The idea that "everything is made to serve an end, everything is necessarily for the best ends" is consistent through the chapters. I can't tell if Voltaire is mocking the ideal that "everything happens for a reason, so move on with your life," or if he seriously believes it to be true. Candide struggles with believing that the world he lives in is really the best world when he gets into hard/painful situations, such as being flogged and watching Pangloss be hanged in chapter 6.
I agree with the idea above and believe that things do happen for reasons that we might not be able to explain just yet. We can't always control situations/ circumstances, but we can control how we react to them. In the end, things do happen whether we like it or not, and we have to be able to trust that it is for a bigger picture.
I commented on Wendy's post!!
I've been struggling too throughout reading this, whether Voltaire is mocking philosophers of his day or genuinely agreeing with them. I agree with you that tribulations and trials come, but those things are there to serve a purpose in a bigger purpose.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement he makes also, yet I am eager to see what side he does fall on in the end.
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