Crime and Punishment

Considering how Candide grew up and the ideologies that were instilled in him, I don’t think his punishments fit the crime. He started off as a boy with the mentality of one and although his experience have caused his mentality to change a bit he is still transitioning into a man but keeping the idea of that which he had as a boy. It’s not his fault that he wasn’t taught to think as a man which is why I don’t think he deserves everything that he’s getting, or more so that which he got at the beginning. But the fact that he killed the apes and his cousin does deserve punishment. Following up with the philosophy that everything that happens is for the best then, him getting punished would be the best because in this situation I do believe that punishment might teach him a thing or two about what he’s doing wrong. So far that has obviously not worked but I think that Cunegande’s pain might actually be the punishment best suited for him. Maybe that’s not the point but if there was a connection between Candide’s actions and Cunegande’s suffering, his personality and mentality would make a huge change. So maybe the physical punishment at the beginning didn’t fit his crimes but the suffering of Cunegande throughout the story definitely fits.