Voltaire
Emery Mattheis
Basics

 Satirical novel published in 1759
 Written as attack on Gottfried Leibniz and Optimists
 Optimists believed that this world was the best of all
possible worlds. Ha.
History

 Louis XV reigned as King of France
 An earthquake struck Lisbon and killed fifty
thousand people. (1755)
 The Seven Years War began in 1755.
 Enlightenment period.
period
Le Author

 François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) grew up in Paris.
 Went to jail. A lot.
power)
(for his criticisms of people in
 Became a hero of the people later in life.
Author’s Style

 Satirical. Yes, satirical. And witty.
 Simple sentence structure and diction.
 His tone never matches the mood of the story.
Characteristics of Genre

 Novel – fictional protagonist, journey-like plot,
dialogues, limited third person point of view, and
various settings
 Satire – concern with ethical issues, desire for public
reform, attacks on vices and ignorance, and wholehearted wit.
Plot

 Misery, death,
despair, and sheep.
 Grand Journey
(Novel)
 Begins with Candide
getting kicked out of
mansion and ends
with everyone
working on a farm.
Sheep.
Characteristics of …
Characters…

 Candide -- Flat as can be. Easily influenced. Either
determined or ignorant. Probably both.
 Cunégonde – Also one dimensional. Her beauty is all
that matters to everyone. She is bland in every other
regard.
Oh, and Pangloss is an
optimistic idiot.
Symbols

 Eldorado
 Garden
 Syphilis
Image
Not
Displayed
Themes

 Failures of Optimism –
Rape, murder, disease, poverty, misery. All great aspects of a perfect world.
 Evil in People/Hypocrisy of Religion–
Inquisitor has a mistress, friar is a thief, Pope has a daughter, etc. Horrible
deeds done in the name of god.
 Fate -- ‘You observe,’ said Candide to Martin, ‘that crime is sometimes punished. That rogue
of a Dutch captain has had the fate he deserved.’ ‘Yes,’ said Martin. ‘But why should the
passengers have perished too? God has punished a scoundrel, but the devil has drowned the
rest.’ (93)
 The world is unpredictable.
And Candide is a tool.