Reading the first few chapters of Candide, I immediately thought of our discussions in class on duty vs desire. Candide’s life in the beginning was a desirable one. He lived in a beautiful castle with beautiful people and no worries. However, he had a desire to be with Cunegonde when his duty is to remain loyal to the family. The problem was that Cunegonde had the blood of “pure” royalty and Candide was not. One day he allowed his desire to overcome his duty and in front of everyone at the dinner table, he kissed Cunegonde. Although, both had the desire to be with one another, the family did not feel the same. At that moment, the king took Candide and literally kicked him out of the castle. Candide was banished and so began his fortunes and misfortunes.

All that has happened in the story was do to the fact that he let his emotions get the best of him. However, what intrigued me was that he continued to allow his desires to get the best of him. In every situation in the story he chose desire no matter how bad or good the situation had become. From what I’ve read so far, this continued to occur. However, there was a scene that had stricken me the most that I felt was an important turn in the story. In chapter 17, Candide and Cacambo stumbled upon the country of Eldorado. This place seemed to be a utopia and yet Candide could not imagine staying there without Cunegonde by his side. In chapter 18, Candide asked the king of Eldorado to provide him a way out of Eldorado and the king thought him as a fool. However, the king did provide Candide and Cacambo with what ever they needed. This scene provided the reader to get a sense of how strong Candide’s desire for Cunegonde was. That his love blinded him of everything, even his own stability. To leave a “perfect” place like Eldorado after all the things Candide had been through, you’d have to be stupid.