Voltaire is right in Candide, where he claims that life on earth is hell in many ways. Voltaire accurately describes how selfish people often are and how they inflict misery on others as a result. Voltaire also accurately describes the common forms of cruelty in society. While he may be wrong in believing that all wars are equally senseless and avoidable, Voltaire is right in showing that war inevitably produces atrocities, which create hell on earth. To support these claims, let us examine Voltaire's accurate description of human selfishness. An example would be the behavior of the sailor that Pangloss and Candide encountered on their journey to Lisbon. This sailor was saved from drowning by Jacques the Anabaptist. However, when Jacques also fell into the sea, the sailor refused to risk his life to save him. As a result of this selfishness, Jacques died. Later, when the sailor reached the shore, he ignored the suffering of those horribly injured by a recent earthquake. Instead the sailor took money from them to get drunk and hire a prostitute. This sailor was totally self-centered and indifferent to others and, by helping no one, was in effect inflicting misery on them. When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center and many policemen and firefighters were killed, many people received money for relatives who did not die and used the money for gambling, alcohol and prostitutes. Human nature in this regard has not changed since the book was written. This being the case, Voltaire's description of how human selfishness can often turn life on earth into hell is accurate. Voltaire's description of how common cruelty is in society is also well supported. For example, Voltaire describes how Candide en... middle of paper... again as an example, there have been many cases of people who risked their lives to save the lives of others and as a result received citations and promotions as well as the admiration of their family and friends. This objection to my argument, however, does not take into account an important thrust of Candide's. That is, Voltaire felt that he had to use exaggeration and one-sided presentation to ensure that his audience did not refuse to deeply contemplate how much cruelty and selfishness exist all around them at all times and how much people suffer because of it. Works cited and consulted: Frautschi, The simplified approach of RL Barron to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998.Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Voltaire. White. New York: Viking Publishers, 1976.