All Is Not For The Best Essay - 1134 Words

quot;All is Not for the Bestquot; 10-K Candide Voltaires Candide is the story of an innocent mans experiences in a mad and evil world, his struggle to survive in that world, and his need to ultimately come to terms with it. All people experience the turmoil of life and must overcome obstacles, both natural and man-made, in order to eventually achieve happiness. In life, quot;man must find a medium between what Martin (scholar and companion to Candide) calls the quot;convulsions of anxietyquot; and the quot;lethargy of boredomquot;quot; (Richter 137). After a long and difficult struggle in which Candide is forced to overcome misfortune to find happiness, he concludes that all is not well (as he has previously been†¦show more content†¦Even though the world is filled with disaster, Candide has an optimistic attitude that he adopted from Dr. Pangloss teachings. In spite of his many trials, Candide believes that all is well and everything is for the best. Only once, in frustration, does he admit that he sometimes feels that optimism is quot;the mania of maintaining that all is well when we are miserablequot; (Voltaire 41). Candides enthusiastic view of life is contrasted with, and challenged by the suffering which he endures throughout the book. Voltaire wrote this book in a mocking and satirical manner in order to express his opinion that passive optimism is foolish (Richter 134). Candide eventually learns how to achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. He learns that in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of society where there is collective effort and work. Labor, Candide learns, eliminates the three curses of mankind: want, boredom, and vice. In order to create such a society, man must do the following: love his fellow man, be just, be vigilant, know how to make the best of a bad situation and keep from theorizing. Martin expresses this last requirement for such a society succinctly when he says, quot;Lets work without speculating; its the only way of rendering life bearablequot; (Voltaire 77). One of the last people that Candide meets in his travels is an old, poor Turkish farmer who teaches Candide a lesson which allows him to come toShow MoreRelatedIs Inclusion Best For All Students?1352 Words   |  6 PagesAshley Ball Research Paper Is Inclusion Best For All Students? Over the years, there has been a continuous debate over how effective inclusion classes really are for students in school. The whole idea of inclusion classes is to place students in the kind of environment where they can work with other peers who do not need special education and in a sense, not be secluded to just one classroom setting. 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