In Candide, a series of unfortunate events happen to the main character, Candide, to demonstrate the absurdity of his mentor's philosophy that he lives in the best possible world. The main tenet of Pangloss' philosophy is that even from acts that appear evil, or suboptimal, there is a positive aspect that produces the best of all possible outcomes. In other words, there is no such thing as a suboptimal outcome or negative event. Candide demonstrates the absurdity of this mentality when Pangloss contracts syphilis and when Candide's benefactor drowns and an earthquake occurs in Lisbon, concluding with Pangloss doing his best to justify both events through the lens of his philosophy. Imagine contracting syphilis: Would it be more appropriate to complain about having such a disease or to express the benefits – the European discovery of cocoa and dyes – that followed Christopher Columbus's introduction of the disease to Europe? Pangloss, rather than feeling sorry for himself, speaks of the benefits mentioned above, “…For if Columbus had not caught this disease on an island in America…we would have neither chocolate nor cochineal (Voltaire 15).” This quote highlights how trapped Pangloss was in his own philosophy, that he could not see that his torment – ​​his syphilis – was pointless. You see, neither Pangloss nor anyone else had to suffer for anyone to receive chocolate or cochineal; in a better world, Christopher Columbus would not have brought syphilis with him after discovering the New World. However, Pangloss cannot conceive that a better world exists because he is enamored of pointing out that, where there is evil, there is also good, which is what he does by pointing out how Columbus went to the New World and contracted syphi. ..... middle of paper ...... reflecting critically on the events of his life - even just the two examples used in this essay -, he would probably find that this is not the best of all possible worlds as it is full of evil and suffering. With this story, Voltaire points out that some people spend their lives justifying – not rationalizing – world events because those same people are too busy trying to prove a theory rather than developing others that might better fit reality. When Candide dismisses Pangloss at the end of the story by saying, "Let us cultivate our own garden," he is rejecting Pangloss's philosophy, turning over a new leaf and taking charge of his own life and giving it its own meaning without Pangloss. ' influence.Works Cited Voltaire. White. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918. Project Gutenberg. Network. 11 January 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm