Line Analysis

“All of this was indispensably necessary,” replied the one-eyed doctor; “for private misfortunes are public benefits; so that the more private misfortunes there are the greater is the general good.” - Voltaire, Candide

I just finished my October independent reading selection which was Candide by Voltaire and this particular line out of many helped emphasize the satirical approach Candide used in his novel. As we have done in the last week of class I tried to analyze it more in-depth. In this quote, a man named James who is an Anabaptist disagrees with Pangloss's philosophy of how everything is for the better and Pangloss tries to defend himself with this quote. He believes that the more "private" misfortunes that happen around in the world, the greater the general good will be. Just reading this in no way shape or form does this make any sort of sense. Despite also experiencing such atrocities in the novel such as floggings and rapes, despite experiencing first-person events that directly oppose his beliefs, he still believes that this is all for the greater good. Voltaire's usage of satire is an excellent way to point out the many flaws of Pangloss's thought process in a very humorous manner. This use of tragic irony has definitely left me in complete awe, wondering if people really think like this in the real world.