Through Voltaire's Candide the reader is introduced to a wide variety of unique characters, each seemingly with their own philosophies and beliefs about how life should be viewed. Voltaire seems to emphasize, through the development of the protagonist, Candide, how influential the people we surround ourselves with are when it comes to shaping our beliefs. Sometimes we completely agree with someone's personal philosophy, while on the other hand we hate others we disagree with. I firmly believe that when Candide (Voltaire) states that "we must cultivate our own garden" (Voltaire.96), he is implying that we as individuals should think more for ourselves rather than basing our beliefs solely on the thoughts of others. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Candide is perhaps the biggest culprit of being more of a follower than a leader, in the sense of forming original thoughts about how the world (or even the universe) works. Of course, the privileged boy grew up with Pangloss as a teacher and personal friend, but he still clung desperately to the belief that “things cannot be otherwise, because, everything being done for an end, everything is necessarily for the best end” (2 ). Intrigued by the idea of ​​living in a world where everything happens for a reason, the protagonist recklessly adores his teacher for the seemingly logical explanations provided to support that idea. It is widely accepted through modern studies and research that adult values ​​can be an extremely influential factor in determining what a child will value (Catsambis, 2001; Englund, Luckner, Whaley, & Egeland, 2004), which adequately explains Candide's admirable perseverance in believing in Pangloss's philosophy of cause and effect. Even when things are supposedly at their worst, as when Pangloss himself is hanged before Candide's eyes, and despite sometimes wondering how reliable a theory is, some act of luck will usually restore his faith shortly thereafter (such as discover that Cunegonde is still alive). Although this pattern persists almost throughout the story, Candide embraces Pangloss's teachings with constant contradictions to the point where he categorically renounces them, literally stating: “you (Pangloss) had not divined this abomination; enough, in the end I will have to give up your optimism” (51). Although some might argue that it was this superficial optimism that kept the protagonist's morale high during all the difficulties he faced, it still did not bring him the happiness in life that he wanted since his first tragic experience (being chased away from the castle after kissing Cunegonde). After taking the first step toward “cultivating [his] garden” (96) by verbalizing aloud that he can no longer support Pangloss's teachings, Candide's eyes open to another intriguing philosophy regarding the meaning of life after having met Martin. Alone, without friends, family and, above all, robbed of almost all the riches he had brought back from El Dorado, it seemed that there was no better time to introduce the story's protagonist to nihilism. Although it still influenced him, there was a very interesting contrast between the nihilistic Martin and the overly optimistic Pangloss. Being raised in the belief that “everything that happens is for the best” (2) and then meeting someone whose misfortunes had led him to believe that “a man is equally bad everywhere” (92), certainly gave Candide something about to reflect on as he continued his journey to reunite with Cunegonde.?