Remaining Study Guide Questions for Candide 19-30

  1. Ch. 19 - Who is Martin like? .. unlike? What are his views?

Ch. 19- Recount what occurs with the negro slave. How does Candide respond to him?

Ch. 19- Who is Vanderdendeur?

  1. ch. 20 - 21: How do C and Martin interpret the battle and the world?
  1. ch. 22 - What is the satire of the medical community?
  1. ch. 22 – What happens to Candide in France? His health? The people he meets? What is Voltaire's opinion of the French based on this chapter?
  1. ch. 24 – How are we reunited with Paquette? What is her story?
  1. ch. 20 - 24: List some objects of satire. E.g. religion_____; the English ______; What is different about El Dorado?

7. ch. 25 - Characterize the Senator. What does he seem to enjoy?

8. ch. 26 - These 6 are the aristocracy. Are they badly off? ...their attitudes?

9. ch. 27 - Pangloss and the Baron are back. Characterize each one.

10. ch. 28 - Is Pangloss's philosophy based on his experience?

11. ch.'s 29 - 30: Does the Baron deserve his fate?

12. ch. 30 & before: What's the role of agriculture in Candide?

13. ch. 30 - How are the strains of the story brought together?

Overall Idea Questions…Please answer

  1. General: Make a list of objects of satire.
  2. Gen - What about the work seems modern?
  3. Gen - What folk literature elements do we find in the work?
  4. Gen - What does C learn? ...and what about the reader?
  5. Gen - which world view is most like yours? Why?
  6. Gen – Women-are they victims? ...witches? ...mother figures? ...heroines? ...each individualized without regard to gender?
  7. Gen - What seems to be Voltaire's view of romantic love?
  8. Gen - Is any profession, any rank, any race not criticized?
  9. Through the adventures of Candide and his friends, Voltaire illustrates the supposed ridiculousness of the philosophy that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Does he achieve this? Is Candide an effective satire?

10. Pangloss uses the philosophy of the Optimists to account for events and happenings (usually disastrous) to himself, to those around him, and to the world. In one instance he shows that without the loss of his nose to syphilis, Columbus would never have discovered America. Is Pangloss's philosophy logical? What's its role in the story?

11. Even in his naïveté, Candide knows that nothing in his world can be obtained without money, and so he takes jewels with him when he leaves Eldorado. In what instances does Voltaire show that greed is an intricate part of human nature? Is Candide greedy for taking the jewels with him? Do you agree with Voltaire that greed is one of the main causes of evil in the world?

12. Do you think Voltaire believed there is only evil in the world or are there redeeming qualities to the characters in Candide?

13. Is Pangloss still Candide's teacher and mentor at the end of the story, or have their roles evolved into something else? Is Candide wiser at the end of the story?

14. The Anabaptist James/Jacques makes this statement to Candide and Pangloss: "Man must have somewhat altered the course of nature; for they were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them twenty-four-pounders or bayonets, yet they have made themselves bayonets and guns to destroy each other."

Do you agree with Voltaire's assessment of human nature?

15. What does the cultivation of Candide's garden symbolize? What message is Voltaire sending to the reader?

16. Why do many of the characters, including Miss Cunégonde and Pangloss, presumably die and then reappear? Is there a significance to their being "brought back to life"?

17. Why is the Anabaptist James the only major character who dies and does not reappear?