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Candide- A Contrast To Optimis - School Essays

Candide- A Contrast To Optimis

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By: Russell Lankford
Francis Marie Arouet de Voltaire was the French author of the novella Candide, also known as “Optimism”(Durant and Durant 724). Many of Voltaire’s works were popular in Europe during his time, yet it is his satire, Candide, which is still studied today. In Candide, Voltaire sought to point out the fallacy of Gottfried William von Leibniz’s philosophy by criticizing worldly superiority, the theory of optimism, and the brutality of war.
Leibniz theorized that God, having the ability to pick from an infinite number of worlds, chose this world, “the best of all possible worlds”(18). To dispute that contention, Voltaire created Martin. Martin was the quintessential ...

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Martin’s pessimistic outlook on life is the antithesis of Leibniz’s theory that this world is the best. The evil that Martin perceived blinded him from the good that existed in the world. The land of Eldorado was the realization of Leibniz’s theory that this world is the best. In reference to Eldorado, Candide stated that “there’s no comparison between this country and the castle where I was born”(70). The fact that Eldorado was the perfect city revealed the flawed world in which Candide lived. Martin’s ability to focus on the evils in the world and the contrast between reality and Eldorado reflect Voltaire’s criticism of Leibniz’s belief that this world is the best possible.
To emphasize his criticism of optimism in the novel, Voltaire created Dr. Pangloss, an unconditional follower of Leibniz’s philosophy. Pangloss believed that everything had its purpose and things happened for the best. Even the horrendous Lisbon earthquake and fire were for the best according to ...

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Added: 2/25/2007 11:12:04 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 881
Pages: 4

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