Page 148 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

Martin has never made a proper analysis of these experiences, and therefore they are all bad.
Martin’s unwillingness to look at the bigger picture and make an informed judgement conflicts
with the naïve idea put forth by Professor Pangloss that all is for the best.

Displaying the naïve optimism of Professor Pangloss, Candide speaking of the Dutch
pirate says to Martin, “You see…crime is punished sometimes; this scoundrel of a Dutch
merchant has met the fate he deserved,” thus trying to lend credence to the belief that whatever
happens is for the best (Voltaire 389). Countering Candide, Martin asks, “did the passengers
aboard his ship have to perish too? God punished the scoundrel, and the devil drowned the
others,” naively claiming that the devil himself was to blame for the loss of the passengers rather
than the “scoundrel” (Voltaire 390). It is Martin’s final statement in the closing chapter that
reconciles his naïve pessimistic views with the experiences that life has presented him. Martin
instructs the others to “work without speculation” as “it’s the only way of rendering life
bearable” (Voltaire 413). Martin concludes that his naïvely pessimistic views are just as obstinate
as the naïvely optimistic views of Professor Pangloss and the only way to make life bearable is to
work without question, thus reconciling his naïveté with the worldliness of others.

In the closing chapter Professor Pangloss attempts to reconcile his teachings to Candide’s
misfortunes. Voltaire writes, “Pangloss asserted that he had always suffered horribly; but having
once declared that everything was marvelously well, he continued to repeat the opinion and
didn’t believe a word of it” (Voltaire 412). Though no longer recognizing his statements as true
after having experienced tragedies that voided his naïveté it appears that he is still trying to keep
his teachings alive in hope that something positive will still come from all the suffering. Voltaire
writes that while tending to their crops, “Pangloss sometimes used to say to Candide:-All events
are linked together in the best of possible worlds,” revealing that Professor Pangloss still retains

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