Candide Case

Hur Dolunay Kanal

Ms. Rachel Tafaro

English 2

1 October 2012

"What happened to Candide to Cunegonde, to Pangloss, to Martin, etc.?" (Voltaire)

Were there any people in the garden except from Candide and his friends and how they came to the garden? Candide was written by Voltaire to express ideas of optimism satirically against Leibniz's optimism. Dr. Pangloss was used through that idea of Voltaire. Dr. Pangloss was characterized as philosopher Leibniz to show optimism idea, despite all the misery of his life and through the end Pangloss was changed by all of the miseries. The term "Panglossian Pessimism" was occurred during that period and they fall into the garden to cultivate it and plant the ideas with all the miseries. Was the best of all possible worlds idea rotting or forming another one or just staying stable? These questions was wandering in the Pangloss' head and Pangloss, despite the losing control of his optimism idea, had to show opposite because of his philosophic side. While all of these tough events were the misery, surrounded the character, which way was the appropriate for their situation; to keep relying on the idea of optimism or with all misery to continue their destination?

Even though Dr. Pangloss can choose reality instead of optimism when confront world's reality but surely does not show it. In the beginning of the chapter 28, the Baron and the Pangloss start to tell their stories. Both of them had encountered though situations and backed from death's door. These two characters can express the opposite ideas; Optimism and the Pessimism. In that part the Baron expressed the snobbery and Pangloss expressed the arrogance and both of them, despite their near-death situation, survived. In that best of all possible worlds they took their places and continued to their life. Therefore, these manners took their places in the best of all possible worlds. In that world we see arrogance, snobbery, crucial incisions, burning bodies, ostracisms but all of these make our world better than other options can. However the validity of best of all possible worlds, if anyone has that horrible situations even one is a philosopher who supports the idea of optimism can think realistic. "When you were hanged, dissected, stunned with blows and made to row in the galleys, did you always think that everything was for the best in this world?" (Voltaire) , that question was asked by Candide to Pangloss and the answer was clearly "I am still of my first opinion" (Voltaire). Pangloss was not thinking clearly at that point but he knew that all of these situations make him misery about Leibniz's idea. For him, the idea of optimism is more important and efficient than reality.

Beside of that in the