Candide by Voltaire

Voltaire's Candide was not considered to be his best work during his time, so he would most likely be very surprised at the success that has come out of it. Voltaire focused on philosophical novels and essays. He began writing at the start of the Enlightenment, which was a literary and artistic movement in Europe during the end of the seventeenth century to the beginning of eighteenth century that focused on logic, order, and the law. This influenced Voltaire's writing a great deal. Voltaire did not have close relationships with his family. His mother died when he was ten years old, while he and his father had a falling out when Voltaire became a writer instead of a lawyer as his father hoped. He spoke of many issues that have a religious undertone and are still relevant today.
The novel is incredibly philosophical and has a central theme that is one of the hardest questions mankind has ever asked itself: Is there a greater purpose for all of the suffering that is endured during life? Throughout the novel Candide and his companions suffered many great losses. Pangloss believed that everything happened for a reason. In the first chapter Candide follows Pangloss's teachings devotedly and wholeheartedly believes that everything happens for a reason, until he is kicked out of the castle in Westphalia and his life begins to spiral from there. From that point through the rest of the novel Candide asked himself if his mentor was right, or if it was just a lie that humans tell each other to sleep easier. It is easy to believe that everything happens for a reason when life is great. The only time people begin to question things they have believed are when tragedies occur. This happens to everyone at some point in their life. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and that everything will turn out okay in the end. A few months ago a traveling priest visited from South America. He recalled vivid stories of tragedies that occurred while he was staying there. He conjured up images of dead children dead in the streets being eaten by rats and dogs, babies dying of hunger, families surviving on dirt and mud causing them to get worms. He told us that because he has had to undergo these things he, a priest, has struggled with his faith. When you see these horrific events come upon good people it is hard to believe that everything happens for a reason. Last week I found out that a priest, at the church I attend, had died. I was quite fond of Father Pazko, and I have never known anyone who has died before. I attended a funeral yesterday morning. This event may cause one to wonder why such a holy man would be taken from the world, but an ordinary person who has done nothing great with  their life was allowed to live. The only possible answer to that question could be fate. As a Catholic I believe in something called the mystery of fate, which is even if you have no proof you believe something. I have no proof that things happen for a reason, or no proof that this theory was not come up with by humans to make the thought of death easier; although I do completely believe it. Not because it makes me feel better, but because it would not make sense for us to be here for eighty years and then to just disappear into nothing.
The characters also struggled on if we have free will or if our lives are predestined. They eventually came to the conclusion "'All events are linked together in the best of possible worlds.' 'but we must cultivate our garden'". I took this statement to mean that the only thing we know for sure is that the main events in our lives impact other events. We do not know if our lives are predestined or not, but that does not mean we can just sit idly by. The choices that we make matter and in many instances define us. I believe that there is some mixture of both. I believe that God gave us free will, but he knows what choices that we will make and has planned how things turn out. Not only do our events affect other events, but the choices that other people make affect us. Everything we do has a ripple affect and those ripples turn into waves. Every small ripple and large wave hitting against the side of a lake causes erosion slightly altering and affecting the land. Our choices are ripples that affect other people and us.
The last substantial characteristic talked about in the book was the human characteristic that, no matter how much suffering is endured, humans will fight to live. All of the characters went through traumatic pasts and near death experiences, but when it truly came down to it they wanted to live and because of that persevered. As humans the thought of death scares us, so even when bad things happen repeatedly we still want to live.
Overall I enjoyed the book extremely well. It was enlightening; discussing issues that are still relevant today. Although the book talked about many issues such as these, there was still a broader storyline. I found it to be a very quick and entertaining read. Candide was a very witty character who added much needed sarcasm, dark humor, and comic relief to liven the story up. This is a book that everyone should read at one point or another in their lifetime.