Comparing the Candide by Voltaire to Man by Pope - Essay Example

Comparing the Candide by Voltaire to An Essay on Man by Pope An Essay on man by Pope is a poem that elaborates on the human nature and the potential of human happiness in relation to the universe, political and social hierarchies and the person individual. The essay is divided into four parts and represents the 18th century intellectual ideas concerning the role of humanity in the universe. In the first epistle, Pope in the tries to indicate the harmony and virtue of the universe in relation to the proprietary of humanity’s place in it despite the presence of evil and the imperfect nature of the world. On the other hand, Voltaire’s Candide, Candide and his friend the philosopher Dr. Pangloss are presented as to believe that the world they live is the best among all possible worlds. However, the adventure the two take around the whole lead them to conclude that the world they lived in was not only the worst world, but is a world that is filled with misery, calamity and misfortune. This contrast is shaped while Candide is driven out of the castle where he was raised, and is immediately captured by the brutal Bulgarians. Comparing the two essays, Pope represents the hope in humanity and humanity desires to achieve in making the world the best place to live while Voltaire’s candidate is a representation of a cruel world that has lost the meaning and essence of humanity. Voltaire’s depiction of a cruel world and a cruel humanity opens early as Candide is captured by Bulgarians and is taken to prison. While in enslavement, Candide is considered a hero by his counterparts in prison by receiving ten blows with the cudgel (Voltaire, 4). Candide is named a hero meaning that as a human someone recognized him and appreciated him. However, the heroism in Candide is satirical. It is not sensible for someone to be regarded a hero by receiving ten strokes of the cudgel. In short Candide is called a hero of his punishment. This presents a cruel world where though one may have light moments and feel recognized in the world. There are heavy blows that wipe this memory out in a short while and make this world inhuman and not fit for habitation. Pope on the other hand presents a lovely world, where he advocates man to look through nature and try to find God (Pope, 3). Pope invites st. John to wake and look into life to see the majestic in which nature provides life, “Expatiate free o’er all this scene of man, a might maze but not without a plan” Pope goes on to invite John to “a wild where weeds and floo’rs promiscuous shoot, or garden tempting with forbidden fruit.” This beginning by Pope presents a world of plenty, hope and a world where humanity have a duty to explore nature to find the identity of their God, “of man what we see but of his station here” (Pope, 3). This is a contrast from the Candide by Voltaire. While in Voltaire the world is represented as a cruel place with no peace, Pope introduces to a world where humanity is at peace and has to appreciate and look deep into nature to discover and see God. It is an invitation for humanity to reflect on who they real are, in relation to their nature and God himself “may tell us why heaven made us the way we are.” Despite the violence that exists in the world, Voltaire’s Candide similar to the Pope’s ‘An Essay on Man’, man tries to prove his identity. Voltaire uses Dr. Panlgoss to reflect this end. Pangloss is a philosopher as Voltaire (16) elaborates, “He proved admirably that there is no effect with without a cause, and in this possible world….” He goes further to elaborate that everything has purpose and everything was made for the best. Humorously, Voltaire in elaborating this says that the nose was made for holding spectacles (Voltaire, 16). Though this was satirical in that the nose was created for better purposes than for holding spectacles, it helps Pangloss to drive the point that everything was made for a purpose, and this made Candide happy and satisfied with this answer. This means that they too are seeking identity, the cause and effect relation and this might probably help in elaborating why the world had too much violence and brutality. The real view of the world in Voltaire’s Candide is viewed when Candide meets Martin, a pessimist and someone who sees no reason in living as compared to Pangloss. Martin tries to prove to Candide that there is little virtue in the world if any, and very little morality and happiness (Voltaire, 80). This portrays Voltaire as representation of hopelessness and the lack of meaning in life, the same life that Pope in ‘Essays on man tries to establish’. Pope (4) in verse 35 elaborates that man is not to be deemed imperfect, but a being suited to his place and rank among the creation, able to accord to the general arrangement of things and with comfort in relation to the ends that he still has not discovered. “…..the reason woud’st thou find, why formed so weak….” The contrast in the two books is established under these circumstances. Voltaire through his characters tries to define the life as meaninglessness and unworthy to live, while Pope advises man to consider himself as a perfect being with all the rights to occupy his position and in relation to God, nature and that which he still does not know. However, despite the loss of meaning in life in Voltaire’s Candide, Candide still struggles to find happiness and meaning in the every way possible. Candide upon seeing a couple walking past and signing says to Martin that “At least you must admit that these people are happy” (Voltaire, 80). Eldorado is described by Voltaire as extremely peaceful and serene country. The place has no jail, food, jails, war and need for material goods and is the best of all possible worlds (62). Eldorado is presented in this case as the highest resemblance of pessimism that Candide and others such as Martin had, and it reflected a perfect world where suffering was not part of life. This might be compared to verse 77 in Pope’s Essays on man that it is partly based on ignorance of future events, and the hope of future state that the happiness of man in the present depends (Pope, 6). The present happiness is being based on the future expectations in both stories, and this brings more satisfaction to those living presently. The Eldorado case represents this future, to express the optimism today amidst the difficult circumstances faced by Candide and others. However, this is short lived as upon arrival in England, Candide witnesses another brutal incidence as an admiral is executed due to failure to win the battle (Voltaire, 78). Upon questioning about the murder, candied was informed that “…. It is good to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage others” (Voltaire, 79). This emphasizes the world described by Martin as being unjust, unhappy and that lacks morals. It is a world that is full of brutality and that is inhabitable as compared to Eldorado and the world described by Pope; as he describes God as just, and laments on those who perceive him as unjust; “if man’s unhappy God’s unjust…….re judge his justice be the God of God” (Pope, 7). Pope explains a just world where God is viewed as just and fair to humanity, and criticizes any humans who has any lamentations against God to be God himself. This describes a world where God cares for humanity and is just, unlike the unjust world in Voltaire’s the Candide where people are killed indiscriminately. Both Voltaire’s Candide and Pope’s an Essay on man describe the optimism that man his in life and the way that man tries to frame this optimism to define their present life. However, Voltaire’s Candide represents a world that is cruel and brutal to her citizens, who try to find optimism and happiness though wishing for a better future as seen in the case of Eldorado. Pope’s An Essay on man on the other hand is a story of hope and peace in nature through which man tries to find his identity and his relation to God and nature. This represents a sense of hope and peace while, the Candide presents a world that is brutal and uninhabitable. Work cited Pope, Alexander, An Essay on man in four epistles. NY: Kissinger Publishing, 2004 Voltaire, Candide: or optimism. London: Yale University Press, 2005 Read More