Candide written by Voltaire was an amusing read for me. This satire book is about a man who believes everything that happens will be for the good of man, even though he is faced with incredible suffering. Personally, Candide was a page turner, the main characters face disaster after disaster, drama after drama and one indignity after another. The language in this book represented with dark humor was pure entertainment. This book shows us the other side of peoples lives and their problems. Voltaire does this by showing us different characters pain and struggles in their lives.
The plot of Candide is simple to follow. Young and naïve Candide stumbles from one misadventure to the next, including fighting in wars, being arrested, being nearly burned at the stake, finding El Dorado and leaving it. The way it’s written is repetitive as it continues from a different setting each time.
Furthermore, Voltaire’s beliefs and the philosophies created deep connections within me. Candide learns the principles of optimism from his mentor, Pangloss, and one of the philosophies that stuck out for me was “since everything was made for a purpose, everything is necessarily for the best purpose.” (pg.89) I really like this because I can find myself having the same belief. Having the attitude of this can only make the mind stronger. Pangloss’s philosophy encourages a passive attitude toward all that is wrong in the world. If this world is the best one possible, there is no reason to make effort to change things perceived as wrong or evil.