Curiosity And What It Gives Us

These two chapters in the book prove to be very important. The simple death of Pangloss is devastating to the story. Through the book the reader has learned everything from him. It might be Candide who applies it but it is Pangloss who teaches it. The only thing that comes to my mind would be that Candide already learned everything that he had to. If this is true then I am surprised. Candide has a life with a lot of tragedy and many times he does not handle situation correctly. This mentor experiences a very strange death: “…Pangloss was hanged, though that was not the usual practice on those occasions” (37). Does his death symbolize his importance? The student is quick to say that Pangloss is “the greatest of philosophers” (37) and maybe that is why he is given that special treatment. Each time I see a movie or read a book where the main character dies I like it. It changes that cliché where good always wins against bad. This is a great way to learn. You many times learn more through mistakes than through success.

One of the reasons the reader learns so much from Candide’s life, is because he questions everything. Curiosity is one of the greatest attributes god gave us and it is what allows us to expand. The urge to improve is one of the things that separates us from animals. Humanity loves to criticize the way it is doing things and talk about destruction. Voltaire mentions the world in a much more optimistic manner: “If this is the best of all possible worlds […] what can the rest be like” (37)? This theory might be true and if it is, I do not know if I should feel happy or let down. I love the world but to think of it as the best there is, is not exactly inspiring. All of the questions that are posed in the book make me wonder, what Voltaire was thinking about when he wrote the book. The only way we can answer this question is to ask ourselves the questions.