Gabriel Lott

Candide XI-XX Journal

Candide, Candide, Candide…it is quite a character! Ok this book was disgusting and
hilarious. And it made sense better than Gulliver! Also, the shorter chapters and overall
conciseness of it helped as well! Candide is like the Forrest Gump of the Enlightenment, always
getting caught up in the latest adventure or stumbling into historical events. And yet, he
maintains his carefree, devoted, lover mentality throughout the book. Always ready to quip about
how Pangloss was right that this was the best possible world! Also, no one expects the Spanish
Inquisition! And dead people are not always dead! And rape happens, a lot! And red sheep
(llamas)! And never trust a Dutchman (both in Candide and Gulliver)! I noticed how both
traveling adventurers had pun-ish names, Gulliver=Gullible, and Candide=Candid. El Dorado
was great satire of European nations of the time. I also thought it was funny that the servants
were typically wiser than the masters. And the old woman’s life kind of sucked! And Pangloss
learned the terrible lesson about unprotected sex! And poor Cunegonde got ugly and ravished!
But at least Candide ended up somewhat happily ever after! I actually thought the satire here was
keener and pointed towards the Enlightenment itself rather than a specific country like in
Gulliver. I actually ended up enjoying Candide more than Gulliver to some degree! It seems that
the French were more broad thinking in there satire than the English! Also, Anabaptists are good
guys! And pirates and invading armies are bad peoples and rapists! So, yeah, in the end, if I had
to decide which book was the better representation of satire in the Enlightenment era, I would
actually have to go with Candide over Gulliver’s Travels! Concise, clearer, and shorter wins over
specific, confusing, and long!