Optimism in Candide

Candide is a satirical novel by Voltaire written in the 1700s. In the novel, Voltaire
satirically exposes the claims made by enlightenment philosophers. They believed that
everything in the world is good because the creator of the world is good. Therefore, there is no
way a good God could create evil or bad things. Candide is the protagonist in the novel and is
faced with myriad challenges in the course of his life. Each of these challenges functions to
shape Candide’s view of life. At first, the reader is introduced to Candide as an optimistic and
uneducated young man. However, he encounters many struggles in life, and they affect his
optimism outrightly, depicting the author’s view of optimism as a philosophical flaw.
Candide listened to the philosophy and instructions of Master Pangloss, the tutor.
Pangloss was the religious leader of the family, and he taught Candide many philosophical
beliefs (Scherr 90). Pangloss believed in the good of the world. He believed that everything was
created for the ultimate good. He says, “things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all
things have been created for some and, they must be necessarily be created for the best end”
(Voltaire 2). Pangloss introduces Candide to optimism. The naive Candide accepts Pangloss’s
view of the world as the “best of all worlds” (Voltaire 2). While his optimism is unrealistic and
unfounded, h does not realize it at first. He had trust in Pangloss and his teachings.

Surname 2
Optimistic philosophy flourished in El Dorado, a place that is depicted as perfect.
Candide visited the place alongside Cacambo. The place was different, and unlike other places
that Candide had been to, the people in El Dorado were good and very content with what the
universe gave them. These people had a very simplistic view of life, and this can be linked to
their acceptance of the philosophy of optimism. One man in El Dorado told Cacambo, “I am very
ignorant, sir, but I am contented with my ignorance” (Voltaire 48). While the place existed in
Voltaire’s book, the author felt that the place could never exist in reality. It was a utopian society
where everyone enjoyed life, and people’s diverse needs were met (Minerva 166). The place was
well endowed with gold and other precious stones. However, no one was concerned, and it seems
like they never knew the stones’ real value.
Optimism relies on naivety; over time, expectations vanish, and optimism is tempered
with experience. Candide was optimistic because he had expectations and lacked experience.
Over time, he acquired experience, and his expectations vanished. Papadimos compares Candide
with today’s medical students (2). They are highly optimistic as they join medical school.
However, they encounter young adult developmental issues and enter into huge debts to finance
their education. They usually have a naivete of expectations. Over time, just as it happened with
Candide, their expectations vanish, and they experience tempers with their optimism (Worth
170). Skepticism, which is necessary to help strike a balance, often kicks in, and this offers their
naïve and young selves some protection. Candide’s case study fits that of today’s medical
students. Papadimos holds that Candide’s journey starts involuntarily when he is chased out of
the castle (2). He is punished for showing affection to Cunégonde, Baron’s daughter. Papadimos
argues that Candide envisioned an ideal relationship that was never to be because the universe is

Surname 3
not as perfect as he perceived it to be (5). He was however too young and naïve to understand
that.
Candide’s optimism is shaken several times in the course of his life until skepticism kicks
in along the way. At first, Candide, just like his master, cannot reconcile the fact that evil can
exist in a universe that is God-centered. According to McGregor, Candide is not yet ready to
accept that the world can be a chaotic place (362). He refuses to embrace the idea that humans
have the freewill and somehow believes in determinism. At the same time, Candide lives in a
universe where chaos reigns; he is blinded to this side of life. When Martin tries to introduce a
different perspective on the co-existence of good and evil in the world, Candide refuses to listen.
He tells Martin, “Surely the devil must be in you” (Voltaire 58). However, this does not go on for
long.
Pangloss, who is the master of optimism, suffers many misfortunes in life. He went
through hardships such as being whipped, dissected, and hanged. He got infected with Syphilis
and was later cured. However, his life was never the same gain as he was disfigured. At first, his
optimism helps him push through the hard times (Scherr 91). However, this does not last for long
as reality contradicts his famous philosophical mantra. He always said that his world was the best
of all possible worlds. However, with all the misfortunes, that statement no longer made sense.
He also admitted that his life had become miserable and that he had suffered. Majksner and Tina
argue that Pangloss’s optimism helped him push through the hard days (Voltaire 36). It
maintained his life. However, it is evident that he no longer believed in his mantra. His universe
had become intolerable, and there was nothing good in it while he continued to suffer.
Optimism s a flawed concept that is explicated in the lives of Candide and Pangloss.
They both experience difficulties. Candide, the young naive boy shifts from living in a castle to

Surname 4
living in the streets. He spends several days with no food or water until he meets buglers. Such a
world is far from the best, as Candide was made to believe by his tutor (Worth 168). He joins the
group of burglars and even tries to become like one of them. As a show of commitment, he had
to be caned. Voltaire remarks, “they gave him thirty blows with a cane; the next day he
performed his exercise a little better, and they gave him but twenty; the day following he came
off with ten” (Voltaire 4). He is swayed into believing that he is strong and a hero. However, that
is not the case. He was being abused and was too naive to see it.

Voltaire’s personal stand on optimism is finally revealed when Candide decides to reject
the flawed philosophy of optimism. He encounters many challenges. However, his turning point
occurs when he encounters a slave and learns about all the terrible things that she had gone
through, and this makes him take a step back and question what he had always believed. He
cries, “O Pangloss! such horrid doings never entered thy imagination. Here is an end of the
matter. I find myself, after all, obliged to renounce thy Optimism” (Voltaire 54). His follower,
Cacambo, did not understand what optimism was, and Candid told him that it implied believing
and maintaining that everything was best even when it was at its worst (Gillham 7. Candide
finally realizes that if the universe was indeed good, then the servant would not have had to go
through such horrid experiences. Candide had had a fair share of bad experiences as well. The
final straw that made him realize that the world was indeed a horrible place was his encounter
with the servant.
Candide then realized that his belief in optimism was flawed. He renounced his belief and
adopted a different worldview. He realized that the philosophy of optimism was flawed,
encouraged complacency, and even provided inconsistent excuses for evil things (Ioannou 18). It
failed to explain tragedies such as what had befallen Candide and the servant. In some instances,

Surname 5
the philosophy excused evil deeds and even gave men a justification for their evil acts. Instead of
causing good, the belief in optimism ended up causing emotional damage and pain.
Overall, Voltaire was opposed to the philosophy of optimism. He uses Candide and
Pangloss to express his views on the same. At first, he presents two characters who naively
believe in optimism. They viewed the world as a good place as well as everything that existed in
it. However, tragedies strike one after another, and this makes Candide, as well as his tutor,
reconsider their beliefs. Candide finally realizes that the world was not indeed good and that
good and evil co-existed in the world. The existence of evil in the world did not imply that its
creator was also evil. It just meant that evil exists and people engage in evil acts that sometimes
cause tragedies to others. Overall, the author proves that optimism co-exists with naivety, and
once naivety is dropped through experience, then optimism is also abandoned for a broader
worldview.

Surname 6

Works Cited

Gillham, Jane. “The science of optimism and hope: Research essays in honor of Martin EP
Seligman.” (2000).
Ioannou, Aikaterini X., and Konstantinos D. Malafantis. “The Contribution of the Literary
Works of François Fénelon’ The Adventures of Telemachus, Son of Ulysses’ and of
Voltaire’ Candide’, to the Cultivation of Humanitarian Awareness.” Pedagogical
Research 4.4 (2019): em0042.
Majksner, Ivana, and Tina Varga Oswald. “Popularization and/or Trivialization of Philosophy in
Voltaire’s Narrative Candide or Optimism.” CLEaR 3.2 (2016): 32-39.
McGregor, Rob Roy. “Pangloss’final Observation, An Ironic Flaw In Voltaire’s”
Candide”.” Romance Notes 20.3 (1980): 361-365.
Minerva, Nadia. “Candide: Optimism Demolished.” (1994): 166-168.
Papadimos, Thomas J. “Voltaire’s Candide, medical students, and mentoring.” Philosophy,
Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2.1 (2007): 1-5.
Scherr, Arthur. “Candide’s Pangloss: Voltaire’s tragicomic hero.” Romance notes 47.1 (2006):
87-96.
Voltaire, Francois. Candide, or optimism. Penguin UK, 2013.
Worth, Valerie. “Optimism and Misanthropy: Some Seventeenth-Century Models in a Late
Eighteenth-Century Debat.” Seventeenth-Century French Studies 13.1 (1991): 163-178.