Candide Lesson Plan

Consider the escaped slave whom Candide and Cacambo encounter. What is the significance of this scene?

On one level, this scene is significant because it is the escaped slave who finally manages to convince Candide that this world is not “the best of all possible worlds”. On another level, however, this scene is significant because it puts Candide into contact for the very first time with a person who has endured a lifetime of exploitation and oppression as a result of European colonialism. As the slave notes, it is through his misery that Candide and others in Europe are able to consume sugar. Unfortunately, this terrible fact does not seem to dissuade Candide from...