The main theme of Voltaire's novel, Candide, is the criticism of religions and beliefs. Through several religious characters, Voltaire manages to supply readers with enough information to infer his personal feelings on religion. There does not seem to be a specific reason to the novel being written besides Voltaire wanting to tell an adventure story and include a critical view of happenings of his time. Though the novel seems to be a very simple tale of a man trying to reach his lover, it is actually full of symbolism, themes and a look into the thoughts of the philosopher Voltaire. The novel's plot begins with the supposed hero, Candide, being exiled from his home in Westphalia, Germany for kissing the baron's daughter.
In his novel Candide immediately grabs readers" interest with a handful of colorful characters which he uses not only to write a book, but also to allegorically present his thoughts on certain aspects of his time. Some of his characters range from Cacambo, the servant from Portugal to Jacques the Dutch Anabaptist. These characters come from many different parts of the world. Voltaire uses both real and fictional countries of the 1600's to present his story. The most important and consequently interesting character in Candide is Candide himself. Through his adventurous travels to find his love, Candide experiences the best and worst of his world while meeting some of the most interest people in his life. Through listening and his experiences, Candide becomes a person very deep in understanding.
In the beginning of the novel Candide has an intelligent innocence about him that gives us readers a want to connect with him. From the moment he is exiled from his home Candide portrays many admirable traits through his actions and thinking that make him my favorite character. His intelligence that is "ignorant of the world" get him into trouble that otherwise could have been avoided.
