The stories of Don Quixote and Candide are based on unrealistic and irrational ideas. The comic parody Don Quixote makes fun of the medieval romances readers in Cervantes’ time loved to read. However, below the parody, Don Quixote makes a moving observation about traits that all people share. Cervantes highlights the ways in which the fictional “reality” of chivalric legends was accepted in Spanish society and literature in Don Quixote. Books that contained chivalric legends presented themselves as historical accounts and cited other well-known sources to add realism to the images of “realities” they created, refusing to acknowledge their fictional components. Voltaire’s Candide tells the story of the troubles that befall an innocent young man. The subtitle of the book, Optimism, refers to Candide’s upbringing in which he is taught that his world is the best of all conceivable worlds. In the 18th century, Europe experienced a philosophical and intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment. Voltaire uses his story to criticize some of the popular ideas and philosophies at the time. In order to counter this overly optimistic view of reality, Candide uses violence and brutality as examples. Other significant problems of the 18th century, such as religious oppression, political tyranny, sexual violence, and financial corruption, and critiqued in Voltair’s narrative.
Don Quixote can be described as an idealist, despite the fact that, as has been demonstrated in particular discussions, the real Alonso Quixano is frequently visible beneath the knightly persona. Don Quixote is only an “idealist” or a lunatic when it comes to being a knight errant. He speaks practically about literary issues, as evidenced by his conversation with Don Diego de Miranda about poetry, He is the very embodiment of politeness and is capable of genuine gratitude, as evidenced by his suggestion of the New Arcadian maidens at the traffic light. Done Quixote’s common sense and moral principles are similar to those of Polonius’ when he counsels Laertes in the well-known scene from Hamlet. Don Quixote gives advice to the penurious Basil on how to keep his new wife and counsels Sancho on how to be a good governor. He is honest and chaste, and he generally enjoys the affection of those in his village who have come to know him. He convinces a couple of cunning lodgers to pay their innkeeper. Candide, the book's main character, is a kind-hearted but utterly naive young man. Their world is "the best of all possible worlds," his mentor Pangloss teaches him. Candide travels the world and encounters a wide range of misfortunes after being expelled from his adopted childhood home. He does this while seeking security and pursuing Cunégonde, the woman he loves. He is repeatedly forced to put his trust in Pangloss' unadulterated optimism. Candide is less a realistic character than a conduit for the attitudes and events that surround him. Nearly all external influences have an impact on his decisions and actions.
The idea of being detached from reality appears to be a common theme in both Don Quixote and Candide. When Quixote embarks on an adventure, everyone initially thinks he is dreaming it. Quixote fights for his perception of reality throughout the entire book. Others see him as a "mad" middle-aged man wearing a cardboard helmet and riding a worn-out horse, but he sees himself as a brave knight on an important adventure. As a result, Quixote's perception of reality has yet to be fully established. While the narrator and the story ultimately come to the conclusion that he was sincere and justified in his beliefs, with too many characters, he seemed to be completely detached from reality. They might assert that Quixote’s belief that he is a knight is a delusion, despite the fact that the story demonstrates that Quixote is a legendary knight known throughout Spain for his outstanding deeds and commitment to the chivalric code. They might assert that Quixote's belief that he is a knight is a delusion, despite the fact that the story demonstrates that Quixote is a legendary knight known throughout Spain for his outstanding deeds and commitment to the chivalric code. As a result, the question of Quixote's awareness is altered. By going so far and talking to so many people, he transforms reality to fit his delusions and ends up becoming the knight he always imagined himself to be. His legend follows him wherever he goes, and his reputation becomes his reality. Quixote may or may not be in touch with reality by the book's end, but there is no denying that he is a well-known knight. Candide starts the book as a devout pupil of Pangloss, but a traumatic event causes him to change his mind. Candide gradually loses faith. His conviction that suffering and evil are part of a greater divine harmony wanes as he learns more about life and the world. By the book's conclusion, Candide has learned that good deeds are not always rewarded with good, that the New World is just as rife with conflict and religious confusion as the Old, and that even the best of intentions cannot shield us from the worst of circumstances. Nevertheless, Candide makes the case that the struggle of everyday existence, a never-ending cycle of hope and disappointment might actually be preferable to a fixed belief in the "best of all possible worlds." The story of Don Quixote and Candide ends with both of them being detached from reality.
The adventures of Don Quixote and Candide are somewhat similar. Don Quixote is a middle-aged man who hails from the La Mancha region of central Spain. He decides to use his lance and sword to protect the defenseless and slay the wicked because he is obsessed with the chivalrous ideals extolled in the books he has read. After a first unsuccessful adventure, he embarks on a second one with Sancho Panza, a somewhat bewildered laborer whom he has persuaded to accompany him as his obedient squire. Don Quixote promises to make Sancho the wealthy ruler of an island in exchange for Sancho's assistance. Don Quixote travels the roads of Spain on his horse, Rocinante, an aged barn nag, in search of fame and great adventure. In the name of Dulcinea del Toboso, a peasant woman he imagines as a princess, he forgoes food, shelter, and comfort. Candide is the unrelated nephew of a German baron. He is educated by the learned Pangloss while growing up in the baron's castle and is taught that this is "the best of all possible worlds." Cunégonde, the young daughter of the baron, captures Candide's heart. When the baron sees the couple kissing, he kicks Candide out of his house. First living independently, Candide is soon enlisted in the Bulgar army. He takes a brief stroll away from camp before being brutally flogged as a deserter. He escapes after witnessing a horrifying battle and makes his way to Holland.
In some ways, Candide is lost in the fantasy of his philosophy because he is naive, overly optimistic, and full of himself. We find a similarly naive protagonist in Don Quixote, after whom the book is named. After reading so many stories of chivalry, Don Quixote becomes disconnected from his "world" and declares himself to be a knight errant, upholding ideals like honor, chastity, steadfastness, etc. Don Quixote portrays himself as the hero of tales about giants, magicians, moors, and other characters as he mediates the world. Candide and Don Quixote both have devoted friends who travel with them on their adventures. Just as Cacambo accompanied Candide across the Americas, Sancho Panza accompanied Don Quixote across his "medieval" landscape. The two books have a similar interest in discovering or conjuring up fantastical places that are either foreign or impossibly remote.
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