"Everything necessarily serves the best end.”

Pangloss is the driving force behind the satire Voltaire creates.  "Everything necessarily serves the best end.”  This quote is essentially the basis of Pangloss’s belief.  This optimism, that everything happens for a reason, is the main target of satire for Voltaire.  What makes Pangloss such an interesting character is the fact that he is completely unbelievable.  He is a greatly exaggerated version of a person of faith.

An important part of the satirical nature of Pangloss is the absolutely expressive amount of  hardships that he goes through; he has syphilis, is nearly killed, and put in prison. Through all this he still maintains his belief that all is right with the world.  He let a man die.  He could have saved James, but chose not to because “the bay of Lisbon had been formed expressly for this Anabaptist to drown in.”  The very nature of this character is utterly ridiculous.  Anyone with common sense would choose not follow the beliefs of Pangloss, but the fact that Candide follows him blindly is part of Voltaire’s commentary that there will always be those who cannot, or do not want to think for themselves and would rather have someone do it for them.

Source: Baruch College

http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/kaufmaneng2850/2012/09/11/pangloss-a-character-study/