While reading Voltaire’s Candide, it amazed me how much optimism one had. In almost seemed impossible that anyone could be that positive throughout all the misfortunes that he had suffered. It intrigued me how Candide kept going for his goal in order to find Cunegonde. He went on many adventures in order to find her. Although in my opinion, I would have had stopped going when I reached el Dorado because of its ideal living condition, Candide STILL wanted to find her. On his journey for looking her, he got robbed, lost his jewels and eventually got imprisoned as well as many other misfortunes.
The question is how far can blind optimism get you? Well, I believe that blind optimism can get you far, however, it may lead us to make many foolish decisions. If Candide had stopped somewhere throughout his journey, he may have had been happy. However, his quest to find Cunegonde made him make many foolish decisions and get him into a great deal of trouble. I’m not saying that it is wrong to be optimistic, but I’m saying that it is not smart to be blindly optimistic. Optimism can help us get through the worst situations, however, we have to think rationally along with blind optimism. We must ask ourselves, “Is this worth it?”, “Will I be happier at the end after all my dilemmas?”. If we can ask these questions with “yes”, the for all means go for it! But if not, it may not be a wise decision and you should strongly consider to find some other rational plan. Blind optimism can lead to self-destruction and possibly in the end not worth it at all. Look at where blind optimism got this guy….
