Compare and Contrast Happines in Candide, Rasselas, Essay...

Happiness Throughout history humankind has been trying to define happiness. What is it exactly and how do we obtain it? We always think that happiness is a place to be or a destination and technically, that is the main premise or goal of our lives; to obtain happiness. So our whole lives go by from the minute were born to the last breath we take in a quest to work hard in order to reach that destination. Naturally, many philosophical writers have jumped on the bandwagon and put in their two cents of their views on the matter of happiness. Alexander Pope talks about the relationship and purpose man has to the universe in An Essay on Man, Voltaire wrote about living in blind optimism with a false notion of happiness in Candide, and Samuel†¦show more content†¦Or can a part contain the whole? Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, and drawn supports, upheld by God or thee? ( Pope 369) According to Pope, we as humans should learn to simply accept our position in the great chain of b eing. If we are able to do so, we will be able to successfully live happy lives. Man’s place in the chain is below the angels but above beasts. Each element of the chain is only a part, so we as humans are only part of the whole of God’s plan. Then we have Voltaire who wrote Candide. Voltaire was one of those people who started questioning life as it was being lived as opposed to Pope who accepted life the way it was. He was not an Atheist because he did believe in a God. Although he believed in God, he had a problem with religion and questioned things written in the Bible, so basically he was a confused individual looking for answers. These questions are what led him to write Candide. In Candide, Voltaire mocked various aspects of religion and the way people viewed life, especially people like Alexander Pope. Candide heavily mocked Pope’s views in An Essay on Man. Voltaire as opposed to Pope, realizes that there is evil in the world. At first, Voltaire was a fan of Pope but later abandons such an optimistic view which he formerly believed in, because he realizes that man has suffered through so much misery and hardships that it just did not make sense. He focuses on