Voltaire's Candide as a vehicle for discrediting optimismOptimism appealed to many because it answered a deep philosophical question: if God is all-powerful and benevolent, so why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism offers an easy way out: God has made everything for the best, and although one may experience personal misfortune, God (through your misfortune) always helps the greater good. Voltaire's experiments led him to reject the idea that it is best. of all possible worlds. Looking at the death and destruction, both man-made and natural (including the Lisbon earthquake), Voltaire concluded that all was not well. Voltaire uses Candide as a vehicle to attack optimism. Pangloss does not aim to attack Leibnitz, but rather optimism as a philosophy. Thus, the reader cannot forget that all of Pangloss' ramblings are not personal attacks by Voltaire against Leibnitz, but represent in some way a characterization of the "typical" optimist. Pangloss, writes Voltaire, “proved admirably that there cannot be an effect without a cause, and that in the best of all possible worlds, the baron's castle was the most beautiful of all castles and his wife the best of all the possible baronesses” (Voltaire 2). We have thus established Pangloss as a champion of optimism. But just as quickly, Voltaire points out the absurdity of this doctrine. “Observe,” said Pangloss, seeking to demonstrate that everything has a cause and an effect, “noses were made to support glasses, so we have glasses. The legs, as everyone can clearly see, were made to be breeches, and so we have breeches. " (Voltaire 3). The sheer stupidity of these illogical conclusions risks...... middle of paper...... Candide will respond, in closing, to his friend the Optimist? "That is very well said , says Candide, "but we must cultivate our garden" (Voltaire 75). Works cited and consulted: Bottiglia, William. "The garden of Candide". Voltaire: A collection of critical essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 1968. Durant, Will, Ariel Durant. The History of Civilization: Part IX: The Age of Voltaire. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Frautschi, R. L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide New. York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968. Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide." Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Richter, Voltaire Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Candide and the Critics of Voltaire. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1996. Candide: Viking Publishers., 1998.