Voltaire's Candide: the Best (or Worst) of All Worlds

For many of us, it's difficult to believe that we live in the best possible world. Amid the stress, pain and injustice that we endure throughout our lives, we lose perspective of how our problems affect us and how important they really are in the long run. In Voltaire's Candide, many of the main characters endure comparable misfortunes, but each of these characters takes his or her situation differently, dependent on each individual's philosophy, whether it's one of optimism or of pessimism. In our own limited perspectives-as if looking through a telescope and only being able to see a pixel in the vastness of space-we are at either end of the spectrum: with a certainty that all is for the best, or at the other extreme, feeling nothing that could befall us could possibly be worse.

We've all heard it said that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." This sentiment is most definitely seen throughout Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Candide, who has a sense of optimism no matter what horrors he sees or experiences, is unable to abandon philosopher Pangloss' teaching which makes him believe that they are indeed living in the "best of all possible worlds." Voltaire begins his novel by introducing Candide's lavish lifestyle in the castle of the Baron, from which he is, quite literally, kicked out of for experimenting with "cause and effect" (p. 5[1]) with his love Cunégonde in the beginning of the novel. His misfortunes continue, from being coaxed into war, to being beaten thousands of times, and also having been deeply affected by the calamities his acquaintances go through.