I'm not sure exactly what to say about this one, not only is this an old story, but it was originally in another language. So it's like watching a foreign Shakespeare play and trying to read the poorly translated english subtitles. As a universal rule translations never turn out as well as the original, and the formating is almost always messed up due to grammer differences.
So while the book was readable, the format was strange and distracting to me, and that made it hard to focus on the concepts presented.
From what I was able to make out despite my distraction, the book is a mockery of optimism as it was back in Voltaire's time. Optimism was the belief that this was the best of all possible worlds and everything that is... is as it should be.
The characters in Candide are initially nobles in England who are pretty well off and have no real issues to speak of at the time. So it's easy for them to embrace the concept of optimism.
When Candide is kicked out of his home and exposed to the real world he see many things showing that the world is NOT all good and perfect, quite the opposite in fact. His noble attitude and ignorance of how things work in reality lands him in hot water frequently.
The other characters in the book who started off well are also exposed to the cruelties of the world when the castle they live in is attacked and overrun. So now all the characters in the book are given a reality check. The world does not fit into the idea of optimism very well at all, if this were the best of all possible worlds woe be to people living in other worlds.
The book to me seems to be a slap in the face to the well off nobles of Voltaire's time who hoarded their wealth while other people suffered. It seems to accuse them of being ignorant and complacent, as if they think that there are no problems in the world simply because they have no real problems.
Well it wouldn't surprise me if that's how nobles acted back then, they were born into wealth and power and never experienced anything else, so they wouldn't know about what the common people suffered through. It's pretty much the same thing today, only now it's worse because the people in power come from the common people and DO know about our problems, but now that their rich and powerful they don't care.
There might be other implications in this book, but I did not see them. So I'm gonna wrap up now. Goodbye until next time!
It isn't just optimism, but the pursuit of happiness (which we hold so dear in the US) that comes under attack. We struggle for different forms of happiness (like riches in the city of Eldorado) and in the end, we find peace of mind by tending to our garden. Why do we hold the pursuit of happiness in such high regard? Can you catch it?
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