1a. How does Candide come to be enlisted in the Bulgarian army?
2a. How does Voltaire describe the burning of the Abare village in the first paragraph of chapter III?
3a. How do the anti-Catholic orator's actions contradict his statements?
4a. What evidence is offered in the selection to contradict the idea that all things are connected in a series of causes and effects to create the "best of all possible worlds"?
5a. How would you judge Pangloss's philosophy on life that "there is no effect without a cause" and that "everything is necessarily for the best end"?
1b. What details in the description of Candide's training as a soldier satirize the military?
2b. What point is Voltaire making about the justifications that rulers of nations make for their actions?
3b. What hypocrisy is Voltaire revealing in his description of the orator?
4b. Imagine you are Candide. The turmoil and troubles you have experienced have given you a new perspective on life. What things would you say to Pangloss upon meeting him at the end of the selection?
5b. In what ways is Pangloss's perception of life positive? In what ways is this philosophical belief about life dangerous?
Satire. What similarities can you find in the attitudes of Voltaire in Candide and Swift in Gulliver's Travels toward governments, rulers, and warfare? What absurdities and injustices do these authors satirize?
Irony. Verbal irony is a statement that implies its opposite. Find examples of verbal irony in the sections of Candide you just read. What human follies, or lack of reason, are revealed through these examples?
1. Finish the dialogue that you predict would take place between Candide and Pangloss.
2. Write your own statement of belief on the meaning of life or how our world works.
3. Outline Candide's adventures by making a time line of the events he experienced. Begin with his stay at the baron's castle in Westphalia.
Writing a Memo.Imagine you work for the government. Write a memo to the agency you work for, addressing a hypocritical situation, error, or failing in the organization. Use satire and irony as you write your memo. Remember that a satire not only points out the errors of our society and institutions, but it also subtly offers ways in which to correct our errors. Include in your memoranda how we could correct those errors. Read the Language Arts Survey 6.6, "Writing a Memo," for more information.
Getting to Know a Philosopher. Use library materials and Internet resources to help you research a philosopher and his or her philosophy about life, religion, science, ethics, and/or politics. Before you begin, decide whether you want to study a western or eastern philosophy. From there, choose a philosopher or philosophy that most interests you. See page 641 in your text for a partial list of philosophers.
Research Findings:
Sources Used:
