In the books introduction, Michael Woods tells us that Voltaire wrote, " Satires don't correct anyone, irritate the foolish, and make them even more mean." I believe that this is true. Many satirical things can be funny, but once they go to a certain place it can make people upset because it is there beliefs that are being made fun of. Optimism is one thing that is greatly satirized throughout the book. If Pangloss or someone like him were to read this book, I think that he would think that the book is exaggerating the actual circumstance. I think he would still say all is for the best. Pangloss is the one who had to go through the trials and tribulations and he still thought that it was for the best.

Martin believes that man is equally miserable. He knows of the bad in the world, but he is also as blind to the world as Pangloss. He only sees the bad, but there is good in the world too. Martin only sees the other extreme. They don't see anywhere in the middle and the world lies in the middle. Nothing is all miserable and nothing is all good.
Throughout the book they went through a lot of public misery, but there were private griefs too. I think that these private grief's were crueler because they were things that went on in there homes and inside of their heads. The things that they went through affected their minds and made them question their beliefs. The public miseries weren't things that made them think differently, they were things that bruised them on the outside. I don't think that people realize that things that toy with emotions and thoughts are crueler than others.