"Will you kindly tell us why such a strange animal as man was ever made?"

Candide is a book different from any other I have ever read. As I went further into the story, I tried looking for works it reminded me of. Yet, I found none. This is of no surprise, though. Never before had I read a satirical piece. I didn't even know what satire was until a few weeks ago. So it is undeniable that satire is what makes this work different from any other.

In Candide the reader is not meant to identify with the characters or even wish that they succeed. On the contrary, I was constantly looking forward to Candide's failures and to being able to make fun of all the characters. It usually bothers me when I can't really relate to the characters, but in this case, it thrilled me. I loved it when Candide killed the two monkeys and these happened to be the two ladies' lovers,  I was excited for Pangloss's death, and I was delighted after reading that Cunégonde had become ugly. I guess the irony of it all made me happy.

In addition, I found that what I wanted most was to have Candide discover that Pangloss was in fact wrong: We do not live in the "best of all possible worlds", as Pangloss never failed to remind him. It was for this reason that the only character I really liked was Martin. Martin constantly disagreed with Pangloss's teachings and ideas. Many would believe he was pessimistic, but I just think he was realistic.  Everyone in this story was too optimistic, and Martin was the only one who was able to see what everything was really like. Too bad this makes him seem as the pessimistic character in Candide.

Voltaire maintains a constant battle between optimism and pessimism. Pangloss always says everything is for the best. He even develops an explanation as to why getting syphilis was not a curse, but a blessing. Since without it, America would not exist, and therefore, there'd be no chocolate. On the other hand, when Candide asks Martin why the Earth was formed, he answers "To drive us mad." So is this the best of all possible worlds or are we just here to fight the constant injustices and learn to survive? Well, I guess that is up to each one of us to decide.