El Dorado, pt. 1

After narrowly escaping being eaten be the people of Oreillion, my servant and I got into a fight about which way to travel. I insisted that we not go far from where my dear Cunegonde was, but Cacambo insisted that we flee to civilized Europe as fast as possible. I then exclaimed that we were not better off in my country, as the Bulgarians and Arabians are making the place a wasteland, and in Portugal I would be burnt. Cacambo, being the wise man he is, said "Let us make for Cayenne. We will find Frenchmen there--they are everywhere--and they will be able to help us." So that's what we did.

This turned out to be no easy task. We knew about where we wanted to go, just not how to get there. For over two months we traversed lands full of mountains, rivers, precipices, brigands, and savages. After four weeks, our horses died of fatigue, and we had to travel by foot. A week later, we ran out of provisions, and had to rely on the land to provide us with wild fruit and the like. One day, despite our lack of energy, we rejoiced, having found an empty canoe upon a river. After all the toil we had done to get to that stream, we decided to take a break and sail down the river. After all, we were tires, and there are always inhabitants of some sort on riverbanks. So we loaded some locally found fruit and headed downstream.

We past a variety of banks on our voyage. Some were full of sweet-smelling flowers; some were lush with beautifully colored birds filling the air with their melodious songs; while others were barren and scorched. We then came across a tunnel that lay ahead of us. Risking our lives, we decided to take the river that went through it, not knowing of its end. After a day or so of loud rushing and gurgling echoes, we saw the end of the tunnel, and deep ravine walls outside. Just as we exited this tunnel into the brilliant light, out canoe was bashed to pieces on the rocks. We dragged on for what seemed to be four hours, hopping across slippery rocks trying to find a way out. At the end of the ravine, we saw a vast landscape, lined with insurmountable mountains.

This land was the most beautiful that we had ever seen. It was cultivated with beauty and crops, and the people were carried in nearly extravagant carriages pulled by creatures that looked like red sheep. This was truly a secluded place allowed to flourish, and was better than all the other countries in Europe combined.

As we strolled towards the glittering city, we saw a peculiar site. Some local children were playing with some rather precious-looking stones. They were marbles made of gold, emerald, and ruby. I made the logical assumption that the kids were the king's children, and the teacher who beckoned them inside was the Royal Tutor. The children then left the rare stones, and the teacher took no notice to them. Puzzled, we continued into the city.

We came to a grand palace with sweet music and the smell of a savory meal. The people all spoke a language that I knew as Peruvian, and said aloud, kind of to myself, "I will be the interpreter."

The building was an inn, and we entered to find a meal, as we were famished. What we were served for dinner was beyond what the kings of Europe could imagine. We ate a total of 4 soups, each garnished with various exotic animals, such as parrots, monkeys, hummingbirds, and fly-trappers. Everyone at our dinner table, even the weary peddlers, had excellent table manners and talked politely with our guests.

After the meal, we did not know how to pay for our vastly expensive-looking dinner. When we asked the inn keeper, he laughed and said that all inns are free to travelers, as they are payed for by the government. He then apologized for the meal, saying that we were in a poor town, and as such, the meal was of poor quality. We were truly bemused by this experience.

...

In this passage, Voltaire uses various satirical techniques such as deus ex machina, slap stick, and situational irony. First, throughout this passage, the characters are being saved by unreasonable circumstances. In one instance, after walking around aimlessly for weeks, they just happen to come by a stream flanked with fruit trees, and an empty canoe tied up on the bank. However, it seems as though the characters are saved just to be punished again. For example, after being saved by the canoe, they are bashed onto a reef. They then are saved by the town of El Dorado, to be later let back out into the harsh, cruel mountains. Also, the townspeople in El Dorado seem to so good in their ways that they mock at all Europeans who have, compared to them, barbaric ways. Voltaire's characters are the "ideal" people, and seem to bash the ways of Europeans.

The main idea presented in this passage is subtle mocking of the greed in Europe. In one instance, Candide sees the school children playing with precious stones, and thinks that they are the kings kids. However, when the stones are left behind, he notices nobody cares - the townspeople are without greed. Voltaire uses this instance to mock the amount of greed in Europe. By making the townspeople more content than those in Europe, he shows that if Europe became less focused on money, the overall society would benefit.