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believe this bitterness exists with hatred towards Professor Pangloss as he now co-exists with
him on Candide鈥檚 farm (Voltaire 413). Likewise, Candide鈥檚 bitter attitude and lack of desire to
marry Cunegonde (Voltaire 411鈥�12) does not mean that he hates Cunegonde, but that he simply
did not fully understand love, as his views were skewed at that age when they first exchanged
affection.
Na茂vet茅 and worldliness both play a significant role in this story. Candide was not a
stupid man, but simply a man that was misled from youth by Professor Pangloss. Upon his
journey he meets several others who too have their own moments of reconciliation; for Candide
it is not until the end of his odyssey and realizing the worldly experience he has gained that he
forfeits his na茂ve views of the world and love. Cunegonde was na茂ve enough to believe her
horrors were the worst anyone could face until her encounter with the old woman. The old
woman was forced to reconcile life as Martin stated it, 鈥渂ound to live either in convulsions of
misery or in the lethargy of boredom鈥� (Voltaire 412). Cacambo na茂vely served his master-turned-
friend until the bitter end when he realizes where his na茂ve loyalty has lead him. Martin, with his
na茂vely pessimistic views that there is little or no good in this world, finally realizes that the only
true happiness is living without speculation.
Ultimately reconciliation between na茂vet茅 and worldliness was found through analysis of
each of the characters, as well as their interactions with one another, but for our titular character
Candide, I believe reconciliation has been the hardest. As Candide suffered through the trials and
tribulations along his odyssey to retrieve Miss Cunegonde, Candide comes to the realization that
the world he has learned about was tainted by the teachings of a man seeking reconciliation in
his own life. Supposing Candide鈥檚 na茂vet茅 had been replaced with a truthful observation of the
world that awaited him, then it is quite possible the story presented to us may be one of great
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