What is Real? Our beliefs or Something Else? (Candide 4-9)

I find that Voltaire's Candide is a hard novel to read. The reason for this is that Voltaire doesn't write like most authors, but he writes in a way that is straight to the point, without going to much into details, and it seems more of a summary at times. The chronological order is really hard to follow, except for when Cunegund mentions she's been nine months as a servant of Portuguese Inquisitor. At times it's hard to follow becauseof he way it's written, but with a few re-reads, it all comes together and it's much easier to understand.

I find it ironic that Candide was kicked out of the castle for kissing Cunegund, and he was "kidnapped" by Barbarians (they eventually went easy on him), and after he was free in Holland, the Barbarians looted the castle in Westphalia, where everyone was killed save Cunegund and Pangloss. Candide always seems to be saved by somebody who will eventually die or be killed. For example, the Anabaptist who helped Candide took both him and Pangloss in, he gave them a house, a job and shelter, but when they were going to Portugal in his boat, everyone drowned in a storm except Pangloss, Candide, and a sailor. Why is Candide always the one who gets the lesser of two evils? When they punished by the Inquisitor in Portugal, why did Pangloss get to be hanged and why did Candide only get flogged? Was it perhaps they knew Pangloss was a philosopher and his ideas went against the Church, while Candide was only an apprentice. Is this another way of Voltaire showing the horrors of the church, by burning philosophers or thinkers that have different ideas? Perhaps he was showing that there are other ways of learning, since he himself was a philosopher. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Voltaire wrote this novel, other reasons perhaps beign showing the ignorance of the common man, and how philosophers are the new thinkers of the world. Still, Candide's optimism and ignorance might show that not every philosopher is right and that people should not believe everything they hear.

I think that Candide might be getting confused as to what to believe. Yes, he is rescued by an old woman after being flogged by the Grand Inquisitor, and yes, he was able to see Cunegund again because what happened happened. Still, he begins to doubt that everything happens for a reason because his mentor was hanged and because he was forced to kill both a Jew and the Grand Inquisitor. He also doesn't understand why the looting and taking of the castle happened. He starts to doubt the teachings of his mentor. Maybe Candide will finally "wake up" from his ignorance, maybe he will discover finally about the new world and leave his happiness from being safe in the castle completely behind, but discover a new world with his new lover Cunegund.