When Cacambo and Candide arrive at the village, they meet the 172-year-old man. He explains that his people never want to leave their kingdom, Eldorado. High mountains surround the kingdom, what makes it difficult for outsiders to get inside, making Eldorado safe from conquerors, especially the Europeans. They also thank God every day for giving them what they need. No persecution because of religion occurs because everyone agrees about everything, what makes the country very successful and optimistic. After meeting the wise, old man they go to see the king of the turks.
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Voltaire clearly explains the perfectionist mindset’s failures and the need to adopt reasonable standards for evaluating one’s own life and the world. He depicts a stark contrast between Pococurante and the old Turk; the senator has amazing riches, but he is unable to use them to his benefit because his unreasonably high expectations prevent it. The old man has only modest means, but he utilizes them to their fullest and enjoys his opportunities -- instead of idly complaining about how much better the world might have been if his whims were realized. Candide witnesses both modes of thought; experience and reason ultimately lead him to adopt the old man’s example and thereby flourish. Candide’s prosperity is realistic and available to every man, because every man can learn to match his expectations with his abilities. Voltaire endeavors to convince readers how happy any man’s life might be if he ceased to bemoan the unattainable and focused on setting rational standards for himself."
and wide-ranging entrepreneur; he is also the editor and publisher
of the magazine The Rational Argument
With a world as terrible as the one we live in, it is necessary that the country is kept a secret. Voltaire describes the Europeans to be selfish, horrible, gold-diggers and just all around horrible people. With a Utopia like El Dorado I would also want to keep it a secret in order to keep the people in that country safe and happy. Maybe that is seen as selfish, but it was better to have a few people happy than to expose them to the world outside of El Dorado. It would be great if the Utopia would be worldwide, but that would be an unrealistic idea. Since we need evil to balance out the good in the world.
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