num_pages: 122
description: On the surface a witty, bantering tale of adventure (or misadventure), Candide is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism which proclaims that nation-wide disasters and individual suffering are both just part of a cosmic plan which is essentially good. Voltaire was not prepared to excuse the world's evil quite so easily, nor would he encourage man to except evil as fate without trying to prevent it or fight it.Candide is the story of a man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, tries desperately to cling to his optimism. It is the greatest work of the great French writer and thinker.
language: English
title: Candide
titlecomplete: Candide
characters: Candide (Voltaire), Pangloss, Cunegonde, Dr. Pangloss
genres: Classics, France, 18th Century, Philosophy, Humor, Novels, School, Literature, French Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 267681
places: Netherlands, Suriname, Transylvania, England, Constantinople, Argentina, Paraguay, Germany, Turkey, Istanbul, Lisbon, Portugal, Buenos Aires, Romania
publisher: Bantam Classic