Punish the Punk?

Oh Candide, our innocent, sweetheart hero who just so happens to be an officer in the Bulgarian Army, the master of a servant, killed two priests, the love of his life's brother, and two monkeys. Ironic huh? After reading that you most likely would put ol' Candide in the doghouse with everyone else who's bad.

However, with crimes(?) comes punishment. Candide is never shy about finding conflict and landing himself in trouble. But I don't necessarily fault Candide for all his actions.

Say for instance, the gauntlet in Chapter 2. Candide was punished for what the Bulgarian army declared "deserting" or going AWOL. So for a clear misunderstanding, he is given the option of death or basically gradual death for seeking peacefulness. Candide was not aware of what his walk around the countryside would result in. He is not knowledgeable of the military code or rules. He is a disavowed protege sucked into forced brutality. Candide was sheltered most of his life and that was taken away from him so that leads him to be very easily swayed because he wants to live a good life. Although Candide was forced into servitude, he was not aware of the responsibilities of a soldier, and when dealing with someone who is ignorant with that exact idea, he can't be blamed for an infraction of rules. Rules which were not explained to him.

Now let's jump ahead to Candide killing the monkeys in South America. As a punishment, Cacambo and he were bonded and faced death. This is also a misconception. With Candide growing up in Europe, monkeys, we are assuming, are not in close association with humans. They hang out in the jungle, we live in civilized societies. Him seeing such a primitive animal in close contact with a human was surprisingly shocking to him because it was not occurring in his native land. So it was almost instinct for Candide to grip the chrome. No one explained to Candide about the customs of people of that particular world and he was acting on what he believed was the right thing to do.

To conclude, Candide is a symbol of ignorance and a lack of individualism. He is someone who has been crafted by the views of others. From the beginning of the story to know, Candide reminds me of a kid developing into an adult. He has had to learn everything on his own, the hard way. He should not have to be punished for growing up and becoming his own person just like we are.