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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 8, what are Candide and Cunégonde doing when Mr. Issachar arrives?

2. How is Candide punished as a prisoner in Lisbon?

3. How is Pangloss punished by the auto-da-fé?

4. What does Candide do when Cunegonde's brother strikes him?

5. The old woman says she once resembled who?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Cunegonde's brother explain his escape from death?

2. Who is the man who finds the woman under the orange tree and what does he do with her?

3. Describe the send off Candide and Cacambo get as they prepare to leave Eldorado.

4. What is Pangloss's occupation and what message does he convey?

5. In Bordeaux, who does Candide give his sheep to and why?

6. What happens when the Bulgarians catch Candide going for a walk?

7. How do Candide and Cacambo end up on roads that are paved with gold?

8. In Chapter 8, what does Cunegonde tell about her experience back in the castle?

9. Who found the exhausted princess from the old woman's story and offered to help her escape to Spain?

10. What was Pangloss' story of his enslavement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Candide undergoes a period of depression after not hearing back from Cacambo or Cunégonde. Is the depression that Candide experiences significant? Do you think this depression has an effect on the events in the novel? If so, how does this depression affect them? How does Martin react to Candide's depression? How do other characters react to Candide's depression? Write an essay describing the significance of Candide experiencing depression.

Essay Topic 2

Most of the female characters in the book have two things in common: they use their bodies to get power and that power is usurped by unscrupulous men. Analyze the role of women in the novel. Do any of the women have redeeming qualities? Do the women seem like three-dimensional realistic characters or are they stereotypes? Who seems like the most realistic female character and why?

Essay Topic 3

Sometimes authors choose to use the characters in a novel to express their distaste or support of a particular person or social movement. Historically do you think Candide represented a particular person or movement? Why or why not? How does Voltaire use his novel as a social criticism? Do you think Voltaire is critical of a specific social movement or of society in general? Why?

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