Candide

CANDIDE is one of the major classics of world literature. This edition is designed for use in secondary classrooms. Seven- and eight-chapter readings are briefly introduced and are followed by reading quizzes. Each quiz includes true/false "reading," vocabulary, literary terms, essay, and critical thinking sections. Secondary-level vocabulary words are defined in footnotes. Also included in footnotes are helpful notes and information about the narrative and about literary techniques the author has utilized. The text is generously illustrated. Many of the illustrations were created in the eighteenth century, when Voltaire was writing CANDIDE and when the world events and developments he satirizes were taking place. Maps are included to help the student follow Candide's journey through his world.CANDIDE is a work of satire. In this novel, Voltaire's primary target is the optimistic philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, one of perhaps the two greatest scientists of his day. The other, greatly admired by Voltaire, was Sir Isaac Newton. Leibniz (satirized in the novel as the character Pangloss) believed that a perfect God could have created only a perfect world-the "best of all possible worlds." Voltaire's own experiences and recent destructive events, especially the tragic Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 and the Seven Years' War, which began in 1756, led him to disagree. The name of his protagonist-Candide-is from the Latin word CANDIDUS, literally "white" but figuratively "innocent or pure." Voltaire satirizes not only Leibniz but also religious hierarchy, promoters of war, and utopian philosophers in general. While the historical and philosophical components are essential to the purpose of the novel, the humor and wit of Voltaire's writing has made Candide a favorite for casual as well as scholarly readers.