Crime & Punishment

Do Candide's various punishments throughout the novel fit his various crimes?

The punishments Candide faces throughout this tale are varied and intense. Foremost and most obviously, we see Candide being punished for kissing Cunegonde and being subsequently banished from his castle. But this isn't the only punishment Candide has endured: he was at the mercy of Bulgarians who punished him for what seemed to be dissent from their army; he was caught in the middle of a hurricane outside Portugal; his friends were persecuted, killed, and ravaged; his goods were stolen; he has had to face great uncertainty, hardship, and swindling in a new world. What crime did Candide do to bring about these great hardships, from others and from Providence?

First of all was his ignorance which brought him persecution from Bulgarians. His ignorance in philosophy prevented him from doing the right thing when situations called for it, believing that all was already the best it could be. He killed two men, and a third in a new land. He rejected happiness and security in a Utopian society for his lover and greed.

And upon viewing his various punishments and crimes, we can now ask if they are of equal magnitude.  To me, the simple answer is that they are not: the punishments are far harsher. His physical, mental, and emotional tolls he has had to pay throughout this story (considering him having no previous preparation for such hardships) seems astronomical. Furthermore, some of his "crimes" seem like no crimes at all- the biggest one being ignorance.

In fact, looking deeper at the motives of all his crimes, ignorance is the root. He came together with the woman he loved, not knowing any better. He ignored honest men drowning based upon his belief that it was "the best." He took a careless stroll without knowing the misconceptions it might entail. He killed men based upon his innate hatred of them, not knowing how else to react to them. He wanted to succeed and get ahead in the world with riches from another.

So why should Candide be blamed? It is his ignorance which causes his crimes, and why is that punishable? It is clear that his punishments are far worse than his "crimes."

One thing's for sure, though: after all this hardship, the ignorance which engendered it all will most likely die, and die quickly.