Comparing Voltaire And Olaudah Equiano

In a time of violence and revolutions, there are a many controversial topics to write about. Voltaire and Olaudah Equiano wrote about many of these topics, and put their beliefs into stories. Voltaire and Olaudah Equiano were two very influential writers during the 1700’s. Their ideas and beliefs challenged normal actions of people at the time. These authors came from very different backgrounds. The experiences they faced throughout their lives helped shaped the ideas and beliefs they portrayed in their stories. Because they have experienced very different lives, the beliefs they get across in their stories are very different. Voltaire shows his beliefs throughout the story Candide. While Olaudah Equiano places his beliefs in a story of his life. These two men would disagree when talking about their ideas of optimism and religious beliefs. Voltaire wrote a story about a young boy who is born into a wealthy family. This young boy is Candide. Early in the story Candide is introduced to Pangloss, who would be his tutor. Pangloss starts to teach Candide about his own personal world view, which is, everything happens for a reason. Candide soaks this up, and believes it right away. This is not Voltaires personal belief,
He was now a successful business man. This change from a slave to a free man has a huge impact on his beliefs. He was born into one of the most horrific situations, and ended up a free man. Equiano’s views of optimism are the opposite to those of Voltaire. Equiano believes the circumstance will get better and he believes this through God. He was able to purchase his freedom and this lead to his strong belief of God. Equiano Believes God is a master that we must work for. This again is opposing Voltaire’s philosophy that if God is a master and a perfect man, how can there be such an imperfect world full of suffering? To Voltaire religion is a distraction from the suffering that is actually