AP
Literature and Composition
Study
Guide to
Voltaire's Candide
How
does Voltaire design the opening chapter to be recognized as a parody of the
Biblical story of the Fall? (Why would Voltaire be doing this?)
What
attitude towards princes and established religions does Voltaire evince in his
treatment of the war between the Abares and the Bulgarians (Chapters 2-3)?
What
are we supposed to notice about the Anabaptist James (who appears in Chapters
3-5)? What do you think is Voltaire's point in including him in the story?
When
Candide meets up with his old tutor Pangloss, the latter is in a pitiable
condition. How does he explain the cause of his woes in the light of his
principles of philosophical optimism? What are we to think of this?
What
were the circumstances of the
 |
In
Chapter 5, Pangloss gets into a discussion of theological issues with a
"a familiar of [informant for] the Inquisition." What points of
Tridentine Catholicism does philosophical optimism evidently run afoul of
(despite the important points of similarity between the two)? |
|
The
term auto-da-fé means "act of faith." What does Voltaire
think of the mentality of the faculty at the |
How
does Candide come to be reunited with Cunegonde?
|
What
are the chief episodes in her story of her experiences since the
"Fall"? What points is Voltaire making about military honor
and religious authorities? |
Why
does Candide have to skidaddle from
What
kind of reasoning do the travelers engage in during the voyage from
What
are the main themes of the history of the Old Woman (Chapters 11 and 12)?
What does this catalogue of disasters have to do with the overall theme of Candide?
What attitude does the Old Woman adopt towards what has happened to her?
What counsel does she give her companions on the basis of her experience?
What does Candide (Chapter 13) think the old woman's history means for the
theories of Pangloss?
What
kind of fellow is the Governor of Buenos Aires? What is Voltaire's point
in giving him the name that he does? What is the Old Woman's advice to
Cunegonde?
What
kind of a fellow is Cacambo? How is he similar to the Old Woman? How
is he different? What advice does he give his master Candide?
What
are the outstanding features of the "Jesuit kingdom" Candide and
Cacambo visit in
|
Whom
does Candide meet there, to his great surprise? Why does the encounter
end as it does? What advice does Cacambo give his master? (How
does his presence of mind here contrast with that of "the young
philosopher"?) |
In
the third paragraph of Chapter 16 we read of Candide that "[w]hile he was
thus lamenting his fate, he went on eating." What is Voltaire nudging us to
notice here? Does this remind you of a point of view we've heard expressed
earlier in the story? Does it come up elsewhere later on as well?
What
mistake does Candide make in rescuing the girls from the monkeys that are
chasing them? What is the point of this episode?
How
is it that the pair doesn't end up on a spit, and being eaten by the Oreillons
(the "Big-Ears")? What's the fun Voltaire is having with the
idea of "natural reason" (the quality of intellect common to the
species)?
Concerning
the visit to
How
do the despairing pair get there?
What
mistakes of interpretation do they make during their first encounter with the
natives? What assumptions are these mistakes meant to throw into relief?
Why does Voltaire want the reader to reflect on these?
What
are the important points of the history of
What
is striking about the religion of
|
What
is Voltaire's point? |
What
is striking about the reception Candide and Cacambo receive from the King of El
Dorado? (What is this meant to get us to question concerning European
monarchs? Why are the latter the way they are? What
"necessities" drive them to it?)
|
Note
that Voltaire does not seem to suppose that natural reason would lead men to
form a democracy. Why do you think that is? |
|
At
the same time, how does his conception of rational monarchy differ from what
prevails in |
If
Voltaire thinks that reason is a property of the human race as a species, how do
you think he would account for the fact that what passes for
"reasonable" and "required by reason" differs so strikingly
in Europe from what it is in
|
It's
clear, is it not? [how so?] that Voltaire is hostile to the doctrine of
Original Sin [why?]. But if he's going to reject this as an
explanation for why reason does not seem to be prevailing in |
What
is the focus of intellectual life in
What
essential features of European civilization are absent from
|
What
does this tell us about |
Why
does Candide resolve to leave
|
"Contentment"
and "containment" are etymological cousins. (Check this out
in a desk dictionary.) How is the contrast between Candide and the citizens
of |
What
point is Voltaire making in the encounter Cacambo and Candide have with the
Negro they find on the way in to Dutch Surinam?
|
What
theological issues get raised in the course of this meeting? |
|
How
does Candide respond to the Negro's story? (On reflection, what do you
notice about Candide's reaction if you ask what James the Anabaptist would
have done, in Candide's shoes?) |
How
does Vandurdendur acquaint us with another dimension of "prudence"
from the one we have come to associate with Cacambo and the Old Woman?
How
does Candide come to take on the company of Martin?
How
does Martin define his own philosophical perspective? (What does he mean
by describing himself as a Manichean?)
|
How does it relate to that of Pangloss? How do Pangloss and
Martin (as "philosophers") contrast with Cacambo and the Old
Woman, in the use they make of their faculty of Reason? |
|
During the voyage, Candide and Martin are discussing philosophy.
One day (p. 53), "[I]n the midst of this dispute they heard the
report of cannon." (What do you notice about this juxtaposition of
highfalutin speculation and desperate concrete fact? Do we encounter
this move elsewhere in the Voltaire's construction of the plot?) What
accounts for the difference between the interpretations that Candide and
Martin make? |
|
Martin makes a point of telling Candide that he was mistaken in
supposing he was a Socinian? What did the Socinians believe?
What do you think Voltaire's opinion would be of the Socinians? |
Chapter
21 is worth at least a cursory look.
|
What are Martin's views concerning France and Paris? How do
they compare with Candide's? (Notice how certain themes here
re-surface in the concluding chapter of the story.) |
Consider
Candide's speculative questions in natural and moral philosophy, and Martin's
replies to them. What do we learn about each character's inclinations from
the questions and answers concerning
|
whether
the earth might originally have been a sea |
|
the
purpose of the creation of the world |
|
the surprisingness of the love of the Oreillon women for the
monkeys |
|
whether
men have always been evil |
|
free
will [? - this one gets truncated by their arrival at |
In
Chapter 22, Candide and Martin encounter a scholar at the dinner hosted by the
Marchiness of Parolignac. What is Voltaire up to in designing this
conversation?
What
is the hoax played by the Abbé? How do the pair escape?
How
does Martin's view of
|
What is the point of the episode in which Candide and Martin
witness the execution of Admiral Byng (Chapter 23)? |
Why
is Candide inconsolably depressed upon their arrival in
What
do we learn from the stories of Paquette (on the life of a prostitute) and Friar
Giroflée (on religious faith)?
The
visit to Senator Pococurante is an
important episode.
How
is his name fitting?
|
How
does his life stand with respect to the subject of "the cares of"
life or "cares in" life? |
|
with respect to "caring for" life? |
Recall
Pococurante later on when you encounter the Old Turk. How do they exhibit
different sorts of "indifference," with radically different sorts of
implications for happiness?
How
is one wise, the other foolish?
How
does the theme of indifference arise in the picture the Dervish conveys through
his little capsule parable of "his highness" (the Sultan of the
What
do Candide and Martin learn at the dinner with the 6 strangers at the public inn
in
Who
turns up, in what circumstances? What is familiar, in the tale we've
become acquainted with, about the kind of story behind this surprise
reappearance?
What
is Martin's view of the sufferings of the 6? (Cf. Chapter 27, p. 78.)
Who has the most convincing case - Martin or Candide?
How
does everyone in the little society come to be all gathered together at the end?
|
Cacambo? (Ch. 26-27) |
|
Pangloss? (Ch. 27-28) |
|
the Baron? (Ch. 27-28) |
|
Cunegonde & the Old Woman? ( |
|
Paquette and the Friar? (Ch. 30, p. 85) |
What
are the themes of the Baron's story?
What
are the themes of Pangloss' story? What are we to think of the explanation
he gives of his refusal to recant?
What
surprise is in store for Candide with Cunegonde?
What
is the Baron's response to Cunegonde's demand, and Candide's response to the
Baron?
The
great reversal occurs in the highly compact, and radiantly significant
concluding chapter.
I.
The little farm's miserable beginning (pp. 84-5)?
What
question does the Old Woman pose that stumps them all?
[In
the light of how things eventually turn out, what is the diagnosis of the root
of the problem?]
What
is the effect on their philosophical reflections of the arrival of Paquette and
Friar Giroflée?
II.
The visit to the Dervish.
How
does the Dervish's initial reply undercut the assumption of Pangloss's opening
question?
How
does the sequel explain the rationale of the rejection of that apparently
eminently sensible assumption?
|
Spell
out the allegorical significance of the mini-parable contained in the
one-sentence rhetorical question with which the Dervish replies to Candide's
follow-up. |
What
is the significance of the Sultan's attitude towards the mice in the hold of the
ship? (What is the Sultan presumably concerned
about?)
How
is this a radical rejection of a fundamental postulate of the Judeo-Christian
picture of the meaning of history? (Where did we find that picture
articulated?)
Now
turn the perspective around: what do we notice if we ask what the attitude
is of the mice towards the Sultan? (What are they presumably
concerned about? Is this appropriate - sensical - under the
circumstances?)
What
is the implicit advice in this parable for mankind?
How
does Pangloss' reply indicate that he hasn't heard what the Dervish has been
saying?
How
does the Dervish's answer to Pangloss' question speak to what is (wrong with)
Pangloss? (Remember what his name means: pan =
"all," gloss = "tongue," and derivatively
"word.")
What
is "Pangloss" about Pangloss' final protest?
How
does the Dervish's final gesture, in response to Pangloss' exasperation, execute
his advice from his own side?
III.
The news from
How
is this a translation (application) to the secular plane of precisely the
categories at stake in the conversation with the Dervish, on a cosmic plane?
What
is "Pangloss" about Pangloss' response? How has he still not
heard the Dervish's lesson?
IV.
The visit with the Old Turk and his household:
How
is the Old Turk implicitly acting, with respect to the political powers that be,
in accordance with the Dervish's advice to the little group of inquirers?
What
is the secret of the happiness of their household?
Do
you see any connections with the conditions of "contentment" (in the
"containment" of one's desires) that we were led to consider in
connection with the
How
does what the Old Turk say clarify the predicament of Pococurante?
V.
The "new order" at the little farm:
Can
you see how what the group accomplishes is a kind of "mutualist
commune"?
What
is the attitude here towards the idea of "private property"?
Is
this necessarily a "drop-out" attitude towards the world? Or
could one's "garden" include (say) a much larger social unit?
Keep
in mind that Voltaire was very active in the campaign for political justice and
against religious fanaticism in
Contents
copyright © 1997 by Lyman
A. Baker.
Permission
is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.