Candide - A Contrast to Optimism Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire was the French author of the novella Candide, also known as "Optimism"(Durant and Durant 724). In Candide, Voltaire sought to point out the fallacy of Gottfried William von Leibniz's theory of optimism and the hardships brought on by the resulting inaction toward the evils of the world. Voltaire's use of satire, and its techniques of exaggeration and contrast highlight the evil and brutality of …
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…tearing apart Pangloss' philosophy, using Martin as a contrast to Pangloss, showing the destruction caused by natural disasters, and the brutality of war. --- Works Cited Durant, Will, Ariel Durant. The Story of Civilization: Part IX: The Age of Voltaire. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968. Voltaire. Candide. In Candide, Zadig and Selected Stories. Trans. Donald Frame, New York: Penguin Group, 1961.