Candide Foil Analysis free essay sample

Candide and Martin are very close friends. They traveled across Europe together. During that time they had many adventures and unique experiences. For example, they visited Lord Pococurante together and ate with six deposed leaders. However, they frequently debated with each other on different subjects such as when Candide asked Martin about his beliefs on the truthfulness of the captain’s large book. Despite their close relationship, Candide and Martin are very different. Candide is a diehard optimist. Throughout his entire journey he maintains the belief that he will return to Cunegonde again even when he is on the other side of the world. Even when his mentor, Pangloss, and Cunegonde are seemingly dead he does not become despondent but continues to believe that this is the best of all possible worlds. Martin, conversely, is a pessimist. Even when he was living in the perfect city of El Dorado, he still managed to find fault with his environment. We will write a custom essay sample on Candide Foil Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On their journey, Martin continued to tell Candide to give up his quest of returning to Cunegonde. Martin’s negative perspective serves to bring Candide’s positive outlook into clear view. Martin is a deep thinker who provides an intellectual argument for his beliefs. Candide seeks to hear Martin’s point of view on various topics, not out of a desire to debate, but rather to learn. For example, while on the boat, Candide simply asked Martin questions. When he received an answer, he would not counter. He would simply respond with another question on a different topic. Through this relationship, Voltaire was able to present Candide as a thoughtful, curious, and sanguine man. These traits came to life as they are contrasted to Martin, who was verbose, opinionated and cynical. The time spent together on their European trip provided many opportunities to bring these differences into the spotlight. While their journey brought many features of Candide into the open, it eventually impacted Candide’s view of the world as well. When Candide began his journey, he believed in his mentor Pangloss’ philosophy; that the world was a wonderful, joyous place; the best of all possible worlds. Over the course of his journey, he met all different types of people, all with different views on life and the world. One such person was the Old Woman. When Candide met her, he was just starting to adjust his views on life and open up to other points of view. When she told her story, he was shocked to find out how many bad things the world can dish out, and he further adjusted his views. The Old Woman experienced many different miseries throughout her life. She was raped, forced into slavery, lost her fiance, and lived through a brutal wartime. All of these experiences made her see the world very differently than the relatively inexperienced Candide. Seeing this difference alongside the Old Woman’s good nature made Candide start to be accepting of opposite views. Even though Candide was more accepting, Martin’s philosophy was extreme. He said people, â€Å"live either in convulsions of misery or in the lethargy of boredom. † The Old Woman was not living in either state but rather in a state of guarded realism. Because of the influence of these and other characters, Candide’s word view changed. He continued to believe the world was mostly good, but with some bad in it. This change in world view was profound for Candide. It showed how one person’s deepest beliefs could change because of his experiences in the world. If not for his meeting Martin, the Old Woman, and many other characters, Candide would have continued to believe blindly in Pangloss’ flawed philosophy. Without Martin, he may have been angered at other’s beliefs, or he may not have gone back to Europe when he did. The relationship between Candide and these characters served to juxtapose their experiences with Pangloss’ philosophy. As a result, Candide was able to evolve into the man he eventually became.