu, Voltaire introduces a character named Ingenu, which means the ‘naïve one.’ He is naïve because he is uncontaminated the society norms since he is a Huron from the New Worlds. As soon as he arrives in France, all the people try to adopt Huron to follow their rigid religious procedures. Although confused and irritated, Ingenu follows the norms but Voltaire mocks the religion by saying that the people say to follow the Bible. However, there are so many exceptions and ways that they do not follow.
There is one point, unfortunately, that I disagree with the author of the article. She stated that people of England lived “happily together” in England because of business. But it is hard to say that the people lived happily together, rather the people ignored each other. Ignorance does not equal happiness. In order to gain true happiness, I believe just like the people of Eldorado in Candide, they need to learn how to live in harmony with each other.
Article Title: The Infamous Philosophe
by: Mark Molesky
Pages: 3
Article Analysis: The Infamous Philosophe
“By contrast, Pearson presents his subject living, thinking, and dying within the multifarious—and often paradoxical—universe of the ancient regime” (Molesky).
It is not a surprise that many find Voltaire to be a deist-a believer in existence of God from his numerous religion-satirizing novels. However, what the author presents in the article is hard to believe. Voltaire was actually a man of faith.
Could it be true? Molesky presents several facts to convince the readers He presents the incident in the spring of 1761—about twenty years before the death of the philosopher—when Voltaire renovated a small church. Why would a deist make such a move? And Voltaire proved himself to be religious by regularly attending the Sunday Mass and even received communion on the Easter.
But his relationship with the church was not always on the good side. Voltaire constantly challenged the limits of doctrinal acceptability but he never went as far to get excommunicated. The two novels of Candide and L’Ingenu also satirize the religious practices in France.
Even though Voltaire constantly challenged the authority of the religion, he was not an atheist. As a philosopher, he knew that certain aspects of life could not be explained by science. However, Voltaire strongly disagreed with the practices, in consequence, declared himself a deist.
Interestingly enough, it seems that his background influenced his belief. Born into a bourgeoisie, Voltaire became rich not by writing but through his investments. He took the advantage of free market and defended it with his reputation. As seen from the previous article, he praised the free market in England. And the point is also emphasized in this article by saying that Voltaire abhorred the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes because it was bad for business.
The idea of capitalism is portrayed explicitly in Candide. Eldorado is a Utopia, however, Candide chooses to leave the society because of a reason. Why? Because the society is free of any economical crisis—free market. So, he takes some money then exchanges money for his friends and spends a quite time for the rest of his life, tending to his garden.
What? Tend to his garden? Well, at least that’s what the author claimed that Voltaire believed in: to turn away from society and tend to one’s own problems. That is, however, certainly not true. As we know from the history of Voltaire, he is spontaneous. He is constantly in conflict with the church and even gets thrown into Bastille twice. And is banished from Paris, forever. Can he really be considered to be tending to his gardens? No, he is fighting for what he believes is good: free market.
Article Title: The pursuit of happiness
by: Robert Darnton
Pages: 8
Article Analysis: The pursuit of happiness
“He becomes a philosophe – not a false philosopher, like his tutor Pangloss, but a true one, who opts for engagement instead of withdrawal. His pursuit of happiness, in the person of Cunegonde, does not lead to a happy ending. When he finally marries her, she has become ugly and disagreeable. But the pursuit has taught him to commit himself to something more substantial: polite society, or the process of civilization.”
-The pursuit of happiness, Robert Darnton
Who knew that both the novel, Candide, written by Voltaire and The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson are talking about the pursuit of happiness? Well, only to a certain level. But what does “happiness” mean to Voltaire? The answer lies in the statement, “we must cultivate our garden,” the final remark in Candide. Happiness lies in shutting off politics, capitalism, boredom, and isolation. Although a deist, Voltaire firmly believed that happiness existed on the surface of the Earth, not in heaven. Voltaire believed in two parts to happiness: hospitality and politeness. The American standard is much simply put—money.
Skimming over and analyzing different articles about Voltaire and his works, it was obvious that he had been in a lot of trouble but none talked explicitly about what he got into trouble for. Breaking down one of Voltaire’s most famous work, Candide, I saw why he was banished from Paris. In the novel, Voltaire depicts Eldorado—a utopia. There the philosopher-king of Eldorado provided hospitality that was beyond Candide’s thoughts. The king did not hesitate to provide large sum of gold. But he received the same hospitality by the Turk, whom Candide bought the farm from. What is Voltaire stating? He is saying that a ‘heaven’ like Eldorado is not comparably better than the world we are living in right now. Such is view is what kept him under the watch of the church.
Definitely, just like Darnton mentioned, Voltaire’s religious views are plainly stated in Candide. From the beginning of the novel, he openly criticizes other religions by creating a conflict within the manor. But probably the most controversial line is the last in the novel. Voltaire advises the readers to tend to one’s own gardens. What does that mean? It means to turn our backs to everything, including religion. Voltaire believed that religion only created problems. From religion, people are supposed to learn “politeness.” However, Darnton states that Voltaire did not believe so and it can be seen from Voltaire claims made in the novel.
Darnton mainly argues from a side where he believes that Voltaire is a atheist. But I disagree strongly about the claim. Voltaire’s work shows that he is—like many believe—a deist. Without a belief of God’s existence, Voltaire would have never created a society like Eldorado. Voltaire believes that a heaven exists and that is why he also cared much to have his body buried within church grounds.
The other part of the analytical essay, about The Declaration of Independence, is an interesting read, however, I focused on the author’s argument for Candide. The claims of the author stating that Voltaire believed life on Earth is equal to that of heaven is fascinating since Voltaire was a deist.
1) summary of main arguments
2) something surprising or interesting learned
3) agree/disagree with the ideas and then apply this to a scene or example from the book (one not mentioned by the critic).
Please try to disagree at least once with a critic.