Candide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Candide - Essay Example Most of these Barons perverted justice because they had unfettered powers. Dr. Pangloss represented philosophers of that generation. Dr. Pangloss believed in logic steeped in divine providence. Dr. Pangloss position discouraged effort. It allowed people to accept things as they were and live with them. This position discouraged science and development in the society. James the Antabaptist depicted the fact that idealistic religion caused good people to suffer whilst bad people enjoyed life. This was a fundamental questioning of the essence of religion. This is shown by the fact that even though James did many good things by healing Dr. Pangloss, sharing the little he had and even rescuing the drowning man, he drowned in the stead of the person he sought to save. On the other hand, the bad person who was rescued got a new lease in life and went to loot from the rubles of the Lisbon earthquake. Candide, Ms Cunegund and the Old Woman were just helpless victims of the society who suffered because of the injustices of the European society. The institutions satirized included the Catholic Church which supported the oppressive system of Europe. The Old Woman was the daughter of a Pope. Protestants in Germany had a belief in divine providence which stood in the way of independent thinking. Protestants in Holland had a strong hatred for the Pope and this led to war. Atheists were seen as people who did not believe in anything but enjoyed life. States like Germany, Portugal, Ottoman Empire and Britain were depicted as unjust and disrespectful of human rights. They supported extrajudicial killing, slavery, war and many inhumane practices. Candides travels show the different trends in Europe like the injustices perpetrated in wars in Europe. In Holland, Voltaire shows evidence of anti-Catholicism, pure capitalism and lack of social security systems. In Lisbon,