Pangloss is Candide's mentor and primary guide. He's the knowledge and worldview source for Candide. However, His effect is completely the opposite of the typical mentors. Pangloss knows little about the structure of the world since he lived only an idle life inside a castle. Candide has never had a direct experience with the outside world. Therefore, he without any question believes in Pangloss’s philosophy. Candide is incredibly gullible, faithful, idealistic, and innocent to an extreme level. He believes and accepts Pangloss’s overrated optimistic worldview. Moreover he blindly continues to hold to it through a dam of executions, gauntlets, earthquakes, floggings, and hangings. He endures big amount of suffering yet he keeps a positive worldview.
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Voltaire challenged the old thinking of society by searching useful and practical knowledge to explain the world he lives in. Voltaire assaulted and criticised the seventeenth-century philosopher Leibniz and his optimism. Leibniz believed in the “best of all possible worlds” instead of convincing himself that bad and good are the same; he presupposed that all things happen for a reason (Voltaire, Candide, 12 (introduction)). As a satirical representation of Leibniz, Voltaire casted Pangloss, since Leibniz’s “best of all possible worlds” is mantra of Pangloss “all is for the best”. For example, during a volcano Pangloss …show more content…
However, more than the other characters in the novella, Martin is a believable, because he's smart, intelligent and definitely more likely to draw conclusions that we can identify. Candide befriended him as a travel companion in his journey from Buenos Aires to France because of his pessimism and misfortune. Martin's philosophical standpoint is the opposite of Candide’s and Pangloss's philosophical views. Martin is as a pessimist as Pangloss is extreme an optimist and he is some-times flawed. Martin has suffered financial and personal obstructions in his life, also preached a philosophy of undiluted pessimism. He always expected the worst from the world and nothing but the worst that's why he's a flawed philosopher, he often had troubles seeing the world as it really was. He even took issue with Candide’s statement,
“"And yet there is some good in the world," replied Candide.
"Maybe so," said Martin, "but it has escaped my knowledge."” (Voltaire, Candide, 20. p.56).
In Martin’s estimation of the world, experience played big part of it than it does in Pangloss’s. When Martin analyzed the psychology of Count Pococurante and when he predicts that having money will not make Paquette and Giroflée happier, he showed that he has the ability to provide insight into events and it’s far beyond Pangloss’s
Voltaire challenged the old thinking of society by searching useful and practical knowledge to explain the world he lives in. Voltaire assaulted and criticised the seventeenth-century philosopher Leibniz and his optimism. Leibniz believed in the “best of all possible worlds” instead of convincing himself that bad and good are the same; he presupposed that all things happen for a reason (Voltaire, Candide, 12 (introduction)). As a satirical representation of Leibniz, Voltaire casted Pangloss, since Leibniz’s “best of all possible worlds” is mantra of Pangloss “all is for the best”. For example, during a volcano Pangloss …show more content…
However, more than the other characters in the novella, Martin is a believable, because he's smart, intelligent and definitely more likely to draw conclusions that we can identify. Candide befriended him as a travel companion in his journey from Buenos Aires to France because of his pessimism and misfortune. Martin's philosophical standpoint is the opposite of Candide’s and Pangloss's philosophical views. Martin is as a pessimist as Pangloss is extreme an optimist and he is some-times flawed. Martin has suffered financial and personal obstructions in his life, also preached a philosophy of undiluted pessimism. He always expected the worst from the world and nothing but the worst that's why he's a flawed philosopher, he often had troubles seeing the world as it really was. He even took issue with Candide’s statement,
“"And yet there is some good in the world," replied Candide.
"Maybe so," said Martin, "but it has escaped my knowledge."” (Voltaire, Candide, 20. p.56).
In Martin’s estimation of the world, experience played big part of it than it does in Pangloss’s. When Martin analyzed the psychology of Count Pococurante and when he predicts that having money will not make Paquette and Giroflée happier, he showed that he has the ability to provide insight into events and it’s far beyond Pangloss’s