Candide Lesson Plan

How would the story of Candide be different if the characters who seemed dead, remained dead? Why do you think Voltaire keeps resurrecting certain characters?

At this point in the story, Voltaire has resurrected two characters (Pangloss and Cunégonde). The particular reasons for this lie in the relations which Candide has with these two individual. On the one hand, Pangloss is a mentor figure to Candide, and his presence in the story allows Candide to continue his intellectual development. On the other hand, Cunégonde is Candide’s love interest, and so her presence in the story allows Candide to maintain a strong sense of motivation despite his many travails. Ultimately,...