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... h questions the accuracy of a dependency on faith. In the Book of Job, three of Jobs friends try to convince him to not be dismayed in the Lord due to the curses that have been stricken upon him because He is the only man who can rid Job of his problems. Job questions his friends by saying, Indeed this is true, but how can a man be righteous before God? He explains that there is nothing more that he can do to gain Gods praises and eventually convinces his friends that he is right. Finally Elijah, a young man who has listened to the argument, steps in and speaks on the Lords behalf.
He explains to Job that no man can claim that there is nothing else he can do to praise God because that is a sin. Elijah also tells Job that demanding to speak with the Lord and receive explanation for his work is a sin. Elijah concludes by saying, The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. Therefore, men revere him. For does he not have regard for all the wise in heart.
Elijah is complemented by the Lord speaking to Job from above. The Lord asks Job to repent his sins, and he does by answering, I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, Who is this that obscured my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things that I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. The Lord forgives Job and his three friends that did not continue to attempt to help Job make peace with the Lord. God also chose to repay Job for all that he had lost and suffered through by making him more wealthy than before and helping him to create a new family.
He also let Job enjoy this good life for another 140 years. The Book of Job concludes with faith in God prevailing over everything else. Voltaire takes a different approach to the end of Candide. Voltaire allows Candide to regain some of his faith by having Cunegonde, whom he thought was dead, return into his life with an old woman. She tells him her story of despair and Candide kills her two other suitors to regain her completely.
The group escapes Spain, and the old woman tells the story of her life to Candide, which not only contradicts his faith in optimism but also mocks the rules of the Catholic church, part of the Christian faith that optimism is a symbol of. Candide's faith takes another blow when he is forced to flee Buenos Aires and leave Cunegonde behind. Things get worse for Candide who runs into Cunegonde's brother and is forced to kill him after he flies into a rage when Candide mentions his plan to marry Cunegonde. After avoiding another near death situation, Candide and his newest companion, Cacambo, arrive in the magnificent country of Eldorado. Voltaire hints through two comments by Candide that Eldorado may actually be the only country where faith in optimism is justifiable. Candide says, In spite of what Dr.
Pangloss said, I often noticed that everything went very ill in Westphalia. He also remarks, If our friend Pangloss had seen Eldorado, he would not have said that the castle of Thunder-ten-trench was the best of all that exists on earth; certainly a man should travel. Both of these comments show that Candide can believe in optimism here. Voltaire may also be hinting through symbolism that this is the only country where Christianity is done right. Eldorado is symbolic of the state of Pennsylvania, which Voltaire respected for its way of government and religion. Upon leaving Eldorado in search of Cunegonde, Candide meets an aging philosopher named Martin who helps him distrust Pangloss theory of optimism.
After trips to France and England, Candide and Martin reach Venice where they meet Paquette, the maid that gave Pangloss a venereal disease, and Friar Giroflee. The two prove to Candide that most everyone is miserable. He finally travels to Turkey and meets the Barons son and Pangloss while traveling the Black Sea. The group continues on and eventually finds Cunegonde and the old woman, but Cunegonde is now ugly. While in Turkey, the group debates the theory of optimism, and Pangloss admits he never believed in it and was always miserable. The group discusses different theories before realizing the only thing to get one through life is working to avoid thinking about other things.
The group all works together on a farm and each finds a niche to fill. They all enjoy themselves through hard work and find life less miserable. Pangloss makes one last attempt to convince Candide about the theory of optimism by saying, All events are linked together in the best of possible worlds; for, after all, if you had not been driven from a fine castle for being kicked in the backside for love of Miss Cunegonde, if you hadnt been sent before the Inquisition, if you hadnt traveled across America on foot, if you hadnt given a good sword thrust to the Baron, if you hadnt lost all of your sheep from the good land of Eldorado, you wouldnt be sitting here eating candied citron and pistachios. Candide replies to the theory of optimism by commenting, That is very well put but we must cultivate our garden. Voltaire tries to make clear through his ending that while God may exist and have a plan for everyone, as seen in the Book of Job and Candide's acceptance of Pangloss last shot at optimism, hard work is more important to success on Earth than anything else. Voltaire shows in the book that if Candide had stopped searching as hard as he did for Cunegonde and had placed all of his faith in God to work things out, nothing would have happened.
Voltaire is unwilling to place religion as the key to success on Earth and therefore has Candide determine that hard work, represented symbolically by cultivating ones garden, is the first priority in life. Voltaire starts Candide with an allegory of the Book of Job to lay the context for a symbolic representation of his beliefs on Christianity as it existed in the world during his life. Voltaire altered the ending from the of Jobs conclusion to show that hard work, not religious perfection was the key to success in Europe, but he also hinted that Christianity in America may finally have a good balance between faith in God and a successful society on Earth. Bibliography: The Book of Job Candide
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