Through out the book Candide many of the characters die horrible deaths. The entire book is mainly a satire attacking simple human follies and frailties. The vice being ironically attacked here is optomisticism. Most of the characters are killed brutally or hurt fiercely for some of the most stupid reasons. One incident from the book involves Candide reuniting with his old master dr. Pangloss. Early in the book Candide reunites with Dr. Pangloss scabbed, spitting out teeth, and choking. Pangloss is diseased with syphilis. Pangloss obtained this disease from a slave girl named Paquette. This disease was brought from America with Christopher Columbus. "It was a a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of all worlds ... "(Candide8). This is one of the experiences that candide goes trough that makes it hard to believe that this was the best of all possible worlds, as Pangloss constantly assures him. Personally, I would accept this situation. This world is plagued with pestilences of great measure. I have had friends die of diseases and I just
Cited: Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment, and Turner, The Heritage of World Civilizations vol 2 New Jersey; Upper Saddle River, 1997. Voltaire, Candide France 1759