Voltaire's “Candide” is a novel that captures the tumultuous life of Candide, the simple, illegitimate son of the sister of the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh. Living in the castle of Westphalia, Candide's realm of knowledge includes the ideas presented to him by Pangloss, his guardian, who believes that the world they live in is the "best of all possible worlds." (Voltaire 15) Candide carries with him the optimism of Pangloss's faith as he is banished from his castle and enters uncharted terrain. In the unknown world of hardship, suffering and poverty, he discovers the inaccuracy of many ideas that Pangloss presented to him. Through the texts “Candide” by Voltaire, “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the validity of Pangloss' philosophy can be verified. Pangloss's worldview refers to Leibnez's theory, which attempts to explain the existence of evil in the simultaneous presence of God. According to him, God, being omniscient and omnipotent, possesses the ability to see all possible worlds. He chooses the best of these worlds to live in, so all the bad in the world is essentially not bad at all; it was intended, understood, and therefore created by God. However, if this theory were true, the world would be predetermined and humans would have no free will. On the other hand, the story told by the Bible describes Adam and Eve as people punished for having free will and eating the apple. If the world was truly predetermined by God, then Eve eating the apple from the tree of knowledge would also be predetermined. Since God did not intend for Eve to consume the apple, her action was of free will. Pangloss's view is considered heretical because his...... middle of paper ......nde's brother wants to give him his hand in marriage, as he lacks a position of power. Both the old woman and Cunegonde's transition from rich to lover of men show the transience of wealth. The storylines capture the futility of being in positions of wealth and power as neither truly benefits those in possession of it. The land of El Dorado is shown as the least tired and corrupt of the lands. Religious intolerance is non-existent, as the inhabitants follow only one religion; wealth is intangible, as the gold surrounding them has no monetary value to them and there is no hierarchy of power in the country. Perhaps it is a world like El Dorado that can free the world from turmoil and suffering. Denouncing religion, abdicating power and living a simple life may be the answer to lifting the inhabitants of the world from the atrocities that dot it.