Throughout the story Candide has traveled with many companions, however it took 20 chapters to meet his exact opposite when he decides to travel with a Manichee named Martin. Martin is everything that Candide is not and visa versa. Throughout the book they continue to verbally spar on different issues such as life and whether the world should exist or not. There was one exchange between the two that really got me however:
-I hope, said Martin, that she will some day make you happy; but i very much doubt it.
-You're a hard man, said Candide
-I've lived, said Martin
Martin believes that he is the older wiser man, however Candide has been though much more than the average human and still has a love for life and an optimism. My question is since Candide has lived as much as Martin and been through many trials and tribulations and still continues on, doesn't Candide's optimism work just as well, if not better than Martins pessimism?
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