Candide is reflective of Voltaire’s reasoned outlook of contemporary philosophy during the 18th century, and his lack of belief in the ‘all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds’ perception, which was popular at the time. He conveys these in Candide through the use of irony and humour, depicting the life of a character who is brought up to believe in cause and effect, but learns otherwise through his experiences. Voltaire was inspired to write Candide by several disastrous historical events which occurred during the mid 1700s.
