Voltaire : Candide
a collection of exam questions with some indicative content given (taken from mark schemes); also some extracts from examiners reports included for revision purposes
1. Examinez l’importance de la fin du conte et du message « Il faut
cultiver notre jardin. » Vous pouvez utiliser les points suivants (the
following points) :
• ce que dit le derviche* à Pangloss, Martin et Candide
• les avantages du travail selon le bon vieillard
• la conclusion que Candide tire du bon vieillard
• comment la vie des personnages change par la suite.
*a dervish – a member of a Muslim religious order who has taken vows of poverty and
austerity.
2. Analysez pour quelles raisons Voltaire a choisi le titre ‘Candide ou
l’Optimisme’ pour ce conte (this tale).
Possible content
• Candide of the title is the name of the main character who is central to the story.
• Name suggests innocence and naivety.
• Story follows his adventures and experiences following his expulsion from the château de
Thunder-ten-tronckh ; he is present throughout.
• Candide encounters a sequence of life-threatening situations – both manmade and
natural – and meets up with a range of different characters representing different facets of
human misery and suffering.
• Throughout Candide is seeking to be reunited with Cunégonde, the love of his life.
• His function in the story is to test the validity of the philosophy of Optimism (hence
Candide ou l’Optimisme of the title).
, • The mouthpiece for this philosophy is Pangloss, the tutor to Candide.
• Pangloss maintains – despite all the evidence to the contrary that Voltaire piles upon us
in the course of the story – that « tout est au mieux … dans ce meilleur des mondes
possibles. »
• Candide questions this philosophy when experience seems to disprove it (war, the Lisbon
earthquake, the auto-da-fé, his killing of Cunégonde’s brother, his loss of wealth).
• Candide accepts the philosophy and believes in it when things are going in his favour (the
voyage to Buenos Aires with Cunégonde; the news that she is waiting for him in
Constantinople).
• Ultimately Candide rejects the philosophy and is the mouth-piece for Voltaire’s
message: « il faut cultiver notre jardin ».
3. « Voltaire illustre dans ce conte combien la poursuite du bonheur (the
pursuit of happiness) est futile. » Dans quelle mesure (to what extent)
êtes-vous d’accord avec ce jugement?
4. « Cet ouvrage (this piece of work) n’est rien d’autre qu’une histoire
vaguement amusante. » Dans quelle mesure êtes-vous d’accord avec
ce jugement?
5. Analysez la signifiance du séjour dans le pays d’Eldorado dans le
contexte philosophique du conte (the philosophical context of the tale/
story).
6. Candide de Voltaire est un « conte philosophique ». Examinez dans
quelle mesure cette définition est justifiée.
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