In Chapter 17, Candide travels to Eldorado, a Utopian place literally overflowing with gemstones. However, Candide voluntarily leaves "this earthly paradise" not long after arriving.
Analyze the role of utopia (and/or dystopia) in Candide and analyze the work with respect to other utopian novels, such as Sir Thomas More's Utopia.
No more guidance is necessary here.
In Voltaire’s Candide, the role of the Utopian society was a rather considerable idea as it, to me, expresses Voltaire’s ideal society, particularly, a society that brings an abundance of wealth, comfort, security, and justice but it’s sadly a society that he knew couldn’t actually exist but could only highlight the downfalls of actuality. This is done by allowing Candide to “visit” Eldorado and experience the copiousness of life only to show how our culture is deprived of perfection. It’s sort of like getting a 1-hour glimpse of paradise/heaven only to come back to earth just to critique the world and all its malice, which makes me wonder, “What’s the point of experiencing it in the first place?” Similar to Sir Thomas More’s painting of his Utopia where education exists for both men and women and a perfect system that sees justice and fairness as mere elements that should be attainable for citizens, Voltaire also paints a very similar picture of his images of aesthetic perfection in which he shows a place where everyone is free, children playing with stones and gems, a perfect incorrupt government, the practice of one single religion, social embracement, etc.—pretty much the total opposite of what the protagonist experienced prior to this time in the novel. Even with all of these lavish blessings, the problem that exists here is that there is no real way to fill voids and eradicate the troubles of real life as Candide quickly realizes that this town is somewhat unavailing in the sense that all the riches here are held to the people of Eldorado as valueless to them and just meaningless objects. So, Candide leaves this place of Utopia to return to his life filled with dystopia—one filled with affliction and worries or simply reality. The riches Candide brings from Eldorado brings him more hell than if he would have never visited as they slowly disappear before his eyes, turning his optimism into pessimism and gloom—another picture of reality. This whole idea leads me to believe and argue that this was all Voltaire’s way of depicting the effects and consequences of greed and the quest for the unattainable which ultimately leads to further calamity and burdens.
ReplyDeleteIt seems odd to find a utopia in Candide because Voltaire refutes the idea that everything is for the best. Everything in a utopia truly is for the best because a utopia is supposed to be a perfect world. So, why would Voltaire include a perfect place in a book written to mock and dismantle Leibniz's philosophy of everything is for the best?
ReplyDeleteThe inclusion of El Dorado is just another venue for Voltaire's satire. Voltaire challenges the idea of any kind of perfection. In a true utopia, everyone would be happy and no one would want to leave. However, the villagers state that people have left and it is implied they have met Europeans but none are found. Swiftly after Candide arrives at El Dorado, he leaves. The reason he leaves is because his life is empty without Lady Cunegonde. In class, we discussed how the romance between Cunegonde and Candide is very similar to courtly love. The hero (Candide) chasing after an ideal woman prize (Cunegonde). The reader is left unsure as to why the others left. Voltaire's final message seems to be that suffering is just a natural part of human life. His reasoning for living is that we can find happiness in working against misfortune. If their is no misfortune, there is no true happiness. As a side note, it is interesting to observe that utopia's are often used ironically. Criticizing popular ideals by showing a world built from them. Voltaire seems to criticize utopias in general by calling them boring. As evidenced by how Count Pococurante had everything Candide could ever want but was unhappy. Candide finally recognizes that working with what you have is the way to find happiness.
Allen Mire
Allen Mire
Emily Avery
ReplyDeleteTo me the purpose of including the utopian society in the novel was to further exemplify the corruption of the world. Before Candide came across Eldorado we saw the world as a miserable place. After visiting the utopian society, the outside world seemed a little more cruel and even more miserable after having been compared to the perfect world. I think the main reason for its inclusion in the story was to act as a comparison between what life should be like and what it actually is, and to demonstrate even further that it is a vicious place.
One character trait that we haven't seen in Candide so far comes up in this chapter, when he discovers Eldorado, and that is greed. He spent so much time and energy grieving over his misfortunes and then finally comes to what is literally paradise. Not long after arriving he decides to leave. The reason for his departure was the thought of returning back to the outside world, superior to eveyone else, having more wealth than most could fathom. In Eldorado they were equal to everyone else, but in the outside world they could return with great wealth, making them above most. This idea, fueled by the desire to be with Cunegonde, drives him away.
I think this utopia can also be traced back to be a version of what voltaire considers utopia. From what I gathered in my research of chapters 1-16, Voltaire was against organized religion, which is one aspect of that world, along with the lack of religious persecution.
With some other research I learned a little bit about Sir Thomas More's book, Utopia, a phrase that he invented to be the name of an imaginary place. Some main themes of the book include religous tolerance and the rejection of the political system of the time. Such themes also go along with Voltaire's beliefs, which might be a reasong for including the utopian society in his book.
Robert Ballenger
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 17-19 Candide and Cacambo almost lose hope at surviving when their horses die, but they come across a canoe near a river that leads them to a society that is unusually wealthy with gems lying everywhere and no one living there seems to care about any of it. Candide is confused as to why this is but is quickly informed by the leader of this secret civilization that since it is so well guarded they have no fears of invaders. They live in a society where wealth is equal among all civilians so in a sense it is almost like a socialist society yet everything is perfect.
Candide decides he must leave, but brings a large amount of gems with him. On his journey from the utopia he encounters more and more people that try to take advantage of him. He quickly sees that it is because of this wealth that people attempt to hurt him. He sees that with all the wealth that was in the utopia was more than enough to end poverty in the rest of the world, yet they are happy on there on. Though, they do live in a society where they have nothing to worry about none of them actually have wealth as they are all equal.
In a sense it is a utopia, but depending on how you define what a utopia actually is, it really not be as great as one might think.
In Candide, he and his companion Cacambo travel to a society that seems virtually perfect. The people inhabiting the city are overtly kind to them although they are foreigners and haven’t done anything to prove they themselves are good people. The streets have diamonds and gems instead of rock and the soil is also composed of something equally valuable. One would think that Candide would want to stay here forever in this perfect world where he had even become friends with the king himself. However, both of the men are not completely satisfied because all of the valuable things in this land were only valuable to them, not to any of the natives-- they weren’t superior to anyone while possessing these items. So instead of continuing to live in this perfect world they take as many of the riches as they can back to the real world because this makes them more rich and exclusive than anyone else. I think Voltaire put this into the story to exemplify that there really is no such thing as a perfect world. In Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia,” a character by the name of Hythloday tells his traveling stories of a perfect land, Utopia, to two men. After he is done telling his story, one of the listeners, More, criticizes the “perfect land” saying some of the ways of these people was absurd. This also fits into the theme of the impossibilities of a perfect world, hence the name Utopia, literally a mixture of the two Greek words meaning “good place” and “no place.”
ReplyDeleteSarah Brumfield
ReplyDeleteVoltaire could have included his Utopian place of Eldorado in his novel Candide for many reasons. He could have simply needed Candide to have a means of getting where he wanted to be and what he wanted to have, and he used this Utopia to give him that. He also could have included Eldorado to represent an obviously mythical place to show the reader that places/things/people that are so perfectly happy is pure imaginary. In Eldorado everyone is equal and no one is truly wealthy. In the real world, in places where everyone is equal it is called communism. Obviously, much of the world has a huge issue with communism. The people of this blissfully ignorant place are only happy because they do not know what the rest of the world is like. Voltaire uses Eldorado to show that with any place that has outside influence, there is always going to be something more they do not have. Places where everyone is equal is just not logical. In this world we live in, every single person is looking for a means to get ahead. The wealth that Candide and Cacambo take from Eldorado is more than any other person in the “real” world could imagine. Voltaire also uses blissful ignorance with the farmer and his family. Only working and living within their own little plot of land is very odd. If they are so welcoming to strangers how can they stay so happy within themselves? People do not keep to themselves. It is just not human nature. We explore outside of our homes and analyze everyone and everything we come across.
Voltaire’s version of El Dorado portrays what he believes is the perfect society. The rest of the world seems like a dystopia in comparison. The “perfect” land of El Dorado has an almost Communist feel to it like the place described in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. The way everyone agrees with each other and coexist in perfect harmony are almost completely opposite of the real world outside of the utopias. I found it strange that even though the inhabitants of El Dorado know that there is an outside world suffering as they live carefree, this does not contaminate them with any ideas from the outside. Completely content with just living with no reward or punishment they stay in isolation. Without any kind of punishment can there be any reward or gratification? The society is so controlled in this way that I believe that this can even classify this utopia as a dystopia. Since, what is dystopia but a society that is under a controlled and repressed state?
ReplyDeleteIn Candide the period of time he spent in El Dorado was short, but was enough for him to miss the realness of the outside world that he was accustomed to. The hope for true happiness triumphed over the chance that he ends up completely miserable.
The utopia hidden in the mountains presents a choice to Candide: to continue his hopeful search for his fair Cunegonde or to be content with the perfection that is the utopian society. As described, it has all imaginable perfections in its structure from the government, education, to religious traditions. Each citizen plays a part in the utopia. Candide is offered the choice to stay there as long as he would like for no payment of any sort, the chance to be content with all the stones and gems of beauty and live in happiness and safety. But human nature rears its ugly head and demands to take all that he may carry and be the richest in the dystopia that is Europe instead of being equally as rich as the other citizens of the utopia. Our nature is never content with what we have so it pushes constantly for more. Candide feels this and wishes to go back to the dystopia despite its tragic and sorrow-filled plans for him. Voltaire is showing us how horribly blind we are to a better life and our stubbornness will be our demise. Immediately after leaving “El Dorado” terrible events befall Candide. He is once again at the mercy of the many dishonest and depraved people of the dystopia. They will not, of course, show him mercy.
ReplyDeleteAlana Lee
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 17 I feel like Candide left Utopia as early as he did because he had already previously had the attitude that big things like that don’t matter to him. It’s almost like Candide is content with life as is without all the extras. Like Utopia might have been there as a temptation to him but he didn’t give in to it (I feel like that’s what Utopia signifies). Candide seems to be a strong-willed and not many things get to him and he fights all temptations. Candide could have stayed in the city with all the jewels but he chose not to, he left. Candide is an example of what some people should be like in today’s society. Although he kind of does make himself out to be stubborn and nothing anyone else ever says or does matter. In a sense it good to have that attitude to not care about what others think, but to certain extent, like Candide takes it a little far from what’s been seen so far in the story. Also, Candide’s leaving may also be trying to show that he feels he doesn’t need the finer things in life even if they are put right there in front of him.
Adam Mier
ReplyDeleteIn Candide by Voltaire, Eldorado is a beautiful utopia that Candide and Cacambo come across when it seems like there is no more hope for them. In the novella, this utopia kind of serves as not only a utopia and seems to slowly turn into a dystopia as their stay extends.
When Candide and Cacambo arrive in Eldorado, there are astounded by the enormous amount of jewels and riches that are there. The children are playing with priceless jewels as if they were merely toys, the innkeeper isn’t allowed to charge people to stay at his inn, and there are people who speak Cacambo’s native tongue. Everything is, as you would expect from a place that is referred to as a “utopia,” perfect. However, during their stay, Candide decides that he does not want to stay in Eldorado if Cunegonde is not there. This is the point where it seems that Eldorado loses its status as a utopia and becomes a dystopia. I feel this way because all of the riches from Eldorado bring Candide more trouble than anything else. His wealth makes him prone to people wanting to steal his money, and ends up being the cause of Candide becoming a much more pessimistic person.
In summary, the role of the utopia was basically the opposite of what one would expect it to be. Rather than making the adventurer a much happier person, it brings out the worst in him. Candide’s only true utopia is Cunegonde.
On a side note, would this title of this prompt happen to have anything to do with the band Minus the Bear? I happened to notice that it's quite similar to the title of one of their songs...
Kairy Rosales
ReplyDeleteIn Voltaire’s Candide, I thought that the reason Candide came about Eldorado was because the rest of the world, was miserable to him. Everywhere he went he was stuck in a bad situation. Eldorado is considered a “perfect” place. Candide soon realizes that the gems really meant nothing to the village. It was nothing to them. After about a month or so, Candide feels like he can’t stay there any longer, since Cunégonde was not there with him. He decides to take the gems with him because it makes him more valuable in the outside world than in Eldorado. He soon realizes that this isn’t what should make you happy. This pretty much is Voltaire’s own utopia.
In Voltaire’s Candide, the city of El Dorado is juxtaposed against the rest of the world; utopia versus dystopia. The journey Candide and Cacambo endured to reach this harmonious land reflects the “purity” of this city. There were many obstacles and dangers they had to face and they went with the flow of wherever the river took them. It is almost as though El Dorado is naturally secluded to keep away the evils of the real world from entering and corrupting the city. With this lack of chaos within the village, it prospers and its inhabitants are happy. Although Candide enjoyed this perfect world, it was almost too surreal for him, and therefore he left and returned to the real world. El Dorado parallels the utopian society in The Giver; everything is flawless and structured. Unlike Candide, Jonas was bred in this kind of environment and was used to the order and harmony in his society. Of course, Jonas’s society is more extreme, where the individuals living there are all similar, behavior and looks wise, but more or less it was a strict community. There was so much order in these utopias that it seemed as though it was in some form, chaos. Candide and Jonas share a similar fate where they were submerged into this kind of society and realized they needed to escape into the real world; Candide leaves the paradise of El Dorado and Jonas is given the gift of memory and experiences emotions and beautiful colors.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Rabalais
Jordan Bloodsworth
ReplyDeleteI think the situation for Candide when he reaches this utopia is somewhat shocking to him. After all the places and conditions he as well as his friends have been in, this “perfect society” has apparently caught him off guard. Instead of people chasing him and trying to take his life, those that he comes in contact with are extremely nice to himself and Cacambo. This El Dorado seems to be what the two were looking for, but once they are here, they realize they must leave.
This got me to thinking about what Voltaire was trying to do here. Obviously there is no real utopia in the world we know and live in. But, if there was, would we be able to handle it? How would life be in EVERYTHING was theoretically perfect? What could be accomplished in life? Question after question can be asked here. In my opinion, this is why there is no perfect place on earth. Human nature and how we have been created simply don’t allow it.
Also, if there was a perfect society such as El Dorado, what would stop people from coming and stealing wealth like Candide did in the story? That minor flaw is enough to no longer make it a “perfect” place. In all, I like what Voltaire did here to get the reader thinking about this utopia.
Victoria Doskey
ReplyDelete(trying to get account to work)
Voltaire's Candide is dissatisfied with El Dorado as if it isn't good enough. This utopia not being good enough is comparable to all utopians we see. In The Giver a place without color exists, in Brave New World, people are appeased with drugs, and in Fahrenheit 451 knowledge from books are withheld from citizens. The problem with a utopia is that eventually there is a flaw in the planning. One can not be pleased always with on ideal. Cunegonde is not there, so how ever perfect a world is for most it is the essence of the individual who will find discontent. Utopia's are not full of destiny and or development, they are an ideal standard which never takes discourse and work against what Pangloss teaches that everything happens for a reason. Within El Dorado there is no room for flux or reaction and there for goes against what Candide has been taught to search for. Candide believes he must not exactly create his own destiny but believes there are goods and evils in the world and that a place where schools replace correctional facilities. This isn’t a place that teaches of Panglosses philosophies of balance of nature, but rather a place that sees only one view. Candide must leave to create or at least follow a better destiny than a constant norm.
Vanessa Hernandez
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Candide by Voltaire, Candide and Cacambo travel to the land called Eldorado. Eldorado was a perfect society; at first it surprised Cacambo and Candide that the people there didn’t recognize the wealth that surrounded them. Then during the discussion between Candide and the old man, the people of Eldorado are sheltered from “the greed of European nations, who have a quite irrational lust for the pebbles and dirt found in our soil, and would kill every man of us to get hold of them.” Candide could see this because if he did have wealth then he wouldn’t have stumbled into Eldorado, and he would have married lady Cunegonde.
Because the subject of greed and wealth doesn’t apply to Eldorado, Candide takes the “worthless” jewels. The reason he leaves is because of Cunegonde. Cacambo would follow him anywhere, and because Cunegonde seems worth the price of leaving this perfect place. I also think he leaves because in such a perfect society, where can someone like Candide find optimism? There is nothing to worry about living in such a perfect peaceful place, until it becomes too perfect. This place doesn’t exist.
Voltaire may have exaggerated Candide’s optimistic personality, but if he would’ve stayed, he would not have been happy without being with Cunegonde, and his thoughts toward the real world would probably fade away, because he would be in a place where bad things never happen.
Courtnay Griffith
ReplyDeleteIn Candide, Voltaire uses El Dorado to portray a utopian society that contrasts every other place visited in this novel. In this utopian society everyone gets along and believes in one unified theology. The King of El Dorado claims that El Dorado is poor city, desipite all the valuable gems and stones on the street and houses laden with gold, because they don't have the same views as the rest of the world.
The idea that El Dorado stays so secluded in order to not be contaminated by the world reflects Voltaire's belief that people become greedy and it just creates more problems. El Dorado is different from any other city mentioned in the novel. It is a successful community that knows no suffering because it is separated from all other worldly things. I also believe that it is symbolic that El Dorado is nearly impossible to get to. The enormous mountains and rivers symbolize that it is impossible to reach this utopian society. The fact that El Dorado is impenetrable also signifies that societies have no hope in living a life without suffering.
Candide doesn't care about how perfect El Dorado is, even though it ultimately is "the best of both worlds," his sole mission is to find his love. Candide sees that he can use El Dorado's riches in order to get him what he wants and decides to go back into the suffering, cruel world. His experiences in El Dorado have opened his eyes to the reality of suffering as is seen when he seems the man with no hand and no leg in Surinam. He suddenly recognizes the cruelty of suffering instead of just the "way things are supposed to be."
James Bowie
ReplyDeleteOption 2 Candide
Candide leaving the utopia of Eldorado to chase his love Cunegonde is almost a pun at the idea of romanticism along with other things. It makes fun of the idea of romance because when he finally makes his way to her after much hardship she is very ugly. Candide still goes through with marrying her because he came half way across the world to do so. Even though he says he didn’t even much feel like marrying her because of her ugliness.
Upon Candide reaching the Utopia a truly perfect world he had true happiness right in front of him. Yet Candide was set on finding his love Cunegonde thinking it was the only thing that could make him happy. This caused Candide to blind to the true joy in front of him at the Utopia. Showing that when you Place happiness on a person or object you can be blinded to the true happiness in front of you.
The In Eldorado Gold and precious gems have no value children play with them as toys. Eldorado also has no judicial system and no fights or quarrels making it a Utopia. In the rest of the world Gems and Gold have great value and can make a man very rich. Yet there is war bloodshed and injustices happening all the time. Showing how greed and the love for money is the root of most evil and injustices in our world.
Allen, good analysis. Utopias are usually presented ironically.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, good comparison to "The Giver" (side note: I haven't thought about that book since the 4th grade).
Victoria, good job bringing in other Utopian/dystopian novels (Brave New World, Farenheit 451) and then analyzing the flaw present in each Utopian society.
Adam, I'm not referencing Minus the Bear, but rather the movie "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" in which Augustus Shabadoo and friends must dance to save their youth center. The band you refer to is probably referencing that. I find sequels deplorable, and like to tack either "Electric Boogaloo" or "And this time, it's personal" when ever I see "(Insert previous movie title here) 2." You'll note my distaste grows exponentially with a three-quel, as the third post references one of the worst movies ever made.
Fallelo1021, you forgot to leave your name. Your grade floats somewhere in the ether...
ReplyDelete