Read about Candide
Class Discussion Questions:
If you seriously think about your experience reading this novel, and you are not too embarrassed to admit that you struggled, I am sure you will have questions of your own. Those are fair game as well. Please raise them in your group and call me over for help. The point is the struggle. I want you to grapple with confusion and uncertainty. Success in this course is about embracing the struggle.
The questions below will help you get started:
- Who is the narrator of this story? And by "who," I don't mean that you have to identify him but that you should be able to describe some of his characteristics. How would you describe the narrator in Candide? Come up with THREE strong adjectives, and identify quotes in the novel to support your choices. The narrator is not the author, though the two might have some things in common. Nor is the narrator necessarily a character in the story.
- What are the values of the narrator in Candide, and how does he feel about his audience? List THREE virtues or ideas that he upholds or defends and give examples of how he treats us a readers.
- What is the meaning of the title character's name? Is his name ironic? Does it represent a standard worth pursuing?
- What philosophy is being ridiculed in this satire? How does the idea of free will figure into this criticism? Identify an example.
- Identify some examples of poor reasoning based on Pangloss's reductive notion of cause and effect. What makes his arguments "reductive"? What happens when Pangloss tries to explain how free will is a part of the larger system of universal reason?
- Why does Candide begin to question that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds? Why is his doubt a significant current in the story?
- How would you describe the plot of this narrative? Summarizing the story is pretty easy, but how would you describe the plot? Is the shape of the plot an element of Voltaire's satire? How so?
- How does the end of the old woman's story provide a thematic link to "A Modest Proposal"?
- What is faulty about Candide's reasoning at the end of Chapter XVI?
- What is the symbolic significance of the machine that carries Candide and Cacambo out of El Dorado?
- How does Voltaire prompt us to think about the value of art and literature in our lives? Can they make us happy? If so, how? If not, of what use are they? What would make a work of art useful?
- "Candide, having been educated never to judge for himself, was much surprised at what he heard." How does this passage suggest that Voltaire is using Candide, the character, to show us ourselves? What role does Martin play in Candide’s development as a character? Is their dispute enough to change how Candide thinks?
- Is there a "pre-established harmony," as Pangloss puts it? If so, is there also liberty? Why is it that free will is never explained philosophically in Candide? Does Voltaire demonstrate the meaning of free will in other ways?
- How can a story that takes on the form of trivial and fantastical fiction be taken seriously? Can we entertain that the writing of Candide is motivated by a political or ethical concern with human improvement?
- If we look at Candide as an allegory, what could the meaning of the story be? Does the ending of Candide finally clarify the message of the work? How does the close of this hyperactive, quick-moving narrative make us question the value of words?
