Alyssa Pineda
Professor John
World Lit 2333
19 October 2016 Topic 1
The Age of Enlightenment was a time in which ideas of religion, philosophy, medicine and science began to develop. The main belief of the time was influenced by the philosophy of Leibniz. Leibniz believed that God was all good, and because He is all good, the world He created could only be the best one. Therefore Leibniz proposes that men cannot comprehend the goodness of God, and that everything that happens including misfortune and misery, is beneficiary for the “greater good”. However, Voltaire did not agree with this theory. He believed that God created the world, and put it into motion, but is not
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As mentioned earlier, Voltaire hated the idea of optimism. He wrote Candide in a way to make this philosophy seem unrealistic, and irrational. Candide’s mentor, Pangloss, teaches that this is the best life we could live, for it is the best possible of worlds. Despite his philosophy, both Pangloss and Candide suffer through beatings, disease, robberies, betrayal and much more throughout their journey, all which did not seem to lead to any kind of “greater good” for either characters. After Candide is banished from the garden and as his trails begin to arise, he reassures himself and others of Pangloss’s teaching that “…all events are linked by the chain of necessity and arranged for the best” (359), and tries to stay optimistic. As Candide continues on his lonesome journey, he reunites with Pangloss, and learns that he has contracted syphilis. The awful disease has gnawed away his ear, and impaired his vision. Candide asks “Is the devil at the root of the whole thing?” (360) to which Pangloss replies, “Not at all.”(361) Pangloss argues that the greater goods (chocolate and cochineal) accommodated for any negative effects of the disease. Despite what Pangloss endures, he sticks to his philosophy and continues to teach