Chinelo Nnebe

English Pd. 4
Candide Research
Satire: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
Voltaire: In his 84 years, Voltaire was historian and essayist, playwright and storyteller, poet and
philosopher, wit and pamphleteer, wealthy businessman and practical economic reformer. Yet he is best
remembered and honored in France as an advocate of human rights. True to the spirit of the
Enlightenment, he denounced organized religion and established himself as a courageous polemicist, who
indefatigably fought for civil rights, the right to a fair trial and freedom of religion, and who denounced
the hypocrisies and injustices of the ancient rgime.
Candide: a satirical novel published in 1759 that is the best-known work by Voltaire. It is a savage
denunciation of metaphysical optimism that reveals a world of horrors and folly. In this philosophical
fantasy, naive Candide sees and suffers such misfortune that he ultimately rejects the philosophy of his
tutor Doctor Pangloss, who claims that all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds. Candide and
his companionsPangloss, his beloved Cunegonde, and his servant Cacambodisplay an instinct for
survival that gives them hope in an otherwise somber setting.