Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Candide Optimists choose to value a glass that is half filled with water. Pessimists acknowledge the missing water, and complain as they tell the waitress to fill up the glass. Optimism is a trait that certain people exhibit, displaying a distinctive outlook on life. It is a tactic that involves focusing on the positive sides of an issue while struggling through terrible circumstances. Throughout the novel Candide, the author Voltaire uses the base principle expressed by the optimistic philosophy to convey one mans quest for personal happiness. While Candide, the main character, is forced to strive through a repetition of hopeless events, he is reminded to live by the philosophy “All is for the best”. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westfalia under the influence of Dr. Pangloss. Dr. Pangloss firmly believes that “Things can not be otherwise; for since everything was made for a purpose, everything is necessarily for the best purpose” (Voltaire 18). Shortly after hearing the powerfu