In Candide, what are the major issues addressed by the text?

, a , was subtitled Optimism, and this work
satirizes, or makes fun of, Leibniz's philosophy that everything happens for the best in the
best of all possible worlds. This philosophy, predicated on the idea that God is benevolent and
good, was challenged by the death toll and suffering brought on by the Lisbon earthquake of
1755.was horrified by that earthquake, and his chief goal, therefore, was to attack philosophic
optimism.

Candide grows up learning optimistic philosophy from his
philosopher-tutor, Pangloss. It is a philosophy that only works while Candide lives a sheltered
life. Once thrust into the world, he learns that everything does not happen
for the best. In fact, what happens is so over-the-top horrible that one could laugh and cry at
the same time.

Voltaire does not only attack naive optimism but also attacks
the role governments and religious institutions play in adding to the miseries of the world
through their ignorance and corruption.

Finally, the work...