Voltaires Candide

Biographical and Background Information

Voltaire
Author Voltaire wrote the satirical novella Candide and, despite controversy during his lifetime, is widely considered one of France's greatest Enlightenment writers. Born on November 21, 1694, in Paris, France, Voltaire was exiled to Tulle in 1715. Two years later, in 1717, he returned to Paris, only to be arrested and exiled to the Bastille for a year. He was sent to the Bastille again in 1726, before being shipped off to England. In 1733, he fled to Lorraine, and in 1759, he wrote the satirical novella Candide. In 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris, where he died there on May 30 of that year (Biography.com).

Candide
Candide, who is a very nave young man, has many adventures as he tries to figure out how to live a worthwhile life in an evil world. The story is a satire in which Candide, Dr. Pangloss (his teacher), Cunegund (his beloved), the old woman, and Cacambo experience violence, mutilation, rape, natural disasters, etc., only to be magically restored.

Candide continued
Every world the characters encounter turns out to be one in which they cannot live, even El Dorado, a utopia. After being scattered in various places, the characters reunite at the end in a place they can stay. They will tend a garden together and produce all they need through hard work to have good lives. Candide closes the novel by saying, . . . but let us cultivate our garden.

Candide Images