During the Enlightenment (1685-1815), many new ideas like openness and religious tolerance spread in Europe through newspapers, pamphlets and books. In this significant movement, a new idea called Optimisme, spurred by Leibniz’s philosophy, was popular amongst many Europeans. Optimisme utilizes rhetorical devices like metaphors, understatements, and euphemism in order to belittle disastrous events that may happen in one’s life. Many authors, like Voltaire or Montesquieu, disagreed with this idea. Within his group of friends, Voltaire wrote the book Candide in an attempt to mock Optimisme and other problems in European society such as the Church and social hierarchies. Although ideas like Optimisme were popular and amusing amongst the European authorities, Voltaire used logical fallacies, like metaphors, superlatives, and euphemism to mock the impracticality of Optimisme and suggest more reliance on logic and empathy.

In the beginning of Candide, Voltaire introduces the ideology of Optimisme and how it disregards human life. In the opening of the story plot, syphilis, a deadly disease that traces back to the New World expedition, infects Pangloss, Candide’s mentor and an Optimisme philosopher. Pangloss’s belief of Optimisme promotes the belief that this disease was “...a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of worlds…” (16).  However, he believes that there would be no “...chocolate nor cochineal” (16) if syphilis did not spread from Columbus to the Europeans. If Columbus and his crew went to the West at a different time, it would have been true that cochineal and chocolate would have not been found as early as they found it. However, it would have been safer than catching syphilis before medicine advanced. Voltaire can not significantly show this idea in the writing, but he uses the belief of Optimisme from Pangloss to completely mock the ideology, as Pangloss ignores the possibility of death and understates it with Optimisme. 

Later in the novella, Voltaire mocks Leibzniz’s beliefs that Optimisme is ignorant through catastrophic events like natural disasters in Candide’s journey. The main character of this novella, Candide, is a young gentleman with the “most gentle manners'' (2). During his time in the castle of Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronkh, he was a pupil of a philosopher named Pangloss, causing a share in similar beliefs. After the Baron expels Candide for his love towards the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde, he had to endure several hardships such as forced military service, the Lisbon earthquake and the murder of the Young Baron (Cunegonde’s brother), that led to the questioning of Optimisme in Candide. As Candide was always on the run from danger, he had slowly been losing his faith in Optimisme as Optimisme promotes that any event that occurs is for the best of all possible worlds. Candide was able to realize that Optimisme is “the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.” (91). In order to show the emotion he was experiencing after having a change of ideology, he exaggerates the philosophy into a “madness”, inputting Voltaire’s belief of Optimisme.

Towards the end, Voltaire shifts from mocking, to a more direct evaluation of Optimisme to demonstrate that self-care is a better alternative than Optimisme. As the book progresses, Candide was separated from Cunegonde, Pangloss, and many of his friends. He learns lessons, for example, the problem that comes with success, but most importantly, communicates Voltaire’s belief that Optimisme is an absurd philosophy. As Pangloss is continuously trying to convince Candide back to Optimisme, Candide agrees that in Pangloss’s eyes; it may seem as if it is the “best of all possible worlds”. However, with the experiences that Candide had witnesses, like the murder of the Young Baron, he communicates Voltaire’s message that practicing self-care and focusing on our present needs first is important.  

Throughout the whole novella, Voltaire uses literary devices such as euphemism, understatements, and metaphors to mock the impracticality of Optimisme. Candide endures through many disasters, like the Lisbon Earthquake or the hanging of his teacher, Pangloss. With Candide’s opinion on Optimisme, Voltaire’s belief that Optimisme leads to ignorance and indifference by authorities in power is conveyed. Abuse in power must be recognized by the citizens, as it could lead to destruction of a country, for example, the war that Putin declared, but gave no information to the soldiers. In order to stray away from Optimisme, Voltaire communicates the message that one should focus on oneself and “cultivating our garden” rather than focusing on the ideals that could bring one misfortune.