Voltaire’s Candide is well known for its humorous satire with many different themes. Voltaire did not agree with the philosophies of German philosopher Leibniz or with English poet Alexander Pope. They believed that the world created by God was the best of all possibilities and was a world of perfect order and reason. In fact, the character Pangloss was modeled after Leibniz and his optimistic statement, “best of all possible worlds” is used throughout Candide’s journey.
The novel has themes on the folly of being optimistic, evils of money, political and religion oppression. Candide is a naive illegitimate nephew of a German Baron. He grows up in the castle and is tutored by the all-knowing scholar Pangloss. Candide believes