The chief vehicle for Voltaires satire on optimism is Pangloss, a caricature of Leibnizian optimism and Candides mentor.

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“We Must Cultivate Our Garden”

        The political and social environments of the Enlightenment were revolutionary, both in thought and in action. Philosophes embodied the term “Age of Reason” and critically questioned traditional theories, customs, and morals. Among these, was the theory of optimism, which was often linked to a German philosopher named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Boden 296). Central to this philosophy was the belief that “everything happens for the best, in this the best of all possible worlds” (Wilson 765). However, as a Deist, Voltaire’s God was one who initially created the world, then left it to its own devices (Alexander 41). This principle, along with Voltaire’s own experiences with death and destruction (both man-made and natural, in the case of the Lisbon earthquake), led him to reject Leibniz’s claim. Voltaire uses Candide as a tool for discrediting optimism by creating a series of harsh trials and tribulations, constructing a utopian society that is in stark contrast to the real world, and personifying particular doctrines in his characters. Voltaire demonstrates a variety of irredeemable evils in the world including the Lisbon earthquake and disease, as well as evils of human design such as thievery and murder.

        The chief vehicle for Voltaire’s satire on optimism is Pangloss, a caricature of Leibnizian optimism and Candide’s mentor. Pangloss instills in Candide the principle that this world must be “the best possible one” (48), since God, who is perfect, created it and he cradles Candide in a womb of simplicity and naïveté. Human beings perceive evil in the world only because they do not understand the greater purpose that these so-called evil phenomena serve. Pangloss is an unconditional follower of Leibniz’s philosophy, even when misfortunes have befallen him. When Candide encounters Pangloss after a long period of time, Pangloss explains how he was almost hanged, then dissected, then beaten. Candide asks the philosopher if he still believes that everything is for the best, and Pangloss replies that he still held his original views. This exaggeration of optimism is used to show the irrationality in his logic and depicts how inexplicable his beliefs are which do not measure up to reality.

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        Conversely, Martin was created to show the opposite end of the spectrum. Martin embodies the tenets of pessimism in that he does not believe that everything is for the best in this world, nor does he believe in some natural “good.” He acknowledges the presence of evil in the world and does not try to justify it through convoluted logic, like his counterpart. In telling the story of his life, Martin refers to the fact that he is a “Manichee” (101). Manichaeans see the universe in terms of the dual forces of good and evil and believe that these two ...

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