Read the last chapters of the book and answer the following...remember, we'll have our first Writing Exam on Monday over Candide (more about that in class on Friday!). So be sure to finish...(hint, hint!)
Q1: One of the themes of the book, as expressed by more than one character, is that all of our pleasures are built on the pain of others...and that trying to save people often brings its own suffering (to yourself and others). Where do we see this theme repeated in the final chapters--and with whom?
Q2: Count Pococurante is one of the strangest, and in some ways, most modern characters in the book (his name means "little caring"). Why is Candide so taken with him, and why might he be a true symbol of the worst excesses of the Enlightenment and the upper classes themselves?
Q3: One of the most humorous elements of the book is that (almost) no one truly dies: Pangloss, Paquette, the Baron, and many others return by the end of the novel, resurrected, to enjoy a 'happy ending.' Why do you think Voltaire does this? How might it affect his overall message or the theme of the book itself?
Q4: The most controversial line of the book is Candide's newfound philosophy, which tries to make the best of his situtation with the others: "we must go and work in the garden." How do you interpret this philosophy? Is he saying that it's better to work rather than to question fate? (in which case, it sounds an awful like like Pangloss' original philosophy). Or is he saying that all people should be equal, working in the garden rather than simply employing others to do so? Is this an anti-authoritarian message? Or is there another way to interpret the phrase?
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