Candide is a naïve individual who is plagued with many hardships and misfortunes throughout the novel. He has been instructed by Pangloss in the theory of philosophical optimism, and believes that the hardships he has faced happened for a reason.

In chapter 6, Candide has hit a standstill. He is whipped severely and His mentor Pangloss has been hanged. He shows no doubt, but is plagued with confusion. He starts to question that this is, in fact, the best of all possible worlds.

"If this is the best of all possible worlds, what then are the others? Well, if I had been only whipped I could put up with it, for I experienced that among the Bulgarians; but oh, my dear Pangloss!"

Candide's first signs of doubting Pangloss' theory of philosophical optimism are shown in...