Why is Candide
driven away from the Baron's castle? What is his fault? What is
Voltaire satirizing through the issue of Candide's lack of nobility?
Why is Cunégonde so attractive to Candide at the beginning
of the novel? Are there biblical allusions in the description of
Candide's actions and his expulsion from the castle? What might
this mean for the rest of the story? Do those allusions occur elsewhere?
What does Cunégonde represent at the beginning of the novel?
How does Voltaire establish the world of the story in the first
chapter? Are there any symbolic elements in those descriptions?
What makes possible the good life inside of the castle? What goes
on outside of it? Is there anything Candide later learns about the
outside world which may explain the leisurely and pleasant life
of aristocrats? (Hint: think about Surinam)
Does the novel
have political or social significance? What historical period was
Voltaire writing in? How might this have affected the ideologies
of the novel? Religious issues are taken up several times in the
novel; what was Voltaire's attitude toward religion in general?
What is the significance of the figure of the preacher whom Candide
asks for help in Holland? What does the figure of Jacques the Anabaptist
suggest? What is an Anabaptist? What is significant about Jacques's
character and actions? Does his death have any special meaning?
Why doesn't he come back to life like the rest of the characters
who are "killed" in the novel?
What is "determinism?"
How does it contrast with the idea of "free will?" What
does Voltaire believe in? In which system is reason essential? Either?
Both? What does the Enlightenment make of reason? What does Voltaire
think of reason?
In chapter 3,
what does Voltaire mean when he says "volleys of musket fire
removed from the best of worlds about nine or ten thousand rascals"
and "the bayonet was a sufficient reason for the demise of
several thousand others"? Is this ironic?
How does this relate to Leibniz's philosophical optimism? What is
Voltaire trying to say? How is the figure of Dr. Pangloss related
to that of Leibniz? Who is responsible for the horrors which Candide
witnesses in the course of his adventures?
What is an auto-da-fé?
What would you guess Voltaire made of such practices? In Chapter
17, Cacambo says that the new world is no better than the old and
suggests that he and Candide return to Europe; what is Voltaire
trying to say here? What is Candide finding out in the course of
his adventures? Who is the real enemy? What is the source of all
Candide and Cunégonde to be reunited? What causes their separation?
Is there an overall pattern of cause-and-effect connected to their
separations and reunions? What is necessary before they can be finally
In Chapter 16,
Candide believes he has saved the lives of two girls; is Candide's
belief alone enough to justify his actions? What is Voltaire satirizing
in that episode? What does Candide's perception of the girls' lovers
as dangerous animals suggest? Do those perceptions correspond to
historical attitudes of white Europeans toward others? Is there
anything ironic in Candide's gratitude toward the Oreillons's own
How does Eldorado
compare to the rest of the world? What is the significance of Eldorado
being hidden away and almost completely unreachable? What is the
significance of people's attitude toward gold and jewels in Eldorado?
What does Candide learn in Eldorado? Why does Candide leave Eldorado?
What is his goal? What is happening to Candide? Is he making any
kind of progress?
What would you
suppose Voltaire thinks about Martin's pessimism? Would he agree?
Disagree? What does Lord Pococurante represent? What is Voltaire
criticizing in Pococurante's attitudes and opinions?
What are the
characters' views at the end of the novel? What has Candide discovered?
What about the others? What is the answer to the old woman's question,
"is it better to have suffered what we have suffered, or to
sit and do nothing?" What does the Old Turk represent? What
does he mean when he says "the work keeps me from three great
evils...bordeom, vice, and poverty"? What does Candide mean
when he says we should "cultivate our gardens"? Is Candide
better or worse off at the end of the novel than at the beginning
when he lived in a castle?
Why does Candide
marry Cunégonde? What is his first reaction when he finally
sees her again at the end of the novel? What does that reaction
indicate? What did Candide find attractive in her? How has she changed?
Is she still attractive? Why or why not? How is her transformation
relevant to the values which the story conveys? How is Candide's
decision to marry her relevant to those values? Is it significant
that their reunion takes place near Constantinople, the traditional
gateway between East and West? Why?
How does the
novel's use of black comedy
contribute to Voltaire's story? Does it help him make his point?
What if the novel were not comedic or morbid? What kind of effect
would this have on the story? Would it be as effective in conveying
Candide toward the end of the Enlightenment. Based on a reading
of Candide, what do you think his attitude was regarding
the values of the Enlightenment? How did he contribute to the construction
or modification of those values? How does Voltaire assess the state
of the social and intellectual world around him? Does he have any
suggestions for its improvement?