SOOOOOOO after we entered this most amazing town, as I was still astonished of the customs and objects found around here (who would let children play with gold?), we met an old man who, he said, was 172 years old and he said he saw and knew about everything. He told us about the Spaniards that had named this place El Dorado, and that an english prince came very close to finding this town but couldnt because of the rocky mountains in his way. I thought that this was the most amazing place I had seen in my life! The streets were almost paved in gold.
He then told me about the women here, the arts, the customs of ED and then Cacambo asked what religion ED believed in. He said the same one that the rest of the world believed in, I thought he musnt know that much since he has only heard of one religion, which turned out to be a very strange one where everyone was a priest and no one got hurt because of it; this town didnt even have a prison!
So then we were invited to stay at the King's castle which was made of some sort of gold. It was the most incredible greeting I ever had in my short life: we were greeted by beautiful maids that dressed us and we were then led to the King's quarters where 2000 musicians played for us! I was starting to love this place!
We were shown the city with its tall buildings and abundant city life and I saw the Palace of the Sciences which was amazing.
So we spent a month as guests of the king and it was one of the best months of my life, but then I remembered that we had to go back to Buenes Aires for Cunegonde, my one and only love. So the king reluctantly agreed to let us go and built a machine to carry us and gold ladden sheep out of ED to the frontier.
And so we set off to find Cunegonde and to show her that I would not return empty handed, I had the sheep.
In this chapter, Voltaire uses several different satirical techniques.
When Candide and Cacambo meet the wise old man, they ask him what religion the people of ED are and he answers that they are the only religion that exists; he thinks there is only one religion in the world and it is not that serious for them: everyone is a priest, there are not conflicts about religion unlike the rest of the world that bases most of its wars or battles on conflicts. This is IRONIC because religion is actually so important and that Voltaire is suggesting that a heaven is somewhere where religion is only a minor factor in everyday life.
Another instance of IRONY in this chapter is when Candide asks for "a few sheep laden with the victuals, pebbles and the clay of your country". To the people of El Dorado, gold and precious stones are nothing and mean nothing; which is the opposite of what the rest of the world thinks. Voltaire is saying that a heaven (ED) is a place with a different value system then the normal societies and where money is not what makes the world go round.
When Cacambo and Candide greet the King by kissing him on both cheeks, Voltaire is suggesting that there are no social classes in ED and that that is what is best since ED is a Utopia. It is ironic because Kings are greeted with great honor and distinction in most parts of the world, Europe especially.
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